TYLER, Texas, April 18 (UPI) -- A judge Thursday ordered Texas death row inmate Napoleon Beazley returned to her court on April 26 for a hearing in which she will set a new execution date for the convict who was 17 when he killed a Tyler businessman.
State District Judge Cynthia Kent scheduled the hearing after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday lifted a stay that had halted Beazley's execution last Aug. 15 with only hours to spare. His appeal was rejected on a vote of 6-3.
Beazley's case has received international attention because of his age at the time he killed John Luttig eight years ago this Friday and the twist that Luttig was the father of a federal appeals judge in Virginia.
Smith County District Attorney Jack Skeen Jr. said the case has been examined thoroughly by both state and federal courts and his office would oppose any attempt to get the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Beazley's sentence to life.
"This has been almost eight years to the day since the capital murder of John Luttig in front of his wife and it is time for justice to be carried out in this case," he said.
Amnesty International was critical of the court's action.
Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, director of Amnesty International's Program to Abolish the Death Penalty, issued a statement condemning the Beazley death sentence.
"Texas has executed more juveniles since 1990 than any other country in the world, denying its youth the possibility of reforming and successfully reintegrating into society," she said.
Walter Long, Beazley's attorney, said he planned to continue the appeals process and seek a commutation from the pardons and parole board.
Beazley, who was an honors graduate of Grapeland High School and a star athlete, shot and killed Luttig in front of his wife during a carjacking outside their home in Tyler.
Luttig was the father of Michael Luttig, a federal appeals court judge in Richmond, Va.
Three members of the Supreme Court recused themselves from Beazley's case last summer because of their ties to Michael Luttig. The court's 3-3 tie vote was not enough to grant a reprieve but the state appeals court later granted a stay at that time.
