"THE ARGUMENT IS NOT THAT SKINNER IS INNOCENT. THE ARGUMENT IS THAT TECHNOLOGY IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PROVE WHETHER OR NOT HE COMMITTED THE CRIMES. IF IT TAKES A LITTLE MORE TIME TO DO THE TESTING AND REMOVE DOUBT, SHOULDN'T THAT BE THE GOAL OF A TRUE JUSTICE SYSTEM?
OBVIOUSLY, DNA TESTING CANNOT BE USED FOR EVERY CRIMINAL SIMPLY TRYING TO SLOW DOWN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. BUT IN DEATH PENALTY OR LIFE IMPRISONMENT CASES, POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING — IF AVAILABLE — SHOULD BE MANDATORY.
EDITORIAL: THE SUN-SENTINEL;
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"WE LIVE IN AN AGE WHEN TECHNOLOGY CAN TAKE SOME OF THE GUESSWORK OUT OF CONVICTIONS, AND HELP IN THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE. JUST LOOK AT ANTHONY CARAVELLA."
EDITORIAL: THE SUN-SENTINEL;
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BACKGROUND: HANK SKINNER; 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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BACKGROUND: ANTHONY CARAVELLA: Anthony Caravella, 41, spent 26 years in prison - more than half of his life - for a rape and slaying. He was 15 and had an IQ of 67, well below normal, when he was charged with the Nov. 5, 1983, murder of Ada Cox Jankowski, 58, in Miramar, Fla. Mr. Caravella exoneration was due to the perseverance of his lawyers, the attention given to the case by the Sun Sentinel, and the willingness of prosecutors to conduct DNA tests to investigate his guilt or innocence. The attitude of the Florida prosecutors contrasts significantly with the prosecutors in the State of Texas who have fought so hard against allowing the DNA tests which could show that Hank Skinner is innocent - even though he faces execution.
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"For someone who spent 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Anthony Caravella may actually be one of the lucky ones," the March 31, 2010 Sun-Sentinel editorial begins, under the heading, "Caravella case proves worth of DNA testing."
"The Miramar man saw his life sentences and convictions for rape and murder thrown out last week, at the request of prosecutors and defense attorneys, after DNA testing — and dogged work by Sun Sentinel reporter Paula McMahon — exonerated him." the editorial continues.
"The same DNA testing that was not available when the crimes were committed in 1983, but is available now. And which should be used whenever possible — particularly in capital and life sentence cases — to both confirm or exonerate those imprisoned for specific crimes.
According to the Innocence Project of Florida, Caravella is the 252nd person in the nation to be exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing, and the 12th in Florida. DNA is a major tool to ensure justice, but unfortunately, there are still some resisters.
In Texas last week, it took the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution of condemned prisoner Hank Skinner about an hour before being taken to the Texas death chamber.
Important evidence in Skinner's 1993 triple murder cases has never gone through DNA analysis. The technology is available to accomplish now what couldn't be done 17 years ago. State courts and prosecutors in Texas opposed the DNA analysis. The temporary reprieve does not guarantee DNA testing will get done, but his case might get reviewed.
The argument is not that Skinner is innocent. The argument is that technology is now available to prove whether or not he committed the crimes. If it takes a little more time to do the testing and remove doubt, shouldn't that be the goal of a true justice system?
Obviously, DNA testing cannot be used for every criminal simply trying to slow down the justice system. But in death penalty or life imprisonment cases, post-conviction DNA testing — if available — should be mandatory.
We live in an age when technology can take some of the guesswork out of convictions, and help in the pursuit of justice. Just look at Anthony Caravella."
The editorial can be found at:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorials/fl-dna-caravella-gs-editorial-20100331,0,1564743.story
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
