A
federal judge overturned a black inmate's death sentence because a
psychologist told the jury during the punishment phase that the
defendant's race could indicate a propensity for violence. The
ruling Thursday made Carl Blue, 35, the fourth death row inmate
whose sentence was overturned because of the testimony of Walter
Quijano, former chief psychologist for the Texas prison system.
Prosecutor William Turner said he will again seek the death
penalty for Blue, who was convicted of dousing his former
girlfriend with gasoline and setting her on fire in 1994. ``For
the victim's family to go through all this again is just
unfortunate,'' Turner said. Quijano testified for the defense
during the sentencing phase of Blue's 1995 trial. The death
sentence was overturned by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt.
Quijano, who is now in private practice, testified in scores of
capital cases. He frequently testified that a defendant's race is
one of the factors to be considered when determining whether the
accused poses a risk to society. He said that is because blacks
and Hispanics are overrepresented in violent crime statistics.
In addition to the four overturned death penalties,
Quijano's testimony has been raised on appeal at least three other
capital cases. |