Texas to execute man for killing mother nearly 20 years ago
A Texas inmate whose lawyers say has a history of mental illness faces execution for killing his mother and burying her body in her backyard nearly 20 years ago
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas inmate whose lawyers say has a history of mental illness faces execution on Wednesday for killing his mother and burying her body in her backyard nearly 20 years ago.
Tracy Beatty, 61, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was sentenced to death for strangling his mother, Carolyn Click, after they had argued in November 2003 in her East Texas home.
Authorities say Beatty buried his 62-year-old mother’s body beside her mobile home in Whitehouse, about 115 miles (180 km) southeast of Dallas, and then spent her money on drugs and alcohol.
Beatty’s attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his scheduled execution, arguing he was being prevented from receiving a full examination to determine if he is intellectually disabled and possibly ineligible to be put to death. He has had three prior execution dates.
