Briton Is Executed in Georgia
JACKSON, Ga. — Ignoring pleas from Britain, Georgia executed a dual British-American citizen Tuesday night for raping and murdering a woman 17 years ago.
Before he was given a lethal injection, Tracy Lee Housel apologized and told his friends and family, “Take care of yourselves. May God be with you all.”
Housel, who was born in the British territory of Bermuda, admitted picking up Jean Drew, 46, at an Atlanta truck stop in 1985, then raping her and beating her to death.
During his sentencing hearing, Housel also admitted beating a Texas truck driver to death and stabbing an Iowa man.
The execution drew intense media interest in Britain, which does not have capital punishment. British Prime Minister Tony Blair had asked Georgia’s parole board to commute Housel’s sentence to life in prison.
The Law Society, representing lawyers in England and Wales, also wrote to the parole board, and members of the British Parliament called for Housel’s sentence to be commuted.
Housel’s lawyers argued that his first trial was unfair and his court-appointed attorney inexperienced.
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