Texas is set to execute Larry Swearingen on 21 August. Please send a message now to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, urging they call off Larry’s execution.

He’s been behind bars in Texas, the US, for nearly two decades. Larry has always maintained his innocence and several forensic experts support his innocence too.

Larry was convicted only on circumstantial evidence in connection with the murder of a young woman. DNA testing of evidence has failed to find any traces of Larry’s DNA.

Larry’s legal representation was dismal, and lead to his execution being called off in 2009... and again in 2011. Now, without conclusive evidence, his execution date is set again.

The death penalty violates the most fundamental human right – our right to life. No matter what a person has done, killing someone to ‘punish and deter’ is wrong and unjust.

The death penalty is often used against the most vulnerable in society, including people living in poverty, ethnic and religious minorities, and people with mental disabilities.

Trials and justice systems can be flawed: in the US, 166 people have been exonerated from death row on innocence grounds since 1963. We have no way of knowing how many innocent people have been executed.

The death penalty is final. An innocent person may be released from prison for a crime they did not commit, but an execution can never be reversed.

Together, we are powerful. Since Amnesty supporters first started campaigning against the death penalty, more than 140 countries have abolished it. It couldn’t have happened without people like you. 

This is why we must speak out together for Larry, and give him hope in these dark hours. Call on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to call off Larry’s execution, and end the death penalty.