HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Tracy Beatty, a Whitehouse man sentenced to death for killing his mother in 2003, wept as he said his last words, including “I don’t want to leave you baby” to his new wife and “see you on the other side,” before receiving the lethal injection Wednesday night.
In a cold room among family members, prison officials and media, Beatty was executed at the Huntsville State Penitentiary. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice declared his official time of death as 6:39 p.m.
Beatty was sentenced in August 2004 for the capital murder of his mother Carolyn “Callie” Ruth Click, who he strangled and later buried in the backyard in Whitehouse on Nov. 25, 2003.
Two of his daughters, his wife, ex-wife, and his spiritual adviser were among some of the witnesses. His spiritual adviser prayed over him before his death.
Before getting the injection at 6:22 p.m., Beatty gave his final statement.
“Yes, I just want to thank,” he paused and continued.
“I don’t want to leave you baby, see you when you get there," Beatty said to his wife who he married in an Oct. 25 ceremony at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, where he was serving his sentence for 18 years.
Beatty then said, "I love you" to his daughters.
He then thanked his fellow death row inmates who he said encouraged him to improve his life.
“Thank you to all my brothers back on the unit for all the encouragement to help get my life right. Sunny, Blue I love you brothers. See you on the other side,” Beatty said.
Beatty was the fourth death row inmate in Texas to be executed this year, according to TDCJ. Beatty’s body will be given to his wife.
His last days from this past Sunday through Wednesday morning were recorded by TDCJ officials. Some of his final actions included sleeping, sitting in his bunk, talking on the phone, having visitation, listening to music, reading, and speaking to a field minister and life coach.
In an exclusive interview with CBS19 on Oct. 12, Beatty said, in spite of his efforts to stay the execution, he's at peace.
“I'm not worried about it. And I've already made my peace with the Man. So I know where I'm going,” Beatty said. “I’ll be in a lot better place than this.”
In recalling what led to Click's death, Beatty said he was “heartbroken” because she was his mom, and he said it was an accident.
“That's why I've made my peace with the man upstairs. I know I'll see her again,” he said.
Since serving his prison sentence, he was baptized and married a woman from Israel, who he met through writing letters.
His execution comes after all appeals, including to the Supreme Court, were denied and exhausted.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined blocking Beatty's execution. A lower federal court previously dismissed Beatty’s claims of the state prison system jeopardizing his constitutional rights of proving he may have an intellectual disability. A 2002 Supreme Court decision stated those who have an intellectual disability cannot be executed.
Beatty argued in the federal litigation that he could not be fully evaluated because prison officials would not allow him to take off his handcuffs.
WATCH AND READ OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BEATTY HERE: