Ivan Teleguz's attorneys react to widespread plea to halt his execution

It's a decision that will come down to the wire.

Ivan Teleguz and his attorneys await a response from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe after filing a petition for clemency last week.

His attorneys said they are overwhelmed by the amount of support.

"Thousands of pages of letters and petition signatures have now been submitted in support of Mr. Teleguz's petition to Governor McAuliffe," said Elizabeth Peiffer with the Virginia Capital Representation Center.

Among those thousands are former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, the Virginia Council of Churches, political leaders of all parties and Virgin CEO Richard Branson. His tweet on Wednesday reached his more than 10 million followers.

"The more people that hear about the case, the more positive feedback we're getting and the more reactions that we're getting. This is really the type of case for which clemency was designed," said Peiffer.

Some said, it's a case that carries too much doubt to justify an execution.

"It just demonstrates what a compelling case Mr. Teleguz presents to Governor McAuliffe," said Peiffer. "That there's significant evidence that has developed during trial that jurors never heard that cast doubt on both his conviction and death sentence."

Teleguz was convicted in 2006 for the murder-for-hire of his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Sipe.

As the clock ticks closer, his attorneys grow in confidence with each display of support.

"We're optimistic about Governor McAuliffe's decision that he will do the right thing. Also, that as people continue to hear about his case that the support will increase," said Peiffer.

WHSV reached out to the Governor Terry McAuliffe's office on Thursday but have not received a response.

Peiffer said Governor McAuliffe can decide to grant or deny clemency at any time between now and Teleguz's scheduled execution date on April 25th.

You can find WHSV's continued coverage of this case in the Related Links section of this article.