The Honorable Rick Perry
Governor of the State of Texas
PO Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Fax: (512) 463-1849
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
PO Box 13401
Austin, Texas 78711-3401
Fax: (512) 467-0945
Re: Clemency for Duane Edward Buck
Dear Governor Perry and Members of the Board:
Human Rights Watch urges you to commute the sentence of Duane Edward Buck, who is scheduled to be executed this week.
Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment because the inherent dignity of the person cannot be squared with the death penalty, a form of punishment unique in its cruelty and finality, and a punishment inevitably and universally plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error.
Nationwide, the application of the death penalty is rife with racial disparities. African-American defendants are more likely to receive a death sentence than white defendants. Those who kill white people are far more likely to be sentenced to death than those who kill African-Americans or other people of color. A 2007 study of eight death penalty states by the American Bar Association concluded that “every state studied appears to have significant racial disparities in its capital system,” but that “little, if anything, has been done to rectify the problem.”
In Mr. Buck’s case, a psychologist agreed with the question posed by prosecutors that Mr. Buck’s race increased the risk of future dangerousness to society, which is the central justification of imposing the death penalty in Texas. Such consideration of race in determining whether a prisoner lives or dies at the hand of a government flies in the face of the human rights obligations of the United States.
Given the irrevocability of death, every precaution must be taken to ensure that mistakes are not made. Since 1973, 138 persons—including twelve in Texas—have been released from US death rows after they were shown to be innocent of the crimes for which they had been sentenced to die. Some had come within days of execution. A rights-respecting government simply should not tolerate the risk that a person will be executed for a crime he or she did not commit.
For these reasons, we urge you to commute the death sentence of Duane Edward Buck.
Sincerely,
Alison Parker
Director, US Program
Human Rights Watch
