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| Texas inmate's death row sentence challenged over claim of racial bias | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| More than 100 prominent civil rights leaders, lawyers, politicians and clergy are calling on the state of Texas to provide a new fair sentencing hearing for Duane Buck, the African American man who was put on death row in 1997 after the jury was told he was a danger to society because he was black. | More than 100 prominent civil rights leaders, lawyers, politicians and clergy are calling on the state of Texas to provide a new fair sentencing hearing for Duane Buck, the African American man who was put on death row in 1997 after the jury was told he was a danger to society because he was black. |
| The Buck case is rapidly becoming a focal point for anxieties that the application of the death penalty across America is riddled with racial discrimination. Last week an appeal was filed in the Buck case that included new research showing that at the time of his sentence black defendants in Houston, Texas – the death penalty capital of the US – were three times more likely to be charged with a capital crime than whites. | The Buck case is rapidly becoming a focal point for anxieties that the application of the death penalty across America is riddled with racial discrimination. Last week an appeal was filed in the Buck case that included new research showing that at the time of his sentence black defendants in Houston, Texas – the death penalty capital of the US – were three times more likely to be charged with a capital crime than whites. |
| The statement put out by 102 national and Texan leaders calls for a new fair sentencing hearing for Buck that would be free from racial bias. "The state of Texas cannot condone any form of racial discrimination in the courtroom. The use of race in sentencing poisons the legal process and breeds cynicism in the judiciary," it says. | The statement put out by 102 national and Texan leaders calls for a new fair sentencing hearing for Buck that would be free from racial bias. "The state of Texas cannot condone any form of racial discrimination in the courtroom. The use of race in sentencing poisons the legal process and breeds cynicism in the judiciary," it says. |
| The signatories include Linda Geffin, who was one of the prosecutors in the original trial of Buck, as well as Phyllis Taylor who was shot by Buck but survived. The statement says that Taylor has "forgiven Mr Buck and does not wish to see him executed". | The signatories include Linda Geffin, who was one of the prosecutors in the original trial of Buck, as well as Phyllis Taylor who was shot by Buck but survived. The statement says that Taylor has "forgiven Mr Buck and does not wish to see him executed". |
| Other signatories include the NAACP president Todd Jealous, 10 members of the Texas legislature, 17 former prosecutors and judges from Texas and around the country and several church leaders. Jealous said: "This case is a blatant example of racial bias being allowed to seep into a justice system that is supposed to be fair and equitable to all." | |
| There is no question of Buck's guilt in the 1995 murder at gunpoint of his former girlfriend Debra Gardner and Kenneth Butler. The issue in this case is the role that race played in the decision to send him to his death. | There is no question of Buck's guilt in the 1995 murder at gunpoint of his former girlfriend Debra Gardner and Kenneth Butler. The issue in this case is the role that race played in the decision to send him to his death. |
| At the hearing in which the jury was asked to decide whether he should be put on death row or given an alternative life sentence, a psychologist, Walter Quijano, was called to give evidence. He testified that blacks were more likely than whites to be violent reoffenders if they were ever released back into the public, a contention that the prosecution emphasised during its closing argument. | At the hearing in which the jury was asked to decide whether he should be put on death row or given an alternative life sentence, a psychologist, Walter Quijano, was called to give evidence. He testified that blacks were more likely than whites to be violent reoffenders if they were ever released back into the public, a contention that the prosecution emphasised during its closing argument. |
| Three years later, John Cornyn, then the attorney general of Texas, acknowledged that the judicial process had been besmirched by the psychologist's intervention and granted Buck and six other defendants in whose trials Quijano had testified. The other six defendants all went on to have new sentencing hearings, but Buck was never given such an opportunity. | Three years later, John Cornyn, then the attorney general of Texas, acknowledged that the judicial process had been besmirched by the psychologist's intervention and granted Buck and six other defendants in whose trials Quijano had testified. The other six defendants all went on to have new sentencing hearings, but Buck was never given such an opportunity. |
| In September 2011 the US supreme court stepped in and halted Buck's execution out of concern about the role of race in his sentencing. Two of the supreme court justices made a point of saying that "our criminal justice system should not tolerate" a death sentence "marred by racial overtones". | In September 2011 the US supreme court stepped in and halted Buck's execution out of concern about the role of race in his sentencing. Two of the supreme court justices made a point of saying that "our criminal justice system should not tolerate" a death sentence "marred by racial overtones". |
| Houston, where Buck was sentenced, is the death penalty capital of the US. Harris County, the district that covers Houston, has carried out 116 executions since 1976 – more than any entire state other than Texas itself. | Houston, where Buck was sentenced, is the death penalty capital of the US. Harris County, the district that covers Houston, has carried out 116 executions since 1976 – more than any entire state other than Texas itself. |