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Adam Cohen on the Hank Skinner Case

By Steve Hall

Cohen writes, "In Death-Penalty Cases, Innocence Has to Matter," for Time magazine.  He's a lawyer, a former Time writer, and a former New York Times editorial board member.  Here are extended excerpts: Hank Skinner, who is on death row in Texas, had a simple request. Before the state took his life, he wanted to test DNA evidence from the crime scene that could prove he was wrongly convicted. Texas prosecutors, whose love for the death penalty is legendary, refused.Skinner then sued, claiming that federal civil rights laws gave him a constitutional right to do the testing. A federal appeals court ruled against him. (See TIME's death penalty covers.)On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Skinner's case...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on May 26, 2010 (boomark / email).