Texas man executed for 2003 strangling death of his mother

By JUAN A. LOZANO and MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Texas has executed an inmate for killing his mother and burying her body in her backyard nearly 20 years ago. Tracy Beatty was given a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. His execution came after courts had rejected arguments from his lawyers that he had not been adequately tested for mental disabilities. Beatty was condemned for strangling his 62-year-old mother, Carolyn Click, in November 2003 after they had argued in her East Texas home. Authorities say Beatty buried his mother’s body beside her mobile home. The 61-year-old Beatty was the fourth inmate executed in Texas this year.