HOUSTON – A jury began deliberating Monday in the resentencing trial of a man who killed a police officer 22 years ago.
Carl Wayne Buntion, 68, killed Officer James Irby, 37, during a traffic stop. Buntion, who was a passenger in the stopped vehicle, was originally sentenced to death.
Buntion fatally shot Irby as Irby was talking to the driver, John Killingsworth, behind the vehicle. Buntion has claimed that Irby pulled a gun on him.
After the killing, Buntion ran off and fired shots at three other people.
Buntion had been on parole for about two months at the time that he killed Irby. Prosecutors said he did not want to go back to prison, so he shot Irby with a .347 revolver loaded with hollow-point bullets.
Buntion was granted a new sentencing hearing because the original jury did not hear about his troubled background. Buntion's attorney said his client was abused as a child and thought that Irby was going to shoot him, so Buntion shot him in self-defense.
Buntion's 65-year-old brother, Bobby, testified in the hearing. He has killed three people and has also spent a lifetime in prison. He testified that he has found God and has become a deacon.
The jury heard about letters the brothers wrote while Carl Buntion was on death row. The prosecution pointed out various connections to racist prison gangs. There was also one letter where Irby's widow was called a derogatory slur.
"I ain't done nothing that no one else would do," Carl Buntion wrote in one of the letters. "I'm sorry the man is dead. I'm sorry to his family. But he shouldn't have pulled a gun on me first."
Bobby Buntion also told the jury about abuse that he and his brother suffered at home. He said their father was an alcoholic who beat them and their mother.
The defense said Carl Buntion's prison record is the key to their case. In his 22 years on death row, Carl Buntion has never been in trouble.
"He's an old man. Hasn't committed a single act of criminal violence in over 22 years," defense attorney Phillip Scardino said. "Prison works for him. That's where he should spend the rest of his life."
The jury saw a 2009 interview Carl Buntion did with KPRC Local 2 reporter Phil Archer.
"In 1996, you told a colleague of mine that if you had to do it all over again, you would shoot Officer Irby. Do you still feel that way?" Archer asked.
"If he pulled a gun on me and tried to kill me, yes. I would kill anybody," Carl Buntion said.
Medical examiner Dr. Tommy Brown testified that the first shot to Irby's head killed him instantly. Carl Buntion shot Irby twice more in the back, Brown said.
Richard Castillo witnessed the shooting.
"(James) Irby never drew his gun," Castillo testified. "He tried, but he was shot."
Buntion was convicted of several crimes from 1961 to 1990. All of his sentences add up to 109 years.
Irby's children were toddlers when he was murdered.
"There are things I have heard during this I have never heard before," said his daughter, Cally. "It hurts a lot. It's very rough."
A verdict was not reached on Monday. The jurors have been sequestered.