"THE EVENTS OF THE PAST MONTH HIGHLIGHT HOW LITTLE HAS CHANGED SINCE TODD WILLINGHAM WAS PUT TO DEATH IN 2004 DESPITE POWERFUL SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE CASTING DOUBT ON HIS GUILT WHICH WAS AVAILABLE BEFORE WILLINGHAM'S EXECUTION. TEXAS AUTHORITIES REMAIN SHOCKINGLY INDIFFERENT TO THE RISK OF EXECUTING AN INNOCENT MAN, PLACING FINALITY ABOVE JUSTICE."
UPDATE: THE STANDDOWN TEXAS PROJECT:
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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 March 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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"Attorneys for Hank Skinner have filed a Motion for Remand with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals," the update begins.
"Skinner is scheduled to be executed March 24," it continues.
"Earlier the month, without a hearing, the state district court with authority over the case rejected Skinner's state habeas petition. The motion seeks to have the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals send the case back to the district court for meaningful review, or to stay the execution and examine the procedural history of the case.
The trial court dismissed Skinner’s habeas corpus application on the ground that he had previously unsuccessfully sought relief in state court – despite the fact that the record clearly shows that his claims -- including his claim of actual innocence -- have never been reviewed by the Texas courts.
The events of the past month highlight how little has changed since Todd Willingham was put to death in 2004 despite powerful scientific evidence casting doubt on his guilt which was available before Willingham's execution. Texas authorities remain shockingly indifferent to the risk of executing an innocent man, placing finality above justice.
Skinner is seeking post-conviction DNA testing which his lawyers say will establish Skinner's innocence.
One of Skinner's attorney's is Rob Owen, Co-Director of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas School of Law. The Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University is also active in his case.
Professor David Protess, the Director of the Medill Innocence Project, and eight of his journalism students conducted an extensive investigation of Mr. Skinner’s case in 2000. Their findings and additional background on the case can be found here.
Earlier coverage begins with this post."
The post can be found at:
http://standdown.typepad.com/weblog/2010/03/update-on-the-hank-skinner-case-1.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
