Washington D.C., Feb 23, 2017 / 14:34 pm
A death row inmate in Texas deserves a new sentencing hearing because his own lawyers called on an expert who claimed he was more likely to be dangerous because he is black, the U. S. Supreme Court has said.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion in the Feb. 22 decision in Buck v. Davis, saying: "When a jury hears expert testimony that expressly makes a defendant's race directly pertinent on the question of life or death, the impact of that evidence cannot be measured simply by how much air time it received at trial or how many pages it occupies in the record. Some toxins can be deadly in small doses."
The man sentenced to death, Duane Buck, was convicted for two 1995 murders, which included killing his ex-girlfriend in front of her children. He also shot his step-sister at close range.
Buck will now be able to argue before a lower court that he should have a new sentencing hearing.