TEXAS--Hank Skinner is scheduled to die on November 9. But the state of Texas may execute him without even conducting DNA tests on all of the evidence from his trial, despite a decade of requests from Hank and his lawyers.
Hank has been on death row since 1995 for the murders of his girlfriend and her two adult sons, and has steadfastly professed his innocence. Since his conviction, the star witness against Hank has recanted her testimony, and others have implicated another man as the killer.
Hank has just 8 days to live. His family created an organization called "Justice 4 Hank," and they're fighting for a DNA test for Hank. They started a petition on Change.org asking the Gray County District Attorney and the courts to order full DNA tests to determine if Hank is actually guilty -- and to prevent Texas from possibly executing an innocent man.
At the time of his trial, the prosecution conducted DNA tests on the clothes Hank was wearing -- but declined to test the rest of the physical evidence, including a rape kit, the murder weapons, several hairs clutched in the victim's hand, and a bloody windbreaker that strongly resembles that of the man accused by others of being the true murderer.
Since the year 2000, Hank has been requesting that the office of the District Attorney that prosecuted him order DNA tests on the remaining evidence. But the DA's office has continuously denied those requests, saying Hank should have requested the tests before his trial.
The Gray County District Attorney's office has neglected to order these tests for more than a decade without consequences. Hank could die as soon as next week.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Saturday, November 5th 2011 at 7:15PM
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