Texan whose jury was told blacks more likely to be dangerous can appeal, Supreme Court rules
WASHINGTON — Twenty years after a psychologist testified that convicted murderer Duane Buck was a risk for “future dangerousness” because he was black, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Buck will be allowed to continue an appeal of his death row sentence.
In a 6-2 decision issued Wednesday, the court ruled that Buck was sent to death row in part because of racially biased testimony and should be allowed to seek a new sentencing trial. The testimony in question was provided by a psychologist, Walter Quijano, who had a long history of asserting that black and Hispanic men were more likely to be dangerous in the future than their white counterparts.
“Dr. Quijano’s testimony appealed to a powerful racial stereotype — that of black men as ‘violence prone,’ ” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
In Texas, jurors must unanimously agree that a person poses a risk of “future dangerousness” in order to sentence him or her to death.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2017/02/22/texan-whose-jury-told-blacks-likely-dangerous-can-appeal-supreme-court-rules
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.