Tracy Housel

After a life of poverty and violence, Tracy Housel was executed by lethal injection at 43 years old for the murder of Jeanne Drew.

A dual UK-US citizen, Tracy was raised in poverty in Wakefield, Rhode Island where his childhood was marred by violence, including the beatings that his father regularly administered. His mother was an alcoholic and had sex with men in the front seat of the car while, as a young child, Tracy was forced to sit and watch from the back seat. He was in the US military for a short period of time and was honourably discharged.

Tracy was accused of battering to death Jeanne Drew in Gwinnett county, Georgia. Jeanne was last seen on 6 April 1985 driving in her car with Tracy in the passenger seat; the next day her body was found by the side of a road.

Tracy was arrested in Florida where he had a confession beaten out of him. He was then extradited to Georgia, where he pleaded guilty. The murder apparently occurred during a psychotic episode in part triggered by an extreme form of hypoglycaemia. The jury did not hear about this condition.

Reprieve was instrumental in persuading the UK Government to intervene on Tracy's behalf. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw phoned Georgia’s governor to ask that Tracy be spared, while 127 MPs signed a motion protesting that the trial was unfair. British MP Vera Baird and Sister Helen Prejean both testified at the clemency hearing.

However the Prime Minister fell short of making a direct intervention and did not appeal to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Tracy was killed by lethal injection on 12 March 2002.