Vol. 75/No. 44      December 5, 2011

The Supreme Court had previously decided to halt Buck’s execution September 15—hours before he was scheduled to die—and review his habeas corpus motion for a new trial.

“Every man, woman, and child deserves a fair trial,” Phyllis Taylor, Buck’s stepsister who was wounded during the shootings for which Buck was convicted, told the Militant. “We as Black Americans have fought against being judged by our color throughout our history, and we’re still fighting today. We don’t have a fair system. I’m going to fight until the end.”

Buck was convicted 16 years ago for killing two people. As a defense witness, former chief prison psychologist Walter Quijano prepared a report that included a statement that being Black “increased the probability” of “future dangerousness.” When cross-examined by the prosecution, Quijano was asked, “You have determined that … the race factor, black, increases the future dangerousness for various complicated reasons; is that correct.” Quijano answered, “Yes.”

Juries in Texas are asked to consider a perception of “dangerousness” in deciding on capital punishment, and the prosecution urged the jury to give weight to Quijano’s statement.

Quijano’s racist “expert” opinions have been used to send five other African-Americans to death row. In 2000 then Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, now a U.S. senator, urged reexamination of these cases, and that of Buck. The five were given new sentencing trials, and resentenced to death.

In 2010 the state of Texas executed 17 of the 46 inmates put to death that year, about one-third nationwide were Black. Two hundred thirty-five people have been put to death in Texas during the 11 years that Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican presidential candidate, has been in office.

Writing for the majority of the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito argues that since Quijano was originally called as a defense witness, his “bizarre and objectionable testimony” did not amount to a violation of Buck’s rights.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Elena Kagan, wrote a dissenting opinion in which she pointed out that the prosecution asked its question of Quijano in order to persuade the jury that “Buck’s race made him more dangerous and that, in part on this basis, he should be sentenced to death.”

Dozens of civil rights activists, politicians and church figures have signed an open letter opposing Buck’s execution. Signers include one of the prosecutors in his original trial, Linda Geffin.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home