"WE REMAIN HOPEFUL THAT THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, WHICH HAS OFTEN FOUND IT NECESSARY TO CORRECT EGREGIOUS INJUSTICES IN TEXAS CAPITAL CASES, WILL INTERVENE TO PROTECT MR. SKINNER’S RIGHT TO PURSUE THAT DNA TESTING IN FEDERAL COURT. WE ALSO TRUST THAT GOVERNOR PERRY, HAVING HEARD THE VOICES OF TEXANS INSISTING THAT THE DEATH PENALTY NOT BE CARRIED OUT WHILE THERE ARE UNRESOLVED DOUBTS ABOUT A DEFENDANT’S GUILT, WILL DO THE RIGHT THING AND POSTPONE MR. SKINNER'S EXECUTION UNTIL ALL THE FACTS ARE IN."
STATEMENT BY HANK SKINNER'S ATTORNEY;
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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...... 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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"Today, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to intervene in Mr. Skinner’s case," the statement released earlier today by Rob Owen, attorney for Hank Skinner who is scheduled for execution on Wednesday, March 24, 2010," begins.
""As a result, because state officials continue to refuse to conduct readily available DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene that could clear him, there remains a serious risk that Texas, one week from today, will execute an innocent man," the statement continues.
"We remain hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court, which has often found it necessary to correct egregious injustices in Texas capital cases, will intervene to protect Mr. Skinner’s right to pursue that DNA testing in federal court. We also trust that Governor Perry, having heard the voices of Texans insisting that the death penalty not be carried out while there are unresolved doubts about a defendant’s guilt, will do the right thing and postpone Mr. Skinner's execution until all the facts are in.
"Time is growing short, and ultimately someone must have the courage and the common sense to step forward and ensure the reliability of this verdict through the best available scientific technology.""
The statement can be found at:
http://tcadp.blogspot.com/2010/03/statement-from-hank-skinners-attorney.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
