Supreme Court Halts Texas Lethal Injection

On Thursday the high court agreed to examine claims that Buck's sentencing was influenced by the testimony of a psychologist who asserted that African American criminals are more likely to exhibit repeated acts of violence. The court's ruling presents Buck and his team of lawyers with the opportunity to change his death sentence into a life sentence at a new sentencing hearing.

Buck was arrested in 1995 outside of his ex-girlfriend's house. According to witnesses, Buck showed up at Debra Gardner's house with two rifles and proceeded to shoot her friend, Kenneth Butler, before chasing Gardner out of the house. He then shot her in the street in front of her 14-year-old daughter and her 11-year-old son. Following the shooting, Buck laughed and declared that Gardner deserved what she got, according to witnesses.

According to reports, Butler had a past history of both drug and weapons charges. An ex-girlfriend took the stand and alleged that he had threatened her in the past and witnesses at the 1995 crime scene, including one of Buck's relatives, said that he was clearly on drugs at the time of the shootings.

Buck was convicted of capital murder in 1997 and has sat on death row in Texas ever since. However, in 2000, former Texas Attorney General John Coryn determined that the case should be re-examined in light of the racially slanted testimony that was presented during sentencing. Five other cases were re-opened at Coryn's request and each of these cases resulted in the same death penalty sentence that the defendants received at the first hearing.

According to prosecutors, the reference to race in Buck's hearing was insignificant and pertained to the prison population as a whole. Assistant Attorney General Edward Marshall argued that Buck's was presenting claims that had already been rejected by other courts. Buck's appeals were unsuccessfully brought before the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole and Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Buck's lawyers requested that Perry, a strong proponent of capital punishment, issue a 30-day reprieve to delay the impending lethal injection while the case was re-examined. Perry was saved from taking a stand on the issue by the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday. However, based on his record, it is unlikely that Perry would have used his authority to issue the reprieve. During his time in office, more than 230 Texas convicts have entered the death chambers. In fact, two more face lethal injection in the state in the coming week.