Stop the Execution of Stephen Stanko in South Carolina
Gov. Henry McMaster
South Carolina scheduled its 6th execution in 9 months. Stephen Stanko, 56, is scheduled to be executed on June 13, 2025 for the murders of Laura Ling and Henry Turner.
Stephen has spent nearly twenty years on South Carolina’s death row. Experts diagnosed Stephen with brain damage, likely from numerous brain injuries including from a troubled birth, a blow to the back of the head as a teen while shielding a classmate from an assault, and repeated traumas from serious sports-related head injuries. The brain damage resulted in tissue loss in the left frontal lobe and medial brain structures that places him in the bottom 2.4% of the population.
The problems resulting from his brain damage are well controlled in the structured environment of prison. Stephen has not been a danger to prison staff or other inmates and has productively used his years on death row to repent of his crimes and seek God’s forgiveness, help other inmates, and write about his experiences.
While nothing excuses Stephen’s terrible crimes, his execution will not make South Carolina safer.
Please sign the petition asking Governor Henry McMaster to stay this execution and seek clemency for Stephen Stanko. Any alternative is better than the death penalty!
To:
Gov. Henry McMaster
From:
[Your Name]
We are writing to ask that you to stop the execution of Stephen Stanko for the murders of Laura Ling and Henry Turner.
Stephen has spent nearly twenty years on South Carolina’s death row. Experts diagnosed Stephen with brain damage, likely from numerous brain injuries including from a troubled birth, a blow to the back of the head as a teen while shielding a classmate from an assault, and repeated traumas from serious sports-related head injuries. The brain damage resulted in tissue loss in the left frontal lobe and medial brain structures that places him in the bottom 2.4% of the population.
The problems resulting from his brain damage are well controlled in the structured environment of prison. Stephen has not been a danger to prison staff or other inmates and has productively used his years on death row to repent of his crimes and seek God’s forgiveness, help other inmates, and write about his experiences.
While nothing excuses Stephen’s terrible crimes, his execution will not make South Carolina safer.
We, the undersigned, ask that you do everything within your power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.
Thank you for your time and attention to this serious matter.