In the annals of racism in the Texas criminal justice system, seven
death penalty cases are in a class by themselves. In 2000, after the
Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing in one of them, Senator
John Cornyn, who was then the state attorney general, called for new
sentencing hearings in the other cases for the same reason: because race
was improperly and explicitly considered as a factor in determining the
sentence.
Duane Buck, who was convicted of two murders, is the only one among the
defendants who was not granted a new sentencing hearing. His
post-conviction lawyers have uncovered a lot of mitigating evidence that
his trial counsel did not present to the jury that sentenced him to
death. He is seeking life without parole and is awaiting a decision on
this matter by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Read on...
This is from a NYTimes editorial. Tom
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