High court halts Duane Buck's Texas execution
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution Thursday of a black man convicted of a double murder in Texas 16 years ago after his lawyers contended his sentence was unfair because of a question asked about race during his trial.
Duane Buck, 48, was spared from lethal injection when the justices, without extensive comment, said they would review an appeal in his case. Two appeals, both related to a psychologist's testimony that black people were more likely to commit violence, were before the court. One was granted; the other was denied.
"Praise the Lord!" Buck told Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark. "God is worthy to be praised. God's mercy triumphs over judgment. I feel good."
His lawyers called to tell Buck of the reprieve and the inmate was praying in his cell when Clark approached, Clark said.
The reprieve came nearly two hours into a six-hour window when Buck could have been taken to the death chamber. Texas officials, however, refused to move forward with the punishment while legal issues were pending.
A similar request for a reprieve was made to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Perry is the Republican frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination and his actions have now come under closer scrutiny. Perry, however, wasn't in the state Thursday and any decision on a reprieve from the governor's office would have fallen to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Supreme Court asked to halt Texas execution
Inmate's lawyers ask Perry to halt execution
CBS Radio News senior legal analyst Andrew Cohen reports that the Supreme Court's move is a surprise because they rarely intervene in death penalty cases where the guilt of the defendant is not in doubt. The Justices were most likely concerned about the promises Texas had earlier made to defendants like Buck whose capital trials were tainted by racial testimony.
The Supreme Court has only called for a stay in the execution. It has not yet given Buck a new sentencing trial, which is what his attorneys had sought after his first trial was tainted by unconstitutional testimony about his race. Even Texas had initially agreed his trial was unfair.
Buck's attorneys asked Gov. Perry and the district attorney in the case to grant him a new trial like the other defendants whose trials had been tainted by prejudcial racial testimony. But Texas had rejected those requests.
In a statement, one of Buck's attorney, Kate Black said: "We are relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the obvious injustice of allowing a defendant's race to factor into sentencing decisions and granted a stay of execution to Duane Buck. No one should be put to death based on the color of his or her skin. We are confident that the Court will agree that our client is entitled to a fair sentencing hearing that is untainted by considerations of his race."
Buck's lawyers based their appeal in part on a question about race that was asked during the punishment phase of his capital murder trial.
Buck's case is one of six convictions that then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn -- a political ally of Perry who is now a Republican U.S. senator -- reviewed in 2000 and said needed to be reopened because of the racially charged statements made during the sentencing phase of the trial. A psychologist told jurors that black criminals were more likely to pose a future danger to the public if they are released.
The Texas attorney general's office says there was no error.
Gov. Perry is an ardent supporter of capital punishment. During his 11 years in office, 235 convicted killers have been put to death in Texas. His office says he has chosen to halt just four executions, including one for a woman who was later put to death.
In the five other cases Cornyn said needed to be reopened, prosecutors repeated the sentencing hearings and the defendants were again sentenced to death. Prosecutors contend Buck's case was different from those and that the racial reference was a small part of a larger testimony about the prison population.
Buck was convicted of gunning down ex-girlfriend Debra Gardner, 32, and Kenneth Butler, 33, outside Houston in July, 30, 1995, a week after Buck and Gardner broke up. Buck's guilt is not being questioned, but his lawyers say the jury was unfairly influenced and that he should receive a new sentencing hearing.
A third person, Buck's stepsister, Phyllis Taylor, also was wounded, though she has since forgiven Buck and sought for his death sentence to be commuted to life in prison.
Gardner's 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son were among those who witnessed the shootings. Officers testified that Buck was laughing during and after his arrest, saying Gardner deserved what she got.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, all of whom are Perry appointees, denied Buck's clemency request Wednesday, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently rejected his appeal.
Buck's lawyers contend the case was "tainted by considerations of race" after psychologist Walter Quijano testified in response to a question from lead prosecutor Joan Huffman that black criminals are more likely to be violent again in the future. Whether or not someone could be a continuing threat to society is one of three questions Texas jurors must consider when deciding on a death sentence.
Cornyn said in a news release in 2000 that a half-dozen capital case sentences, including Buck's, needed review because of Quijano's testimony at their trials.
A spokesman for Cornyn declined to comment.
Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Perry, said that because the governor will be out of state, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst will preside over the execution. She declined to comment further about Buck's case.
Any final order to delay would technically come from Dewhurst. However, Perry's office frequently points out that Perry remains the governor and in contact with Austin while traveling. Dewhurst spokesman Mike Walz said the lieutenant governor does not comment on pending executions.
Huffman, now a state senator and one of Perry's closest allies in the Legislature, defended asking Quijano the racially charged question, saying, "I have absolutely no concern whatsoever." She noted that Quijano was a defense witness, her question came in reference to a report he prepared for the defense and the issue was raised just once.
However, Huffman's assistant prosecutor in the case, Linda Geffin, had joined the call for a new sentencing hearing, saying Wednesday that "race should never be put in front of a jury in any case, particularly a death penalty case."
The execution would be the second this week and the 11th this year in Texas. Two more Texas prisoners are set to die next week.
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He had a fight with Gardner and came back HOURS later(premeditation) with 2 rifles and 'began firing indiscriminately' Gardners children were there. Phyllis Taylor, the survivor he shot, IS HIS OWN SISTER !! So far none of the articles I'm reading mentions that, and one didn't even mention the 2nd victim, Kenneth.
Her young daughter screamed, cried, and begged him not to kill her mom. He chased Gardner out into the street (can you image how scared she was?) and shot her dead in the middle of the street. After which he stood over he body and laughed, and then said ''the *****, she deserved it''
I don't care WHO SAID WHAT at what during the trial. If this crime does not deserve the death penalty I don't know what does.
I hope he fries, then burns in hell.
Because they commit crimes at higher rate. Sheeesssh!
Oh that explains it then. How many black criminals do you know? Personally I know none. We all know they are out there, but so are whites (and lots of them), but I don't buy into all of these statistics. Statistics help promote an biased unjustice system. My aunt is a juvenile probation officer and has stated many times how our justice system works. Young blacks who commit crimes are punished more severely than young whites who commit the same crimes for the same reason this psychologist uses. She sees this on a daily basis. Yet black teens aren't shooting and killing masses of people (white teens are). Black people rarely and it does happen though do mass killings. The most heinous crimes in America are committed by whites. Statistics are not fair and balanced they are biased to justify the racism. It would really be nice if it were equal, but in reality, even in 2012, it is not. It is blatantly exposed daily against the first black president.
The most heinous crimes in America are committed by whites? Where do you get your information, neighborhood gossip? Mass killings are RARE, and what exactly is a mass killing. A man killing his family, a man shooting a bunch of people at a party? Because those kinds of killings happen every day and all races are involved. How about hitting a 10 yr old boy in the head with an axe? Illegal mexican did that to a child. You are WRONG and sorely misinformed. Also you are very racist.
By the way - this man waited hours after a fight to bust into Gardners house with 2 rifles, shot his own sister (the survivor is his sister) chased Gardner into the street with her children screaming and begging not to kill their mother, shot her, then stood over the body and laughed and said ''the *****, she deserved it'' He admits guilt. So what, you don't CARE about that part of the truth ????
THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH OF BLACK MEN IN AMERICA IS HOMICIDE PERPETRATED BY BLACK MEN. Don't tell me blacks don't commit crimes at a higher rate.
He kills two people and now he has the nerve to "Praise the Lord". What a scum bag. Let's be rid of him, regardless of race.
Yes, if it were my family, wife, daughter...I would still be AGAINST the death penalty for that person.
Punishments do not stop future criminal activity, preventative programs that focus on instilling high quality morals, values and ethics in people do.
Killing is wrong, so killing for killing is doubly wrong.
This Dr. took the statistics that he had and said blacks recommit more crimes than whites.
The Dr. (and you) are failing to judge this person based on his character. The Dr. (and you) are judging him based on his race.
Why you can't tell this is racist and wrong is beyond me.