Napoleon Beazley (August 5, 1976 – May 28, 2002) was a convicted murderer executed by lethal injection by the State of Texas for the murder of 63-year-old businessman John Luttig in 1994. Beazley shot Luttig in the head twice in his garage on April 19, 1994, to steal his Mercedes Benz. Beazley also shot at Luttig's wife, but he missed. She survived the assault by playing dead. Beazley carried out the crime with two accomplices, Cedrick and Donald Coleman, who later testified against him. Both were sentenced to 40 years in prison. Beazley was 17 years of age at the time of the offense. The victim was the father of United States federal judge J. Michael Luttig. During his appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, three of the nine justices recused themselves because of their personal ties to Judge Luttig, leaving six justices to review the case. Justice Antonin Scalia recused himself because Luttig had clerked for him, while Justices David Souter and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because Luttig had been involved in their U.S. Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court. On June 3, 1997, Beazley filed an application for state writ of habeas corpus with the state trial court of conviction. On September 5, 1997, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing. On October 31, 1997, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law denying habeas relief. On January 21, 1998, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals accepted the trial court's findings; they turned down relief. On October 1, 1998, Beazley filed a petition for habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which eventually denied relief. On September 30, 1999, the Supreme Court denied further relief. On October 26, 1999, the district court turned down reconsideration. On December 28, 1999, the U.S. district court allowed Beazley to make an appeal. On June 1, 2000, Beazley filed his brief on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On February 9, 2001, the Fifth Circuit issued a published opinion asserting the denial of habeas relief. On March 15, 2001, the Fifth Circuit turned down Beazley's petition for rehearing. On March 30, 2001, Beazley's execution was determined to be on Aug. 15, 2001 by the District Court of Smith County, Texas. On June 13, 2001, Beazley petitioned for certiorari review from the denial of federal habeas relief. On