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Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked to halt execution
Posted: Sep 14, 2011 8:34 PM by Gene Cotton
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Lawyers for a black man on Texas' death row want Gov. Rick Perry to halt his execution because an expert witness told jurors black criminals were more likely to pose a future danger to the public.
Perry is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination and an ardent supporter of capital punishment.
But Duane Buck's case is one of six that former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn found needed to be reopened in 2000 because of the racially-charged statements during the sentencing phase of the trials. Cornyn is a political ally of Perry. He's now a Republican U.S. Senator.
Buck is scheduled to be put to death Thursday. He was convicted of gunning down his ex-girlfriend and another man in 1995.
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