SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has rejected a death row inmates application for clemency.

Christopher Young has an execution date set for Tuesday July 17 for the 2004 murder of San Antonio store owner Hasmukh Patel.

Patel's son, along with the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty are calling for Young's life to be spared.

The group is calling on Governor Greg Abbott to grant a one-time 30 day stay of execution.

Young’s lawyers David Dow and Jeff Newberry, released this Statement on Friday:

“We are devastated that the members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles failed to recognize what we know to be true: The man the State of Texas seeks to execute – our client, Christopher Anthony Young – is not the same reckless young man who took the life of Hasmukh Patel in San Antonio on November 21, 2004.

Killing Chris on July 17, 2018 will not benefit anyone: not his two daughters and other family members who love him; not Mitesh Patel, the son of Hasmukh, who does not want Chris to be executed; and not the adolescents desperately in need of his mentorship.

The members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles have ignored their moral imperative to consider all facets of this case – not just the crime but the way Chris Young has lived the last 12 years of his life on death row.

Since his conviction, Chris has educated himself, become grounded in his religion, actively parented his daughters, and mentored troubled young people beyond the prison walls. He is deeply remorseful for killing Mr. Patel, and he would like the opportunity to express his sorrow in person to Mitesh Patel.  The Board’s rejection of clemency instead offers retribution, not restorative justice.

We call on Governor Abbott to use his authority to grant a one-time 30-day stay of execution so that Chris and Mitesh Patel have an opportunity to meet.  Doing so will demonstrate the same spirit of mercy that Mr. Patel has so courageously shown.”