Potential GOP presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is well known for his stance on the death penalty. It has become an issue of debate as Perry bids for the candidacy, and 234 executions have taken place in the past 10 years he’s been governor of Texas, more than any other governor in history. Yesterday came close to marking Perry’s 235th execution, and what would have been one of his most controversial.
Duane Edward Buck was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 15. It was proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Buck committed the double murder taking place in 1995 that he was charged for; however, how his sentencing was determined is where the issue arises.
In the state of Texas, to sentence a criminal to the death penalty, prosecutors must prove “future dangerousness.” In Buck’s case, the testimony of a psychologist, Dr. Walter Quijano, who has since been discredited, was used to prove he would pose a threat to society. Quijano testified that because of Buck’s race, African-American, he was more likely to commit future criminal acts.
Clearly, this raised issues constitutionally-speaking. The then state attorney general, Sen. John Cornyn, found another case with similar sentencing in 2000, and had the case retried, where it was found that the sentence involved race as a factor. A list of other cases where Quijano had testified was made, totaling six racially-based decisions, including Buck’s case. All of these cases have now been retried, except for Buck’s.
Buck has petitioned the state parole board and Perry for a stay of execution, which gives Perry two days to make his decision. Kate Black, the Houston attorney who filed Buck’s petition, made her position on the case clear.
“The state of Texas cannot and should not tolerate an execution on the basis of an individual’s race, particularly where this state’s highest legal officer has acknowledged the error, not only in similarly situated cases, but in this case,” wrote Black in the petition.
Former Harris County prosecutor Linda Geffin, who was involved in Buck’s case, wrote a letter to Perry asking that Buck be allowed to receive a “fair trial, untainted by considerations of race.”
On Monday, Sept. 12, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles made the announcement that Buck’s clemency petition had been rejected; however, Perry, as well as Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, could still have granted Buck a stay of execution in order to investigate the trial. Instead, “two hours into a six-hour window when he could have been taken to the death chamber,” according to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court stopped the execution, stating they would examine Buck’s request for a new sentence.
The narrow margin of time that was left before Buck’s execution when this decision was finally made is infuriating. This is America, a place that’s supposed to be a melting pot, where race and skin color make no difference. It’s outrageous that the Supreme Court had to step in, that no one, not the Texas state parole board, not the district attorney, and most certainly not Rick Perry made any move to rectify this constitutional violation.
Perry could potentially be the next president of the United States. I don’t understand how a man who ignores such an obvious violation of Constitutional rights can possibly have any hope of leading the land of the free, but it’s terrifying that he does.
