By: Martin Rand, III
Date: November 8, 2011
Less than two months after Troy Davis, a man convicted of killing an off-duty cop in Savannah, Ga, was executed with little evidence against him, another man in Texas is going through a similar situation.
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| Henry Skinner is set to be executed. But are the courts about to kill an innocent man? |
According to cnn.com, Henry "Hank" Skinner was set to be executed tomorrow for the 1993 killing of his girlfriend and her two adult sons. The only thing he's hoping will stop the process is DNA at the crime scene, which he says isn't his.
CNN writers Ashley Hayes and Bill Mears write:
"All the district attorney has got to do is turn over the evidence and test it, and let the chips fall where they may," Skinner told CNN's Kate Bolduan in 2009 in an interview from death row at the Polunsky Correctional Institution in Livingston, Texas. "If I'm innocent, I go home. If I'm guilty, I die. What's so hard about that?"
On Thursday, the Texas trial court denied Skinner's latest motion asking to have the crime scene items tested.
"We are deeply disappointed that the trial court has denied Mr. Skinner's request for DNA testing," Rob Owen, Skinner's attorney, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the trial court's order offers no explanation for its conclusion that DNA testing is not called for in this case."
The case then went to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is Texas' highest criminal court. Luckily for Skinner, the court granted him a stay of execution. This will give him and his lawyers more time to prove his innocence with the DNA.
This is an interesting case to me because it makes me think, why are the courts so eager to kill a man who could be innocent?
While there seems to be some evidence against Skinner, if he's saying he's innocent, why wouldn't the courts want to look at every piece of evidence to make sure they're taking the right life.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people on death row proclaim they're innocence; but, if there is evidence to help possibly free a man, why does he have to go through hoops and hurdles just to get it tested?
In the coming days, as they begin to test the DNA for evidence, we could find out if it proves Skinner right and innocent.
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