DEATH PENALTY

Perry Asked to Delay Racist Execution

Defendant was sentenced to die because he’s black.

Will Rick Perry intervene to help save the life of man who was sentenced to death because he’s black? The Texas governor and White House hopeful is the last line of defense for Duane Alan Buck, scheduled to die Thursday, after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted Wednesday against recommending clemency. Buck, who killed two people in 1995, was sentenced to death after testimony from a psychologist who said Buck posed a future threat to society because he’s black; all six other minority defendants in Texas who were sentenced based on this psychologist’s testimony have had their sentences commuted. As governor, Rick Perry could issue a one-time 30-day reprieve; Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, meanwhile, could withdraw the execution date.