Napoleon Beazley executed
Family, friends vow to fight on
By Workers World Houston bureau
Napoleon Beazley was executed by the state of Texas on May
28. Texas murdered a man who was a juvenile at the time of his
crime, who graduated high school with honors, was president of
his senior class, a star athlete, active in his church in the
small town of Grapeland, Texas, and had no prior criminal
record.
Around the world there was outrage. Almost 100 people
protested the execution outside the Texas death house in
Huntsville. Afterward, his extended family greeted supporters
and spoke with reporters. Beazley's parents, Rena and Ireland,
his sister Maria and his brother Jamaal had actively campaigned
for him. They stood by him until the end.
On May 27, Rena Beazley and Ireland Beazley had their last
visit with their son. They spent the next day in Houston using
all the energy they could muster to talk about their son and
urge people to call or fax the Parole Board and governor to ask
for clemency.
At 11 a.m. they were in the radio studio at KPFT Pacifica
Radio in Houston. Gloria Rubac and Njeri Shakur, co-hosts of
"Fight Back," interviewed the Beazleys and then opened the
phone lines for questions and comments. The hour was lively and
gave the Beazleys the opportunity to open their hearts to
listeners.
After the Pacifica show, Ireland Beazley and Rubac did an
extensive interview with the BBC.
Then the family attended the 23rd Annual Pan African
Festival in Herman Park, sponsored by the SHAPE Community
Center. SHAPE Director Deloyd Parker urged the hundreds of
people within earshot to sign postcards requesting clemency.
Many folks went up and hugged Rena Beazley and told her to be
strong and that they would keep the Beazleys in their
prayers.
Twenty-four hours later their son was dead.
On June 1, there was a funeral and a celebration of Napoleon
Beazley's life. Over 700 people attended, overflowing the small
church. "We had a beautiful, uplifting service," said his
mother. "This was not sad. We had only upbeat songs and there
were so many flowers from all over that it looked like a
paradise. We thank the people from all around the world for
their notes and cards."
Activist Njeri Shakur of the Texas Death Penalty Abolition
Movement said: "We were all moved by the strength of this
family. The parents are so strong in their love for each other
and for their children. And now they are promising to direct
their anger at Napoleon's execution toward fighting the death
penalty."
"We have plans to join the Abolition Movement and do
something to fight the death penalty. We must end this monster.
My 17-year-old son deserved a chance to live. Texas needs to
get some backbone and stop the killing," Rena Beazley said.
Beazley said her son had learned to be a warrior during his
years on death row. "Yes, and I think we are learning to be
warriors too!"
Reprinted from the June 13, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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