Two weeks ago Hank Skinner, convicted in the 1993 murder of then girlfriend Twila Busby and her two adult sons, was issued a stay of execution till March 24, 2010. Issues regarding his possible innocence continues to surround the upcoming execution, contingent on a final petition by Skinner and his lawyers for the DNA testing of unanalyzed evidence from the crime scene.
Hank Skinner’s case has brought forth national attention. Additional media coverage regarding the work of the Medill Innocence Project and the trial errors which point to the false conviction of Skinner can be found in the following.
First, Reason Magazine posted an article on February 22, 2010 titled, “Is Texas About to Execute Another Innocent Man?” This article details the findings of the Medill Innocence Project and the various factors pointing to innocence and can be found here.
However, Hank Skinner’s possible innocence is not a new topic of national concern. In 2000, when Skinner was first scheduled to be executed, CBS wrote the following piece in which Skinner is reported as saying, “give me liberty, give me death, but give me only one or the other and do it quickly, please.” The full text can be found here.