Remembrance of Napoleon Beazeley

Luis Ramirez was executed on Oct 20, 2005. Nancy Bailey, an anti-death penalty activist, is the person who sent this letter to Rep Hodge, who then sent it on to Bob Ray Sanders. An Inmate gets a glimpse of compassion on Death Row.

By Bob Ray Sanders
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

After Napoleon Beazley was executed in May 2002, I used this space to print his entire final statement in order that readers might get to see a little bit of his humanity. Many people throughout the country, myself included, had fought hard trying to stop Beazley's execution, partly because he was a teen-ager at the time of the crime. The other day, state Rep. Terri Hodge of Dallas sent me a letter from another Death Row inmate that gives us even more insight about the person the state killed almost two years ago. Luis Ramirez, convicted in the death of a 19-year-old San Angelo man, gives the following account of his first day on Death Row.

"What's in the Brown Paper Bag?"
by Luis Ramirez - Texas DCJ #999309

"I'm about [to] share with you a story who's telling is long past due. It's a familiar story to most of you reading this from death row. And now it's one that all of you in 'free world' may benefit from. This is the story of my first day on the row.

"I came here in May of 1999. The exact date is something that I can't recall. I do remember arriving in the afternoon. I was placed in a cell on H-20 wing over at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, TX. A Tsunami of emotions and thoughts were going through my mind at the time. I remember the only things in the cell were a mattress, pillow, a couple of sheets, a pillow case, a roll of toilet paper, and a blanket. I remember sitting there, utterly lost.

"The first person I met there was Napolean Beasley. Back then, Death Row prisoners still worked.

"His job at the time was to clean up the wing and help serve during meal times. He was walking around sweeping the pod in these ridiculous looking rubber boots. He came up to the bars on my cell and asked me if I was new. I told him that I had just arrived on death row. He asked what my name is. I told him, not seeing any harm in it. He then stepped back where he could see all three tiers. He hollered at everyone, 'There's a new man here. He just drove up. His name is Luis Ramirez.'

"When he did that, I didn't know what to make of it at first. I thought I had made some kind of mistake. You see, like most of you, I was of the impression that everyone on death row was evil. I thought I would find hundreds of 'Hannibal Lecters' in here. And now, they all knew my name. I thought, 'Oh well,' that's strike one. I was sure that they would soon begin harassing me. This is what happens in the movies after all.

"Well that's not what happened. After supper was served, Napolean was once again sweeping the floors. As he passed my cell, he swept a brown paper bag into it. I asked him, 'What's this'? He said for me to look inside and continued on his way. Man, I didn't know what to expect. I was certain it was something bad. Curiosity did get the best of me though. I carefully opened the bag. What I found was the last thing I ever expected to find on death row, and everything I needed. The bag contained some stamps, envelopes, notepad, pen, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, tooth brush, a pastry, a soda, and a cup of Ramen noodles. I remember asking Napolean where this came from.

"He told me that everyone had pitched in. That they knew that I didn't have anything and that it may be a while before I could get them. I asked him to find out who had contributed. I wanted to pay them back. He said, 'It's not like that. Just remember the next time you see someone come here like you. You pitch in something.'

"I sat there on my bunk with my brown paper bag of goodies, and thought about what had just happened to me. The last things I expected to find on death row was kindness and generosity. They knew what I needed and they took it upon themselves to meet those needs. They did this without any expectation of reimbursement or compensation. They did this for a stranger, not a known friend.

"I don't know what they felt when they committed this act of incredible kindness. I only know that like them, twelve 'good people' had deemed me beyond redemption. The only remedy that these 'good people' could offer us is death. Somehow what these 'good people' saw and what I was seeing didn't add up. How could these men, who just showed me so much humanity, be considered the 'worst of the worst'?

"Ever since Napoleon was executed for a crime he committed as a teen, I've wanted to share this story with his family. I would like for them to know that their son was a good man. One who I will never forget. I want them to know how sorry I am that we as a society failed them and him. I still find it ridiculous that we as a people feel that we cannot reach or love our young properly. I'm appalled at the idea that a teen is beyond redemption, that the only solution that we can offer is death. It's tragic that this is being pointed out to the 'good people' by one of the 'worst of the worst.' God help us all.

"What's in the brown paper bag? I found caring, kindness, love, humanity, and compassion of a scale that I've never seen the 'good people' in the free world show towards one another."

Luis Ramirez - Texas DCJ #999309

Picture: Napoleon Beazley