A Texas inmate convicted of fatally strangling his mother after an argument nearly two decades ago was put to death on Wednesday evening, according to the Associated Press. Tracy Beatty, 61, was administered a lethal injection at 6:22 p.m. in Texas’ Huntsville Unit, according to state criminal justice officials. He was declared dead 17 minutes later. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday morning had declined to grant an appeal from Beatty’s lawyers to block the execution. “Yes, I just want to thank... I don’t want to leave you, baby, see you when you get there,” Beatty said in a final statement. “I love you. 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.” He was sentenced to death in August of 2004 after a jury found he’d killed his 62-year-old mother, Carolyn Click, with whom prosecutors said Beatty shared a “volatile and combative relationship,” and buried her body in her backyard. His attorneys had appealed his sentence on the basis of his history of mental illness, saying he was denied a full psychological examination. Beatty is the fourth inmate put to death this year in Texas, and the 13th in the United States.
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