Stop the Execution of Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Board of Pardons and parole & Governor Kevin Stitt
Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez is scheduled for execution in Oklahoma on August 13, 2026, for the 2003 murder of Olimpia Fisher.
- Carlos accepts his guilt and has shown great remorse for his crime. Mr. Cuesta-Rodriguez's adolescence was very traumatic. It included growing up in an impoverished and polluted environment in Cuba, suffering from physical abuse in the home, being left severely injured and psychologically changed by a bus crash, and being treated with electroshock “therapy.”
- Mr. Cuesta-Rodriguez has suffered from many injuries and traumas that have left him impaired and mentally ill in various ways. He currently is in poor health and suffers from dementia. Despite these alignments, he is well-behaved, with group yard privileges. He is over 70 years old and poses no threat while in prison.
- Carlos has reconnected with his Catholic faith. He also maintains relationships with friends and family members, sending them his cross stitch artwork. His priest, friends, and family members all ask that the board grant clemency.
Join the Virtual Sit In
Call Gov. Stitt at 405-521-2342 with the following message:
"Hi. My name is [your name]. I am calling to urge Gov. Stitt to grant clemency to Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez who is scheduled for execution on August 13, 2026. Carlos accepts his guilt and has shown tremendous remorse for his crime. Not only do a lifetime of injuries and traumas leave him mental ill in a variety of ways, but he now lives with dementia - a disease that will soon kill him. It would especially cruel to take a man in such a state and kill him. Please allow him to live what little bit of his natural life remains. Thank you."
Register for the 8/13 joint virtual vigil beginning at 9am CT.
Oklahoma's aggressive execution schedule marks it as an outlier in its use of the death penalty while the majority of other states are on a downward trend of executions. In the last few years, Oklahoma has been one of only a handful of states that have carried out death sentences - and it continues to do so targeting the poor, the mentally ill and people of color.
This particular execution is just one in a series of 25 executions scheduled by Oklahoma in the coming months, despite serious concerns around the state's lethal injection protocols and drugs.
Please sign the petition asking Governor Stitt and the Pardon and Parole Board to do everything within their power to ensure this execution does not go forward, and to seek a path to clemency in the case.
Sponsored by
To:
Oklahoma Board of Pardons and parole & Governor Kevin Stitt
From:
[Your Name]
We are writing to you regarding Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, who is scheduled for execution in Oklahoma on August 13, 2026 for the 2003 murder of Olimpia Fisher.
Carlos accepts his guilt and has shown great remorse for his crime. Mr. Cuesta-Rodriguez's adolescence was very traumatic. It included growing up in an impoverished and polluted environment in Cuba, suffering from physical abuse in the home, being left severely injured and psychologically changed by a bus crash, and being treated with electroshock “therapy.”
Mr. Cuesta-Rodriguez has suffered from many injuries and traumas that have left him impaired and mentally ill in various ways. He currently is in poor health and suffers from dementia. Despite these alignments, he is well-behaved, with group yard privileges. He is over 70 years old and poses no threat while in prison.
Carlos has reconnected with his Catholic faith. He also maintains relationships with friends and family members, sending them his cross stitch artwork. His priest, friends, and family members all ask that the board grant clemency.
We are concerned that while the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Oklahoma has continued to go against trend by carrying on an aggressive execution schedule - targeting the poor, the mentally ill and people of color.
We, the undersigned, ask that you do everything within your power to ensure this execution does not go forward, and to seek a path to clemency in the case.
Thank you for your time and attention to this urgent and serious matter.