British government asks Georgia to spare killer

ATLANTA - The British government has plunged into a campaign to spare the life of Tracy Lee Housel, a dual American-British citizen scheduled to be executed next month for a 1985 Georgia murder. <br> <br> Housel&#39;s death warrant was signed today by a Gwinnett County judge, and his execution by injection is set for March 12 at 7 p.m. <br> <br> He was condemned for the rape and beating death of a woman he met at a Lawrenceville truck stop. <br> <br> The 43-year-old Housel holds dual citizenship because he was born in Bermuda, a British dependency, but he has lived most of his life in the United States. <br> <br> The British government still stepped forward on his behalf, pleading with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute his sentence to life in prison. <br> <br> Housel, described by police as a drifter, confessed to robbing and raping 46-year-old Jean Drew before strangling and bashing her head in.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/198209