"IN HIS ORIGINAL TRIAL, SKINNER WAS REPRESENTED BY A FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY PROSECUTED HIM FOR THEFT AND ASSAULT. HE WAS CONVICTED PRIMARILY ON THE BASIS OF TESTIMONY FROM HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND, WHICH SHE RECANTED IN 1997, AND ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. SKINNER HAS VIGOROUSLY MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE. TO DATE, THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS REFUSED TO TEST OR RELEASE ALL OF THE DNA EVIDENCE THAT WAS COLLECTED FROM THE CRIME SCENE, INCLUDING CRUCIAL PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT COULD POSSIBLY EXONERATE SKINNER."
TEXAS COALITION TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY:
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BACKGROUND: The editor of the Texas Tribune says in a note that "Hank Skinner is set to be executed for a 1993 murder he's always maintained he didn't commit. He wants the state to test whether his DNA matches evidence found at the crime scene, but prosecutors say the time to contest his conviction has come and gone. Now he has less than a month to change their minds. We told the story of the murders and his conviction and sentencing in the first part of this story." Reporter Brandi Grissom, author of the Tribune series on Hank Skinner, writes: "I interviewed Henry "Hank" Watkins Skinner, 47, at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — death row — on January 20, 2010. Skinner was convicted in 1995 of murdering his girlfriends and her two sons; the state has scheduled his execution for February 24. Skinner has always maintained that he's innocent and for 15 years has asked the state to release DNA evidence that he says will prove he was not the killer."
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The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty describes itself as "a grassroots Texas organization comprised of individuals and groups who work to end the death penalty in all cases, everywhere. We are an inclusive organization composed of human rights activists; death row prisoners and their families; crime victims and their families; persons working within the criminal justice system; and concerned citizens opposed to capital punishment."
The Coalitions February 4, 2010 release headed "Urgent Action: Clemency Campaign for henry "Hank" Skinner," reads as follows.
"Hank Skinner is scheduled to be executed by the State of Texas on Wednesday, February 24, 2010. He was sentenced to death in Gray County for the 1993 murder of Twila Busby and her two mentally disabled adult sons. In his original trial, Skinner was represented by a former district attorney who had previously prosecuted him for theft and assault. He was convicted primarily on the basis of testimony from his ex-girlfriend, which she recanted in 1997, and on circumstantial evidence.
Skinner has vigorously maintained his innocence. To date, the State of Texas has refused to test or release all of the DNA evidence that was collected from the crime scene, including crucial pieces of evidence that could possibly exonerate Skinner.
Please send letters in support of Hank Skinner's clemency petition to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, starting February 4th and arriving no later than February 17th.
Please write the following reference - "Attention: Henry "Hank" Skinner Case - #999143" - on each page of your letter (as well as the cover page if you send it by fax) and on the front of the envelope.
Letters should be sent to the following address:
Clemency Section
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
8610 Shoal Creek Blvd.
Austin, TX 78757-6814
Fax (512) 467-0945
PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR LETTER TO INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AS THIS WILL SIDETRACK YOUR LETTER AND PREVENT IT FROM REACHING THE BOARD IN GOOD TIME TO BE CONSIDERED.
Here are some points to include in your letters:
- Hank Skinner was sentenced to die on the basis of a perjured testimony and circumstancial evidence.
- Crucial pieces of DNA evidence collected at the crime scene have never been tested. The State of Texas has refused to test or release this evidence. Skinner's motions for DNA testing have been denied although he has always offered to cover for the cost.
- The important quantity of evidence that remains to be tested is essential to revealing the truth in this case.
- The state of Texas has a very poor record in terms of wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations.
-The commutation of Skinner's death sentence is the only way for justice to be served.
-Urge the Board to grant clemency to Hank Skinner so that he has the opportunity to provide evidence that might demonstrate his wrongful conviction.
More information about this case is available from the Texas Tribune, which recently published two articles about Hank Skinner:
Part 1: "Case Open", Texas Tribune (January 28, 2010)
Part 2: "Case Open: The Investigation", Texas Tribune (January 29, 2010)
http://tcadp.blogspot.com"/
The release can be found at:
http://tcadp.blogspot.com/2010/02/urgent-action-clemency-campaign-for.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
