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Napoleon Beazley - Juvenile Death Penalty

*Please note that this is a plain text version for the Internet, the original was on Amnesty International letterhead and signed.

Ref.: TG AMR 51.2001/63

BY FAX ONLY
The Honourable Rick Perry
Governor of Texas
State Capitol
Austin, Texas 78711
USA

15 August 2001

Dear Governor

Amnesty International calls upon you, as a matter of the utmost urgency, to use your power of reprieve to halt the execution of Napoleon Beazley, scheduled for 6pm tonight in Huntsville. There are many reasons to do so:

  • Because Napoleon Beazley was 17 at the time of the crime, his execution will flout international law, binding on the USA and on Texas. Outside of the United States, perhaps only the Islamic Republic of Iran would today countenance this execution;

  • There is evidence that Smith County's striking of black jurors during jury selection for the 1995 trial was not wholly "race neutral".

  • There is compelling evidence that at least one of the 12 white jurors at the original trial harboured profound prejudice against African Americans;

  • The prosecution engaged in inflammatory language to describe this African American defendant in front of the all-white jury;

  • Napoleon Beazley's two co-defendants have repeatedly stated that they gave false testimony against Beazley in order to themselves avoid the death penalty. Their testimony was central to the state's bid to have the jury vote for Napoleon Beazley's future dangerousness, even in prison;

  • Napoleon Beazley's record on death row provides overwhelming evidence that the prediction of future dangerousness was wrong. This should not be surprising given that it was reached on the basis of false testimony;

  • There is strong evidence that the victim's son, a federal judge, played an inappropriate role in Smith County's decision to seek the death penalty and in the subsequent proceedings against Napoleon Beazley. We firmly believe that no one can be certain that the death penalty would even have been sought if the victim had been someone of lower socio-economic standing, and if the victim's family had not become so closely involved;

  • The lawyer who handled Napoleon Beazley's initial appeal has just admitted that his representation and investigation of the case was inadequate;

  • We draw your attention to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's expression of concern yesterday about the discriminatory nature of the US death penalty, and the Committee's exhortation to the USA to ensure that no death sentence was "imposed as a result of racial bias on the part of prosecutors, judges, juries and lawyers or as a result of the economically, socially and educationally disadvantaged position of the convicted persons". With respect, we suggest that you cannot, in good conscience, fail to intervene in this case;

  • This execution will tear another family apart with grief. A state which claims to be part of modern society must find a better response to the undoubted pain and suffering caused to the family of John Luttig;

  • Napoleon Beazley's hometown of Grapeland will suffer greatly too, and for many their confidence in the evenhandness of the justice system is likely to be seriously damaged. This execution is widely opposed within the local community, including by the Houston County District Attorney, who says that the death penalty should not have been pursued in the first place;

  • The Texas public oppose the execution of juvenile offenders, according to opinion polls. The state House of Representatives, by supporting a bill earlier this year to raise the age of death eligibility in Texas to 18, has shown that it too opposes such executions;

  • The international reputation of your state will deteriorate even further with this execution. Your own reputation will also doubtless suffer if you allow this internationally illegal killing to go ahead.

We urge you - in the name of justice, humanity, and principled leadership - to use your power of reprieve to halt the execution of Napoleon Beazley and to call upon the Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider their rejection of clemency.

Yours sincerely

Susan Lee

Acting Program Director - America