James L. Beathard
James L. Beathard, 42, was a man from Rusk, Texas, who friends remember as an outspoken pacifist who marched in his high school band, played chess at lunch, and later worked at the state mental hospital in his hometown. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reports that the State of Texas executed him by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville on December 9, 1999. He maintained his innocence, and friends and family say he never fired a gun at anyone; his friend Lucy Murphy said he could not bring himself to use a gun against anybody. His co-defendant later recanted testimony that had been used against him, but courts ruled the new evidence came too late to be considered.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Friends and family say he maintained his innocence and was caught up in a plot he did not take part in, and his co-defendant later recanted testimony used against him.
Reported by: Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the agency that held him); his friends and family.