Texas inmate executed after Supreme Court denies appeal

Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A Texas death row inmate was put to death Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal to block his execution, saying race was a factor in his sentencing.

William Rayford, 64, was executed in Huntsville for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend. He killed her and stabbed her 12-year-old son during an argument while he was out on parole for another murder, that of his ex-wife in 1986.

Rayford's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking a stay on multiple grounds.

The petition alleged similarities between Rayford's case and a former death row inmate -- Duane Buck.

Buck, a Texas man on death row for a double murder in 1995, had his sentence reduced to life in prison in October after the Supreme Court ruled that one of three psychologists at trial unfairly influenced the jury's decision to hand down the death penalty. The psychologist said Buck posed a future danger because he's black.

Lawyers also said Rayford was initially wrongly denied federal funding to pursue evidence that could have yielded a lighter sentence. He was granted the money in September, which allowed Rayford's lawyers to present evidence that he has lead poisoning due to bullet fragments left in his body and from contaminated water during his childhood.