Napoleon Beazley was granted a stay of execution by...

Napoleon Beazley was granted a stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals just four hours before his scheduled execution.Beazley was denied on the 13th a stay of execution by the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 3-3. Justices Thomas, Scalia and Souter recused themselves because of their ties to the victim's son, federal judge J. Michael Luttig, who once served as a law clerk for Scalia and advised Souter and Thomas during their confirmation hearings. The successful last-minute attempt to spare the life of convicted killer Napoleon Beazley included 2 unusual twists: the judge who presided over Beazley's trial asked the governor to stop the execution, and one of his own appeals lawyers admitted doing a poor job. Just before the court ordered the delay, Beazley's trial judge, Cynthia Kent, faxed a letter to Gov. Rick Perry asking him to commute Beazley's sentence to life in prison. Although the trial was free of error, the judge wrote, Beazley's life should be spared because of his age at the time of the murder. In Texas, juries decide whether convicted killers should be executed. Robin Norris, who represented Beazley in one of his rounds of appeals, has submitted a sworn statement admitting his investigation and preparation of the case were incomplete. He also said he didn't research or brief the issues regarding Beazley's age. Norris also said his caseload was too heavy because he was handling several other death penalty cases at the same time.