Despite ongoing concerns about the risk of error in death penalty cases, the State of Texas is poised to carry out yet another execution in a case for which many unresolved questions remain. On November 9, 2011, Henry “Hank” Skinner may be put to death, even though key pieces of DNA evidence that were collected from the crime scene in 1993 have never been tested. In fact, the State of Texas has refused to conduct testing of this evidence for the past 10 years.
With the recent release and exoneration of Michael Morton in Williamson County due to advanced DNA testing – testing that prosecutors fought for years – this action couldn’t be more important or timelier.
Skinner’s supporters have posted a petition on Change.org urging Gray County District Attorney Lynn Switzer to agree to DNA testing of key evidence that has never been analyzed and that could resolve doubts about this case.
Read more about Hank Skinner, including a recent press release from his attorneys, on the TCADP blog: https://tcadp.org/category/hank-skinner/.