Texas: Henry "Hank" Skinner Gets a Stay

Less than an hour before Hank Skinner was to be put to death for the murder of his girlfriend and her two sons, the United States Supreme Court blocked his execution on Wednesday, giving him another chance to gain access to DNA evidence. Prosecutors and the state courts have repeatedly refused to let him test blood, fingernail scrapings and hair found at the scene of the killings against his genetic markers. The justices ordered the execution postponed until they decide whether to review the case. Mr. Skinner maintains he was sleeping on a sofa in a vodka-and-codeine haze when the killings took place on New Year’s Eve in 1993.

Source: The New York Times, March 24, 2010 

Execution delayed in DNA case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday evening delayed the execution in Texas of Henry W. Skinner, at least until the Court acts on his new case seeking to pursue a civil rights claim that he was denied a chance to have DNA evidence tested in an attempt to prove his innocence of a triple murder more than 16 years ago. The Court's order blocked an execution that had been scheduled for 7 p.m. Washington time. The Court has not yet scheduled its consideration of his pending appeal (Skinner v. Switzer, 09-9000; his stay application was 09A743).

Skinner is seeking to raise an issue that the Justices had agreed to review last Term in District Attorney's Office v. Osborne (08-6). The Court decided the Osborne case on June 18, but left unresolved that specific issue. The question is whether a state inmate seeking access to and testing of DNA evidence may pursue that claim under civil rights law (Section 1983), rather than in a federal habeas challenge. Skinner's lawyers contend that he has tried unsuccessfully to use Texas state procedures for DNA testing, so his only remaining chance to get it is through a civil rights claim.

He was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death for the slaying of his live-in girlfriend and her 2 mentally retarded, adult sons, in their home in the small town of Pampa, Texas, on New Year's Eve in 1993. He was in the home during the murder rampage, but has contended repeatedly since then that he was unconscious from using drugs and alcohol earlier in the evening. He also has contended that new evidence, about the physical nature of the killings, indicates that in his condition he had neither the strength nor clarity of mind to commit the crimes.

For ten years, his lawyers have said, he has sought access to DNA evidence that was never tested by prosecutors. He filed his federal civil rights claim only after those efforts had failed, his counsel has said. Although prosecutors arranged for some DNA tests on some of the evidence, and used the results to help convict Skinner, his attorneys contend that prosecutors only sought selective testing of crime scene materials.

In his petition for review, Skinner contended that he has a constitutional interest under state law in seeking to use evidence that would help prove his innocence, but that he has been frustrated in trying to vindicate that interest in state proceedings. In addition, the petition argued that the conflict among lower courts on whether a DNA access claim can be pursued under civil rights law, or only under habeas law, has intensified since the Supreme Court agreed to examine that issue in the Osborne case last Term. Thus, it said, the need for Supreme Court guidance is now "more urgent."

Lawyers on both sides have completed all of the filings in the case on that issue, so the Court is expected to schedule it for Conference within a matter of weeks. In the meantime, the postponement granted Wednesday will stay in effect until the petition is acted upon and, if granted, until it is decided. If review is denied, the postponement will expire automatically and the state could then schedule execution anew. If review is granted, a ruling would not be expected until next Term, starting next October.

Source: Lyle Denniston, SCOTUSblog, March 24, 2010

High court gives last-minute stay to condemned Texan

U.S. Supreme Court issues stay of execution for Henry "Hank" Skinner.

Skinner, 47, was to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday

He was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her 2 sons in 1993 in Pampa, Texas

Skinner's attorneys say DNA testing of the evidence could establish his innocence

The Supreme Court granted a temporary stay of execution late Wednesday for a condemned Texas inmate who is requesting DNA testing of evidence in his case.

The order was handed down less than an hour before Henry "Hank" Skinner, 47, was scheduled to be executed by injection for the New Year's Eve 1993 killings of his live-in girlfriend and her 2 sons.

The Supreme Court granted the temporary stay while it considers whether to take up Skinner's broader appeal. It was not immediately clear when the court might consider the case, but there was no indication a decision would be made before Thursday.

Skinner's attorneys maintain that DNA testing of the evidence could establish his innocence and determine the real killer.

"This action suggests that the court believes there are important issues that require closer examination," defense attorney Robert Owen said of the temporary stay. "We remain hopeful that the court will agree to hear Mr. Skinner's case and ultimately allow him the chance to prove his innocence through DNA testing."

Skinner heard the news while he was eating what was to be his last meal, according to Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

He expressed relief and surprise, saying, "I had made up my mind I was going to die" and "I feel like I really won today," according to Lyons.

Skinner said he is "eager to get the DNA testing so I can prove my innocence and get the hell out of here," according to Lyons.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has received more than 8,000 letters from Skinner's advocates urging a stay, according to the Innocence Project and Change.org, whose members and supporters have sent the letters through their Web sites.

State Sen. Rodney Ellis and state Rep. Elliott Naishtat were among those who have called for a reprieve.

"It has come to my attention that there are numerous problems with Mr. Skinner's case that raise serious questions regarding the fairness of his trial and whether or not he is guilty," Ellis wrote in a letter to Perry on Tuesday.

Word about the case has spread as far as France, where demonstrations were planned Wednesday at the U.S. Embassy in Paris (pictured) by supporters of Skinner's French wife, Sandrine Ageorges.

Since Skinner's conviction in 1995, he "has tirelessly pursued access to the untested physical evidence," according to court documents filed with the Supreme Court in February.

That evidence includes vaginal swabs and fingernail clippings from Skinner's then-girlfriend Twila Busby, hairs found in her hand and two knives found at the scene, along with a dish towel and a windbreaker jacket, according to the filing.

Skinner has never denied being in the home when Busby and her sons -- Elwin Caler, 22, and Randy Busby, 20, -- were killed. However, he maintains he was incapacitated because of the "extreme quantities of alcohol and codeine" that he had consumed earlier that evening, according to the documents.

Prosecutors maintain forensic evidence gathered at the scene and witness statements point to Skinner. A female friend of Skinner's who lived four blocks away testified at Skinner's trial that he walked to her trailer and told her that he may have kicked Twila Busby to death, although evidence did not show she had been kicked. The neighbor has since recanted parts of her testimony.

Authorities followed a blood trail from the crime scene to the female friend's trailer and found Skinner in the closet, authorities said. He was "wearing heavily blood-stained jeans and socks and bearing a gash on the palm of his right hand," according to the Texas attorney general's summary of the case.

In addition, authorities said cuts on Skinner's hand came from the knife used to stab the men. Skinner said he cut it on glass. Some DNA testing was done, which implicated Skinner, but not on the items he now wants tested.

"DNA testing showed that blood on the shirt Skinner was wearing at the time of his arrest was Twila's blood, and blood on Skinner's jeans was a mixture of blood from Elwin and Twila," authorities said.

However, Owen wrote in the Supreme Court filing, "the victims' injuries show that whoever murdered them must have possessed considerable strength, balance and coordination."

Twila Busby was strangled so forcefully that her larynx and the hyoid bone in her throat were broken. She then was struck with an axe or pick handle 14 times, hard enough to drive fragments of her "unusually thick skull" into her brain, the court documents said.

"While attacking Ms. Busby, the perpetrator had to contend with the presence of her 6-foot-6-inch, 225-pound son, Elwin Caler, who blood spatter analysis showed was in the immediate vicinity of his mother as she was being beaten," the court filing said.

"Somehow, the murderer was able to change weapons and stab Caler several times before he could fend off the attack or flee." Randy Busby was then stabbed to death in the bedroom the two brothers shared, the documents said.

Evidence presented at trial suggested that Twila Busby's uncle, Robert Donnell -- who is now dead -- could have been the killer. At a New Year's Eve party she attended for a short time on the last night of her life, Donnell stalked her, making crude sexual remarks, according to trial testimony. A friend who drove her home from the party testified she was "fidgety and worried" and that Donnell was no longer at the party when he returned.

"The defense presented evidence that Donnell was a hot-tempered ex-con who had sexually molested a girl, grabbed a pregnant woman by the throat and kept a knife in his car," according to Owen's letter to Perry.

An expert testified at trial that Skinner would have been too intoxicated to commit the crimes, and a review of the evidence suggests that Skinner might have been even more intoxicated than initially thought, Owen writes.

Media outlets in Texas have been supportive of a reprieve for Skinner.

"Before sending a man to die, we need to be absolutely sure of his guilt," the Houston Chronicle wrote in an editorial Friday.

Skinner's wife, Ageorges, told Radio France Internationale in a Tuesday interview that she began writing to Skinner in 1996 and they began visiting in 2000.

"They just need to do DNA and fingerprint comparison with that other suspect that was never investigated," she said in an audio clip of the interview posted on RFI's Web site. She does not name Donnell, but said the person died in a car accident in 1997.

Recently, questions have swirled in Texas regarding the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for a fire that killed his 3 daughters.

On March 19, Perry issued a posthumous pardon to the family of Timothy Cole, who was serving a 25-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault when he died in prison from an asthma attack. After his death, DNA tests established his innocence, and another man confessed to the crime.

Source: CNN, March 24, 2010



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Today, March 24, 2010, Kristin Houle, Executive Director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to grant a stay of the execution of Hank Skinner.

Austin, Texas - The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) is extremely pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted a stay of the scheduled execution Hank Skinner. Skinner was scheduled to be executed on March 24 for the murder of Twila Busby, even though critical DNA evidence that was collected at the crime scene has never been tested. Mr. Skinner has steadfastly insisted he is innocent of the crime. This case illustrates the importance of testing DNA when there is readily available scientific evidence.

By granting this stay the Court will have more time to determine whether to hear Mr. Skinners appeal. Hopefully, the court will agree to hear Mr. Skinner's case and ultimately allow him the chance to prove his innocence through DNA testing.

This case illustrates dramatically the many serious flaws in the capital punishment system. TCADP joins with a growing chorus of diverse voices, including those of law enforcement, religious leaders, murder victim family members, and state legislators in calling for an end to this arbitrary and error-prone form of punishment.

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The following is a statement from Rob Owen, attorney for Hank Skinner:

"We are relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court has intervened to prevent Mr. Skinner's execution. As a result of this action, the Court will have more time to determine whether to hear his appeal. This action suggests that the Court believes there are important issues that require closer examination. We remain hopeful that the Court will agree to hear Mr. Skinner's case and ultimately allow him the chance to prove his innocence through DNA testing."

Source: TCADP, March 24, 2010

Photos: Family, friends, and abolitionists of the death penalty gathered to protest the execution outside The Walls Prison Unit in Huntsville, Texas. Approximately one hour before the execution would have taken place, Hank received a stay. He had already eaten his last meal. What would have been a vigil/protest turned into a celebration of life. The vigil was attended by Sandrine Ageorges, Hank's wife, and by Hank Skinner's daughters.