The Highest Court in the United States issued a stay of execution for a Houston man on Thursday night.
Duane Buck’s case drew arguments that his punishment might have been tainted by racial testimony, followed by the U.S. Supreme Court issuing a stay of his execution pending a decision on whether to review his case.
“That’s fantastic news,” says Randolph Givens, a returning citizen who lives in southeast D.C. “I would have never expected something like this would come of the Supreme Court with Judge Roberts in control.”
Around 7:30pm, shortly after Buck had what he thought would be his last meal and two hours before he was scheduled to be executed, he received the news.
Attorneys for the Texas Defenders Service (TDS) reported that he began to pray and said, "Praise the Lord. God is worthy of praise. God's mercy trumps judgment. I feel good."
On Thursday morning, TDS lawyers argued Buck's death sentence violated equal protection, due process and 8th Amendment guarantees under the Constitution.
The legal fight for Buck's life centered on a 2000 assertion by then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn in which Buck's case was among six capital trials that might have been tainted by racial testimony from psychologist Walter Quijano. Buck’s case still was at the state level at the time of Cornyn's pronouncement, never had his sentencing reconsidered, but the other five had received new federal court-ordered punishment hearings were again sentenced to death.
Dr. Quijano, an expert witness of the defense, outlined various factors, including race that could contribute to "future dangerousness" of inmates in prison.
The issue of future dangerousness is a key factor jurors must consider before issuing a death sentence.
On cross-examination, prosecutors asked the psychologist if he thought being black could, for "complicated reasons," be a risk factor for future violence. He answered yes.
In their petition, Buck's lawyers said that - despite Cornyn's admission of problems with the original trial - state attorneys vigorously prosecuted Buck in federal court and misrepresented facts. Additionally, Linda Geffen, a former Harris County assistant district attorney who aided in the prosecution of Buck in his 1997 trial, joined in urging the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute the Buck’s death sentence to life in prison. That panel unanimously rejected the request earlier this week.
His attorneys attempted to appeal to state and federal courts to no avail, and finally on Thursday morning, they took letters written by Geffen and political and religious leaders to 208th District Judge Denise Collins asking her to stop the execution.
Collins turned them down. It’s important to note that Collins was Buck's judge during his murder trial.
Duane Buck was sentenced to die for the July 1995 shooting deaths of his former girlfriend, Debra Gardner, and her friend, Kenneth Butler. Buck also shot his sister, Phyllis Taylor, in the chest at point-blank range, but the woman recovered and later became an advocate for saving his life. Buck felt his girlfriend was cheating on him with Butler. He killed Butler first and as Gardner tried to flea with her children, Buck then killed Gardner. Police arrested Buck as he tried to get away.
On Wednesday Bucks attorneys had reached out to Republican presidential nominee and front runner, Texas Governor Rick Perry, a former Democrat who once strongly endorsed Al Gore. They were seeking a 30-day stay of execution. Perry had not appeared to do anything to stop the execution, and statistics says that he would not have. To ensure the matter would not be up to him, that same day Perry’s spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that Perry will not be in Texas Thursday night to "preside" over Buck's scheduled execution. He gave Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst authority to deal with the matter. Thankfully for him, the Supreme Court did his job for him.
Returning citizen Marcus Owen remarked, “While I am pleased to hear that the Supreme Court Is giving a brother a fair shake, it’s depressing that Texas Governor Perry has passed his duties off to somebody else. He could have made a decision on this a long time ago, but then again, he not doing anything at all might be what he intended to do.”
In previous times Perry has said, “Deciding who dies at the hand of the state is a grave and most serious matter. The power to make life-and-death decisions is the most sobering responsibility imaginable," he told the Texas Association of Broadcasters in 2001.
The papers filed by Buck’s attorneys were handed to Justice Antonin Scalia, the "circuit judge" for the 5th judicial circuit. It’s believed he passed around Buck's petition to the other Supreme Court Justices and eventually they intervened.
Its also important to note that during the day Thursday, The Constitution Project, along with Georgetown University Law Center and Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, celebrated Constitution Day with a lively and insightful expert panel. The panel was moderated by George Washington University law professor and legal affairs editor of The New Republic Jeffrey Rosen.
Former Attorney General of Ohio and current Chancellor of the University System of Ohio Jim Petro, University of Virginia Brandon L. Garrett, and vice-chair of The Ohio State University Hospital Board and twenty year principal of a gaphic design firm Nancy Petro discussed the flaws in the present criminal justice system that can often result in wrongful convictions.
Garrett is the author of Convicting the Innocent. Garrett has studied 250 cases where wrongful convictions were overturned with DNA evidence. In 76 percent of those cases, the exonerated had been incriminated by eyewitnesses in lineups or photo arrays.
"The problem with the system might easily be areas of eyewitness IDs and evidence gathering - especially with forensics," said Professor Garrett.
The Petros' book, False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent, explore the kinks in the justice system which accounts for far too many people being incarcerated and some executed for crimes they did not commit.
Vice-Chair Nancy Pero exclaimed, "I'd like to see an academy set up to certify people who deal with forencis."
"We just presented a discussion by some very knowledgeable and bright people," said Virginia Sloan, President of The Constitution Project. "We need to take this show on the road because there are issues that every American needs to know about. They need to know how the criminal justice system is working, or in fact, how its not working."
"Bucks's temporary reprieve should be looked at as a testament of the justice system's attempt to make sure everything is fair and legal," said Paul Bishop. "Next, the high court needs to look at Troy Anthony "Tony" Davis' case. He deserves fairness and justice too."
Students Against Mass Incarceration, a Howard University organization, will hold a rally on Friday September 16, 2011 at 12pm to show their support for Troy Anthony Davis on the campus of Howard University. The rally is one part of the International Day of Action called by Amnesty International.
SAMI was founded in February of this year at Howard University. The mission of the organization is to raise awareness about the prisons, political prisoners, and recidivism.
If you'd like to learn more about SAMI or the event contact them via email: stdntsagainstmassincarceration@gmail.com.
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