DUANE BUCK; TEXAS PARDON BOARD DECLINES CLEMENCY RECOMMENDATION; HIS LAWYER SAYS IT'S NOW UP TO GOVERNOR PERRY TO GRANT A TEMPORARY REPRIEVE;

"The decision as to whether Mr. Buck’s execution will go forward now lies squarely with Governor Perry, who has the power to issue a thirty-day reprieve, and District Attorney Lykos, who has the power to ask for a withdrawal of the execution date. We urge Governor Perry to grant a temporary reprieve to allow all parties involved to work together to ensure that Mr. Buck receives a new and fair sentencing hearing untainted by race-based testimony.”

STATEMENT FROM DUANE BUCK'S ATTORNEY;

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"This afternoon, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended against clemency for Duane Buck," the statement begins.

"The following is a statement from Kate Black, attorney for Mr. Buck," the statement continues.

“The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles’ recommendation against granting clemency to Duane Buck fails to recognize what the highest legal officer in the State of Texas had acknowledged: No one should be executed based on a process tainted by considerations of race. A trial prosecutor and the surviving victim have asked state officials to halt the execution. The decision as to whether Mr. Buck’s execution will go forward now lies squarely with Governor Perry, who has the power to issue a thirty-day reprieve, and District Attorney Lykos, who has the power to ask for a withdrawal of the execution date. We urge Governor Perry to grant a temporary reprieve to allow all parties involved to work together to ensure that Mr. Buck receives a new and fair sentencing hearing untainted by race-based testimony.”

-- Kate Black, attorney, Texas Defender Service, September 13, 2011;

On Monday, Linda Geffin, a former Harris County Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted Duane Buck, joined the surviving victim in urging state officials to halt Mr. Buck’s execution on Thursday because “[n]o individual should be executed without being afforded a fair trial, untainted by considerations of race.”

Ms. Geffin’s letter can be found at:

http://standdown.typepad.com/BUCK-Linda_Geffin_Ltr_to_BPP.pdf

An interview with surviving victim Phyllis Taylor can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/pAKStG

The clemency petition can be found at: http://scr.bi/rnZxax.

For more information or comment, please contact:

Kate Black, Texas Defender Service, attorney for Duane Buck, 303-818-0370, kateblack@texasdefender.org

Laura Burstein, 202-626-6868, laura.burstein@ssd.com"

The release can be found at:

https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/132646e56fdb09e8

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;