STORY: "Key evidence vanishes in condemned man's case: Let's help Texas find it," by David Protess, President of the Chicago Innocence Project, published by the Huffington Post on June 15, 2012.
GIST: " So whose DNA is on that windbreaker? We may never know because Texas lawmen, after spending more than a decade fighting DNA testing in the Skinner case before relenting two weeks ago, made a stunning admission on Tuesday: They lost the windbreaker. Forty items of evidence will be tested in the coming weeks. But the windbreaker, most important among them, has vanished. Poof. As I have reported, testing the windbreaker provided Skinner -- who once came within 47 minutes of execution -- with the best chance to prove his innocence. That's because witnesses have said it belonged to Twila's uncle, the late Robert Donnell, who was seen harassing her at a New Year's party before the murders -- and scrubbing his pick-up truck from top to bottom the next morning. "Mr. Skinner has insisted that this jacket should be tested because it may have been worn by the assailant," said attorney Rob Owen in a statement. "It is beyond reasonable dispute that DNA testing on this jacket is critically important to the reliable determination of guilt in this case," Owen added. "It is difficult to understand how the State has managed to maintain custody of items as small as fingernail clippings, while apparently losing something as large as a man's windbreaker jacket." It is a faded beige windbreaker with snap buttons down the front, an article of clothing you wouldn't notice if you passed someone wearing it on the street. But this windbreaker was anything but ordinary. It was discovered next to Twila Busby's body, stained with blood and sweat, and recovered by police in the Pampa, Texas home where Busby and her adult sons were slain on New Year's Eve in 1993. And it did not belong to the murder victims or Henry "Hank" Skinner, who was convicted of the triple homicide and sentenced to death."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-protess/hank-skinner-evidence-missing_b_1598027.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
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/charlessmithThe 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:
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
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
