HOUSTON, Oct 07, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Service Corporation
International (NYSE: SCI), which owns and operates funeral service locations
and cemeteries, today announced that it has furnished on Form 8-K with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the following letter attached to this
press release. The attached letter has been sent to Stewart Enterprises and
withdraws our previous proposal of $11 per share for the reasons discussed
within the letter.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements have been made
in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be accompanied
by words such as "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate," or
"predict," that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These
statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however,
many important factors could cause our actual results in the future to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in any other
documents or oral presentations made by, or on behalf of us. For further
information on these and other risks and uncertainties, see our Securities and
Exchange Commission filings, including our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Copies of this document as well as other SEC filings can be obtained from our
website at http://www.sci-corp.com. We assume no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other
forward-looking statements made by us, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.

About Service Corporation International

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), headquartered in Houston,
Texas, is North America's leading provider of deathcare products and services.
At June 30, 2008, we owned and operated more than 1,300 funeral homes and 350
cemeteries (of which over 200 are combination locations) in 43 states, eight
Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through our
businesses, we market the Dignity Memorial(R) brand which offers assurance of
quality, value, caring service, and exceptional customer satisfaction. For
more information about Service Corporation International, please visit our
website at http://www.sci-corp.com. For more information about Dignity
Memorial(R), please visit http://www.dignitymemorial.com.

     For additional information contact:

     Investors: Debbie Young - Director / Investor Relations (713) 525-9088

     Media:  Lisa Marshall - Managing Director / Corporate Communications
             (713) 525-3066



    October 7, 2008


    Mr. Thomas J. Crawford
    President & CEO
    Stewart Enterprises, Inc.
    1333 S. Clearview Parkway
    Jefferson, LA  70121


    Re:  Recent Communications Between Stewart Enterprises, Inc.
         ("Stewart") and Service Corporation International ("SCI")

    Dear Tom:

As you know, and as our advisors have discussed, Stewart's three
pre-conditions to negotiation of a transaction with SCI are unacceptable to
SCI. SCI cannot agree to accept all financing risk of a transaction (in other
words, "hell or high water" on financing), accept all regulatory risk on
antitrust clearance and, in addition, increase its $11/share proposal.

    Therefore, SCI hereby withdraws its previous proposal of $11 per share.


                                 Sincerely,


                                 Thomas L. Ryan

    c:  Board of Directors of Stewart

SOURCE Service Corporation International

http://www.sci-corp.com

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