Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bob Ray Sanders writes, "Not a place for considering a person's race."
There is no question that Duane Edward Buck killed two people and wounded a third victim in a 1995 shooting in Houston.
But there are two nagging questions concerning Buck's case that we must ask:
1) Should he have received the death penalty for his crimes?
2) Would he have been sentenced to death had his race not become a major factor in the trial's punishment phase?
Buck, 48, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 15 in the Texas death chamber in Huntsville.
His is a unique case, one in which former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn (now a U.S. senator) supported a retrial on punishment because of the unfair testimony of a psychologist.
And:
Buck's lawyers also are asking that the Harris County district attorney's office and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott intervene to have Buck's execution date withdrawn.
"This case represents an obvious injustice that must be remedied by prosecutors, the courts or by Governor Perry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles," said attorney Kate Black. "If Mr. Buck is executed, not only will Texas have violated the Constitution, it will have violated its citizens' basic moral values by permitting an execution to be carried out that is based on an individual's race."
Surely the state will not let this execution proceed.
Earlier coverage of the Duane Buck case begins at the link. The clemency petition for Duane Edward Buck is available via Sribd. Two archived news releases issued by then-Attorney General John Cornyn on June 9, 2009 reference the case.
Those who would like to urge clemency can sign on to a statement at Change.org.
Related posts are in the future dangerousness index.
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