Napoleon Beazley

Napoleon Beazley (August 5, 1976 – May 28, 2002) was a convicted murderer executed by lethal injection by the State of Texas for the murder of 63-year-old businessman John Luttig in 1994. Beazley shot Luttig in the head twice in his garage on April 19, 1994 to steal his Mercedes Benz. Beazley also shot at Luttig's wife, but he missed and she survived the assault by playing dead. Beazley carried out the crime with two accomplices, Cedrick and Donald Coleman, who later testified against him. Both were sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Napoleon Beazley
Born(1976-08-05)August 5, 1976
DiedMay 28, 2002(2002-05-28) (aged 25)
Texas
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Capital murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

The case of Beazley, the eldest son of Ireland and Rena Beazley of Grapeland, Texas, is notable because Napoleon was just under 18 years of age (17 years, eight and one-half months old, to be exact) at the time of the offense and because his victim was the father of a United States federal judge, J. Michael Luttig. During his appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, three of the nine justices recused themselves because of their personal ties to Judge Luttig, leaving six justices to review the case. Justice Antonin Scalia recused himself because Luttig had clerked for him, while Justices David Souter and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because Luttig had led the successful efforts to gain them (Thomas and Souter) U.S. Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court.[1]

On June 3, 1997, Beazley filed an application for state writ of habeas corpus with the state trial court of conviction. On September 5, 1997, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing. On October 31, 1997, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law denying habeas relief. On January 21, 1998, the Court of Criminal Appeals accepted findings, but they turned down relief. On October 1, 1998, Beazley filed a petition for habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. On September 30, 1999, the Supreme Court denied relief. On October 26, 1999, the district court turned down reconsideration. On December 28, 1999, the district court allowed Beazley to make an appeal.

On June 1, 2000, Beazley filed his brief on appeal to the Fifth Circuit. On February 9, 2001, the Fifth Circuit issued a published opinion asserting the denial of habeas relief. On March 15, 2001, the Fifth Circuit turned down Beazley's petition for rehearing. On March 30, 2001, Beazley's execution was determined to be on Aug. 15, 2001 by the District Court of Smith County, Texas. On June 13, 2001, Beazley petitioned for certiorari review from the denial of federal habeas relief. On June 28, 2001, Beazley applied for a stay of execution from the Supreme Court. On August 13, 2001, the Supreme Court turned down Beazley's application for stay of execution. On August 15, 2001, the Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution on the day of Beazley's execution.

On October 1, 2001 the Supreme Court turned down certiorari review. On April 17, 2002, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the stay of execution. On April 26, 2002, Beazley's execution was determined to be on May 28, 2002 by the District Court of Smith County, Texas. On May 7, 2002, Beazley filed a petition for clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. On May 13, 2002, Beazley filed a supplemental petition for clemency. On May 17, 2002, Beazley along with 3 others filed 1983 suit in the U.S. District Court pleading inadequate representation. (That same day, U.S. District Judge Hayden Head declined to hear the lawsuit. A notice of appeal was filed.) On May 21, 2002, the Fifth Circuit administered an opinion asserting the lower court's judgment, turning down injunctive relief. On May 22, 2002, Beazley petitioned for certiorari review to the Supreme Court.[2]

On August 13, 2001, the Supreme Court voted 3-3 on Beazley's request for a stay of execution. The tie vote resulted in the Fifth Circuit's decision standing, and effectively rejecting Beazley's request for a stay.[3] On May 28, 2002, the Supreme Court voted unanimously 6-0 to reject Beazley's request for a writ of habeas corpus.[4]

Beazley's execution sparked a fierce debate between opponents and supporters of the death penalty, particularly with respect to juvenile offenders.[5] Some organizations, such as Amnesty International, argued in favor of clemency due to his age (at the time of the offense Beazley was 3½ months from his 18th birthday) and their opposition to the death penalty in general.[6] Beazley was one of the last juvenile offenders to be executed in the United States. In 2005, the Supreme Court (in Roper v. Simmons) banned the practice of executing offenders who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes.[7]

See also

References
  1. Bonner, Raymond (August 14, 2001). "Three Abstain as Supreme Court Declines to Halt Texas Execution". The New York Times.
  2. "Napoleon Beazley #779". www.clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  3. "Beazley, Napoleon v. Johnson, Dir. TX DOCJ" (PDF). FindLaw. 2001-08-13. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  4. "Habeas Corpus denied in re Napoleon Beazley" (PDF). FindLaw. 2002-05-28. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  5. "Death row inmate is hardly a victim". Pro-Death Penalty.com. Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  6. "Too young to vote, old enough to be executed". Amnesty International. 2001-07-31. Archived from the original on 2004-12-27. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  7. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005).  This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
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