Promoting a fair and just criminal justice system in Texas

Houston Chronicle -- Race Factors Taint Death Sentence

By Lupe Salinas

Our state could be on the verge of gaining the dubious distinction of executing a person based on the color of his skin. On Thursday, Texas is poised to execute Duane Buck unless the courts or state officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, intervene...READ MORE

Houston Chronicle -- Where's justice in the execution process?

By Patricia Kilday Hart

Dr. Death. It was a fitting nickname for the tall gentleman with a spectral complexion who haunted the corridors of the Dallas County Courthouse in the 1980s.

Summoned by prosecutors to testify in more than 100 capital murder cases, Dr. James Grigson delivered his diagnosis with creepy Marcus Welby-ish solemnity. Sometimes without having met a defendant, he'd confirm what prosecutors needed jurors to hear - that the miscreant posed a continuing threat to society...READ MORE

Statesman.com -- Harris County Prosecutor Asks for Halt to Execution

By Steven Kreytak

A prosecutor who worked to secure the death sentence against a Harris County killer scheduled to be executed on Thursday is asking officials to stop the execution.

Linda Geffin, who was the second chair prosecutor in the 1997 prosecution of Duane Buck and is now a supervisor in the Harris County Attorney’s office, has joined Buck’s lawyers in declaring that his sentencing hearing was unfair because of racially tinged testimony...READ MORE

The Texas Tribune -- Duane Buck Prosecutor Urges Clemency

By Brandi Grissom

A lawyer who worked on the Harris County District Attorney's prosecution team that sent Duane Edward Buck to death row is calling on state officials to halt the execution scheduled for Thursday and allow for a new sentencing trial in the case...READ MORE

Dallas Morning News - Death Penalty Blog --  Even Prosecutor Seeks to Stop Thursday's Planned Execution in Case Where Race Evidence was Presented

By Michael Landauer

Prosecutor in Case Where Government Relied on Race Testimony at Trial Urges Texas Officials to Stop Duane Buck's Execution...READ MORE

Dallas Morning News - Trail Blazers Blog -- Former Prosecutor in Duane Buck Case Asks State to Halt Execution

By Sommer Ingram

A former prosecutor in death-row inmate Duane Buck's case is urging state officials to stop the execution scheduled for Thursday.

Linda Geffin, former Harris County District Attorney who served as second-chair prosecutor in Buck's case, this morning sent a letter to state officials saying that Buck's execution cannot go forward because of the racially-tainted testimony that was a part of his trial.

"No individual should be executed without being afforded a fair trial, untainted by considerations of race," Geffin wrote in the letter addressed to Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles , Attorney General Greg Abbott and current Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos...READ MORE