Houston Chronicle columnist Patti Kilday Hart writes, "Where's justice in the execution process?"
Yet testimony about the "future dangerousness" of death penalty defendants still keeps the gears of Texas' execution machine turning. This week, Houstonian Duane Buck is scheduled for execution, partly based on testimony by Conroe psychologist Dr. Walter Quijano.
Ironically, Quijano was called to the witness stand by defense attorneys for Buck. Though he was found guilty of a deadly shooting rampage, his attorneys hoped to prove the tragedy, in which Buck's estranged girlfriend and another man were killed, was an act of rage not likely to be repeated.
But under cross-examination, Quijano acknowledged to prosecutors that certain factors are associated with violent crime. For instance, the prosecutor asked, "The race factor, black, increases the future dangerousness for various complicated reasons; is that correct?"
"Yes," Quijano replied.
The jury concluded that Buck, a black man, would continue to be violent, and sentenced him to death.
And:
Last week, Buck's appellate attorneys filed a motion for clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which could recommend that Gov. Rick Perry commute Buck's sentence to life without parole.
The case exposes structural flaws in our death penalty law. Testimony involving "junk science" regarding arson has been allowed, as demonstrated in the Cameron Todd Willingham case. There is mounting evidence that eyewitness testimony is unreliable.
Today's Chronicle also carries an OpEd by Thurgood Marshall School of Law prof Lupe Salinas, a former criminal district court judge in Harris County who assessed three death sentences. It's titled, "Race factors taint death case."
Our state could be on the verge of gaining the dubious distinction of executing a person based on the color of his skin. On Thursday, Texas is poised to execute Duane Buck unless the courts or state officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, intervene.
"The race factor, black … increases the future dangerousness for various complicated reasons." That is what a psychologist told a jury of 12 Texans at the capital murder trial of Buck. Such blatant racial prejudice may read like a relic of the past - but Buck faces execution in a matter of days, despite the racism that infected his case.
And:
Lawyers for Buck have asked Gov. Perry, the Harris County District Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General of Texas to intervene.
All of these parties should act to ensure that an execution in Texas is not tainted by racism. It is important to guarantee that capital punishment is not applied in a discriminatory manner.
Attorney General Cornyn said it best: "The people of Texas want and deserve a system that affords the same fairness to everyone." Let us hope that our state officials and the courts act with these sentiments in mind and halt Duane Buck's execution.
Earlier coverage of Duane Buck's case begins at the link.
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