Britain Asks Ga. to Spare Killer
ATLANTA — The British government Wednesday asked Gov. Roy Barnes to spare the life of a dual British American citizen scheduled to die next month for the 1985 rape and murder of a Georgia woman.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called Barnes to ask him to commute Tracy Lee Housel’s sentence to life in prison. Housel, 43, was born in Bermuda, a British territory, but has lived most of his life in the United States.
Barnes’ spokeswoman Joselyn Baker said the governor told Straw he does not have the authority to change the sentence and referred Straw to the parole board.
A spokeswoman for Straw said it was government policy to oppose the death penalty for any British citizen.
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