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American Morning

Convicted Murderer Napoleon Beazley Scheduled to Die Tomorrow

Aired August 14, 2001 - 09:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to begin with something rather serious, a date with death. Convicted murderer Napoleon Beazley is scheduled to die by lethal injection tomorrow. The case is generating national attention for several reasons.

And for the details, let's go now to CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena, who is standing by in Washington -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, the reason this case is getting both national and international attention is because Beazley was sentenced to death for a crime that he committed when he was 17. There have been many calls for his sentence to be commuted, but so far they've been denied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA (voice-over): Considered one of the most influential federal judges in the nation, J. Michael Luttig once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. And as a former Bush Justice Department official, he worked to get both Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice David Souter confirmed.

Those relationships have come under some scrutiny as all three Justices recused themselves from the high court's 3-3 decision not to stay the execution of Napoleon Beazley, convicted of the 1994 murder of Judge Luttig's father.

Experts say it's highly unusual for a third of the court to recuse itself. But the vote against a stay was expected and the rare recusals make it even less likely the court will hear a broader appeal.

STEPHEN SALTZBURG, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: It takes four votes to hear a case. If three Justices out of the six remaining will not even grant a stay, it's highly unlikely that the court will get four votes to hear this case.

ARENA: Death penalty critics charge there's nothing usual about this case. They say one reason prosecutors sought the death penalty against Beazley, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, is because Luttig is a judge. Prosecutors deny the charge and Judge Luttig had no comment. Napoleon Beazley, who is now 25, is not claiming innocence, and by all accounts, the killing of Judge Luttig's father was especially brutal. But Beazley had no prior record at the time of the shooting and his two co-defendants have since recanted parts of their testimony against him.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It wasn't premeditated as far as the murder goes. It's not something we intended on. We just intended to jack a car, you know? That whole incident got out of hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: Napoleon Beazley is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday night. Now, nationally, he would be the 19th inmate since 1976 to be executed for a murder committed when the killer was younger than 18 -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, Kelli.

What do we know now about the chances that there may be another stop or in the process at all here?

ARENA: Well, it's not looking very good, Leon. First of all, as you heard, the Supreme Court is very unlikely to even consider the appeal. As you heard, you need four Justices to do that. Three have already even denied a stay of execution, so that's very unlikely. Of course, the governor, the Texas governor could always step in. That's also unlikely. So it does look like this is going forward tomorrow night.

HARRIS: All right, Kelli Arena in Washington, thank you.

ARENA: You're welcome.

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