UPDATE: JOSE BRISENO RECEIVED A STAY OF EXECUTION ON APRIL 2. Texas death row inmate Jose Briseno is scheduled to be executed on April 7. However, a stream of letters and support, including some from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice staff, fellow prisoners, and a network of people outside of prison has been sent to the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles asking that his sentence be commuted to life. According to the clemency petition submitted by his attorney, during his 17 years on death row, Briseno developed a profound spirituality that affected many people. Letters from people he impacted said he would be of greater service to society and to the prison by being allowed to live rather than executed. Briseno was convicted in 1992 of the murder of the sheriff in Dimmit County, Texas. See a video about Jose Briseno’s life here.

(In re Jose Garcia Briseno, Application for Commutation of Sentence (Texas 2009)). For more information about this case, click here. See Clemency.