Constitutional Law

Supreme Court Will Hear Hank Skinner Case

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU

In March, we told you about the case of Henry "Hank" Skinner, who was convicted of the 1993 murder of his girlfriend and her two adult sons. Skinner came within 24 hours of being executed before the Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay so it could decide if it would review his case.

Today, the high court agreed to hear his case.

The DNA evidence found at the crime scene could prove Skinner's innocence, which he has maintained all along. Skinner has been asking for this evidence to be tested for the past 10 years, but the courts have denied these requests. They assert the tests should have been done at his original trial.

In a statement today, ACLU Capital Punishment Project Director John Holdridge said in a statement:

It is unconscionable, and at odds with our shared American values of fairness, due process and justice, that the state of Texas would seek to execute a man when the evidence in his case has not been exhaustively tested. The sheer number of death row exonerations resulting from DNA testing shows that our death penalty system is fraught with error and systemic injustices. We should do anything and everything in our power, including conducting DNA testing of evidence, to ensure that we don't ever execute innocent people.'

The Supreme Court will hear Skinner's case in the next term.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on May 24, 2010 (boomark / email).