The Supreme Court granted a stay of execution on Thursday for Duane Buck, a Texas man who has sat on death row for the past 16 years. Buck’s guilt is not in question. He was convicted for killing his former girlfriend and another man in 1995. But Buck, a black man, was sentenced by a jury who heard expert testimony from a psychologist who said black people pose a of violently reoffending when released from prison. Gov. Rick Perry, who was cheered on at a GOP debate for the 234 inmates executed in Texas under his watch, has been asked to review the case. Jeffrey Rosen, legal affairs editor at The New Republic and law professor at George Washington University, talks about the precedent for the Court’s action.
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