Texas | Stop the Execution of Tracy Beatty

Tracy Beatty is scheduled to die by lethal injection on November 9th in Huntsville, Texas for the 2003 murder of his mother.

This is not Tracy Beatty’s 1st scheduled execution. He was previously scheduled to be executed in 2009, 2015, and 2020. All were stayed.

Beatty has been on Texas death row since 2004. At his 1st trial, forensic psychiatrists claimed he was not mentally ill and had a normal intelligence quotient.

Currently, lawyers for Tracy Beatty are fighting to stop their client’s scheduled execution because he has a severe mental disability. Executions of the mentally disabled are prohibited under the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

On Sept. 19 and 22 of this year, Beatty was examined by 2 medical professionals. In the process, these specialists criticized the fact that despite repeated requests, Beatty’s handcuffs were not removed, preventing them from conducting a full examination.

According to Dr. Bhushan Agharkar and Dr. Daniel Martell, Beatty is said to be clearly psychotic and to have a complex paranoid delusional belief system. Agharkar writes: “While he appeared generally logical and linear, when questioning turned to his current incarceration, a complex delusional world revealed itself… He talked about a vast conspiracy of correctional officers who spread false rumors about him in order to turn people against him. They ‘torture’ him via a device in his ear so he can hear their menacing voices… Mr. Beatty believes his thoughts are being read and broadcast to others and that the correctional officers, who are not even present in the prison, are trying to turn inmates and other officers against him by spreading lies.”

Texas' aggressive execution schedule marks it as an outlier in its use of the death penalty while the majority of other states are on a downward trend of executions. Only a handful of states carry out an execution in any given year, and Texas is always one of them.

Please sign the petition asking Governor Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to do everything within their power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.

Additionally, you may reach out now to the Board at bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov and the Governor at https://gov.texas.gov/contact/ and (512) 463-1782. You can simply leave a voice message, or choose to speak to a representative if you prefer.

Please note: In Texas, the Governor does have limited power when it comes to the death penalty. But the story we are told that "it's out of the governor's hands," is only true if we allow it to be. Yes, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles must recommend clemency in that state in order for the Governor to grant clemency (mercy) by commuting a death sentence. But the fact is that the governor appoints the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. He can choose to appoint members who will take valid claims and concerns more seriously, instead of acting like rubber-stamping gate-keepers. He can still use his position of power and influence to enact justice in the State of Texas.

To: Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles & Governor Greg Abbott

From: [Your Name]

We are writing to ask that you to stop the November 9th execution of Tracy Beatty, who was convicted of capital murder for the 2003 death of Carolyn “Callie” Click.

We are concerned that while the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Texas has continued to go against trend by carrying on an aggressive execution schedule. Texas' execution schedule goes against the national trend as more states are abandoning the death penalty in law or practice, whereas Texas is now only 1 of about 8 states that actively uses the death penalty.

We, the undersigned, ask that you do everything within your power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.

Source: Death Penalty Action, Staff, October 4, 2022

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