Friday, September 16, 2011

U.S. Supreme Court Halts the Execution of Duane Buck

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Late Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the execution of Duane Buck,48, halted.  Buck was convicted of killing of his girlfriend and a man in 1995.

After 16 years of having been convicted, Buck's lawyers appealed his sentence saying it was not fair due to a psychologist's testimony that black people were more likely to commit violence.

Buck was spared from lethal injection when the justices said they would review an appeal in his case.

"Praise the Lord!" Buck told Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark. "God is worthy to be praised. God's mercy triumphs over judgment. I feel good."

When his lawyers called to tell Buck of the reprieve, the inmate was praying in his cell.

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