"According to Owen, the case could have been decided over a decade ago. Post-conviction forensic testing of the evidence, which includes a rape kit, fingernail clippings from one of the victims, two knives and a windbreaker covered with hair and blood, was first requested in 2000.
Other doubts regarding Skinner's guilt emerged when a key witness for the prosecution recanted parts of her testimony.
"(The prosecution) is so committed to the idea that he's guilty that they haven't kept an open mind, and are unwilling to take another look at the evidence," said Owen."
REPORTER MICHAEL J. CARTER; IPS; Wikipedia informs us that, "Inter Press Service (abbreviated: IPS) is a global news agency. Its main focus is the production of independent news and analysis about events and processes affecting economic, social and political development. The agency has established a niche in the international mediascape, not only by providing professional reporting on the Global South, civil society, and globalization, but also by covering topics in a more in-depth way than is common in the mainstream news...
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PUBLISHER'S VIEW: (EDITORIAL); In a rational world that values both justice and science it would be inconceivable to think that Texas would execute Hank Skinner bef
ore conducting important DNA tests that bear directly on his guilt or innocence. However, to this Blog, past history suggests that the irrational may be the order of the day - even on matters involving life and death. For a start, this is the state where Governor Rick Perry allowed the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham to proceed - even though he had been presented with a report casting serious doubt on the arson science that had been used to convict him. Secondly, this is the state where the governor did not even try to disguise raw political manoeuvres aimed at castrating the Texas Forensic Science Commission so that it would be unable to expose the rot at the heart of Willingham's conviction. Thirdly, this is the state that has been so eager to embrace DNA technology that can convict someone - yet so reluctant to use the same technology to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted of the most serious crimes. Lastly, Texas has shown that it values procedural correctness (the filing of court applications on time) - over certainty and human life. I fully agree with former federal prosecutor Mark Osler that "the commitment of prosecutors is too rooted in emotion to be a deciding factor in a case such as this, and the objectivity of courts must bring to bear what is right."HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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"SEATTLE, Nov 29, 2011 (IPS) - To date, 138 people have been exonerated from death row in the United States. That figure represents 11 percent of the 1,277 executions carried out since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the country in 1976." the IPS story by reporter Michael J. Carter published on November 29, 2011 under the heading, "Will Texas Execute Man, Despite Untested Evidence?" begins.
"Could it be that innocent people have been mistakenly killed?" the story continues.
"There are a lot of cases with a lot of doubts," Rob Owen, an attorney specialising in capital punishment, told IPS. "It would be foolhardy to say we've never executed an innocent person given the amount of exonerations." In Texas, where 12 people have been exonerated, Owen is trying to prevent the execution of his client Hank Skinner, 49, on death row since 1995 for a triple homicide in Pampa, Texas. Critical DNA evidence that could potentially either exonerate him or confirm his guilt remains untested, and previous motions to access it for forensic testing have all been denied. The prosecution previously maintained that since Skinner's original court-appointed attorney chose to forgo DNA testing out of fear it would incriminate his client, Skinner is not entitled to further access. The Gray County District Attorney's office declined to comment to IPS. Although a new state law took effect Sep. 1 that cleared hurdles for post-conviction DNA testing, in early November, the trial court judge denied Skinner's most recent appeal without explanation. On Nov. 7, two days before he was scheduled to die, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a stay on the execution, pending a review of the recent ruling. The stay was Skinner's second near miss. In March 2010, he came within an hour of execution until the Supreme Court intervened to consider judicial review, which was ultimately declined. According to Owen, the case could have been decided over a decade ago. Post-conviction forensic testing of the evidence, which includes a rape kit, fingernail clippings from one of the victims, two knives and a windbreaker covered with hair and blood, was first requested in 2000. Other doubts regarding Skinner's guilt emerged when a key witness for the prosecution recanted parts of her testimony. "(The prosecution) is so committed to the idea that he's guilty that they haven't kept an open mind, and are unwilling to take another look at the evidence," said Owen. Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Centre, feels the prosecution has grown frustrated by the challenges and delays in Skinner's case. "Only about 15 percent of people sentenced to death are executed," he told IPS, calling the recent ruling that denied Skinner access to forensic testing "sloppy work by the judge". Dieter expected the judge to be required to elaborate on his decision by the court of criminal appeals. Owens expects the appellate decision by late spring or early summer. "All the district attorney (has) got to do is turn over the evidence, test it and let the chips fall where they may," Skinner said in an interview with CNN last year. "If I'm innocent I go home. If I'm guilty I die." To date, 17 people have been exonerated from death row as a result of post-conviction DNA testing. Innocent until proven guilty? The issue remains whether the state should proceed with executions in cases with ambiguity and risk wrongful executions of the innocent. In January 2000, George Ryan, then-governor of Illinois, issued a moratorium on all executions after the state's 13th death row exoneration, which surpassed its total number of executions since 1976. Before leaving office in 2003, Ryan commuted all death sentences to life in prison. This year, Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the death penalty. "If the system can't be guaranteed 100 percent error-free, then we shouldn't have the system," Pat Quinn, the current governor, said. "It cannot stand." Illinois, with 20 exonerations, is surpassed only by Florida, with 26. Numerous factors hamper state justice systems, leading to wrongful conviction. They range from witness misidentification and improper forensic science to false confessions and unreliable informants, according to the Innocence Project, an organisation dedicated to exonerating innocent individuals through DNA testing. Other, less quantifiable issues such as ineffectual court-appointed defence lawyers and prosecutorial and police misconduct and racism, also play a part in wrongful conviction. Owen believes Skinner's case was a compounded by poor representation and what he described as "tunnel vision" with law enforcement and prosecutors. "There's a tendency to narrow the focus to that one suspect," he said. "It's a premature selection that screens out other suspects. They become so persuaded that they can't see the possibilities that he (Skinner) isn't guilty." "There's a lot of pressure to get a suspect," Dieter said. "You can't present a gray case to a jury. Prosecutors become adversaries for their side instead of their proper role of upholding justice and the law." In Texas, the issue of innocence has been highlighted again with new findings in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three daughters. The Texas Forensic Science Commission recently closed its inquiry into the case that was fraught with unreliable forensic science. The state district attorney informed the commission that it had no jurisdiction in making a ruling on the case. The Innocence Project, which worked together with fire experts, concluded that Willingham was wrongfully charged and innocent of setting the fire for which he was executed. In 2002, capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional on the basis it violated the right to due process by posing a substantial risk of executing innocent defendants. That ruling was later overruled in circuit court and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case. As for the pending ruling in Skinner's case, Owen remains hopeful that access will be granted to untested DNA evidence. If it is not, he is prepared to pursue a lawsuit against the district attorney for access, and if necessary he can appeal to Governor Rick Perry. The death penalty has been in the spotlight with the highly controversial case of Troy Davis, who was executed in September despite the fact that seven of nine witnesses against him recanted their testimony, and other factors caused doubts about his guilt."
The story can be found at:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106022
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
