Global InformationHank Skinner information
 | This article's lead section may be too long. (August 2023) |
Hank Skinner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Henry Watkins Skinner April 4, 1962 Danville, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | February 16, 2023 (aged 60) Galveston, Texas, U.S. |
| Television | On Death Row |
| Conviction(s) | Capital murder[1] |
Henry Watkins Skinner (April 4, 1962 – February 16, 2023) was an American death row inmate in Texas. In 1995, he was convicted of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and stabbing to death her two adult sons, Randy Busby and Elwin Caler. On March 24, 2010, twenty minutes before his scheduled execution (second execution date), the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of execution to consider the question of whether Skinner could request testing of DNA his attorney chose not to have tested at his original trial in 1994. A third execution date for November 9, 2011, was also ultimately stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on November 7, 2011.
On March 6, 2011, the Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that Skinner may sue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (see Civil Rights Act of 1871), claiming that Texas' rules for seeking post-conviction DNA testing upon which the judges rely are too narrow or restrictive. The ruling did not specifically grant Skinner the DNA testing he had been seeking, but on June 1, 2012, the Texas attorney general's office finally agreed to the analysis of the evidence required by the defense.[2]
On November 14, 2012, the Texas Attorney General's office released an advisory to the Gray County state district court that convicted Skinner advising the court that the DNA testing further implicated Skinner in the Busby family murders. Among the findings: Skinner's blood was found in numerous places in the back bedroom where Busby's two sons were murdered. Skinner's DNA was also found on the handle of a bloody knife, but along with DNA from one of the sons and an "unknown contributor". Skinner's attorney, Rob Owen, has requested additional DNA testing to identify DNA from an "unknown contributor" on the knife and in the back bedroom. Additionally, the state lost a bloody jacket found under Twila Busby's arm which Skinner claims belonged to her uncle, Robert Donnell, a convicted felon and accused molester of Twila – Skinner claimed that Donnell is the real killer.[3]
On August 29, 2013, a private Virginia laboratory published the results of tests conducted on four hairs found in the hand of the slain woman, Twila Busby – and three of them show a family link with the three victims, but do not belong to them, with only one of them belonging to Skinner. These results could incriminate Robert Donnell, a deceased (1997) maternal uncle, who Twila Busby had told friends had molested her on multiple occasions and who had threatened her shortly before the murders. As of September 2013[update], these findings had not yet been assessed by judicial authorities.[4][5]
On February 3 and 4, 2014 an evidentiary hearing took place in Pampa, Texas. "Prosecutors argued that the tests only confirmed Skinner's guilt, while lawyers for the 51-year-old defendant said the results raised enough questions about the identity of the perpetrator that a jury would not have condemned him to death."[6] In July 2014, Judge Steven Emmert issued a ruling saying that "it was 'reasonably probable' Skinner would have still been convicted of a triple murder even if recently conducted DNA evidence had been available at his 1995 trial". The Attorneys for Skinner said they would appeal the decision to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.[7]
The Judicial District court continues to rule that the DNA testing is not favorable to the accused, while the defense team considers that the presence of an unknown third-party DNA detected, and the loss of evidence by the state should definitively rule out the reasonable character of the conviction and even more the death penalty.[8]
Skinner was scheduled to be executed on September 13, 2023, his sixth scheduled execution date. However, he died in February of that year.[9][10]
- ^ "Inmate Information Details 03304912". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ Lindenberger, Michael A. (March 9, 2011). "The U.S. Supreme Court and the Right to Test DNA Samples". Time. Archived from the original on March 13, 2011.
- ^ Grissom, Brandi (November 14, 2012). "New evidence could free US death row inmate". Texas Tribune.
- ^ Grissom, Brandi (August 30, 2013). "Hank Skinner DNA Testing Results". The standdown Texas Project.
- ^ Smith, Jordan (September 6, 2013). "Skinner Defense: New DNA Testing Suggests His Innocence". Austin Chronicle.
- ^ Grissom, Brandi (February 5, 2014). "DNA hearing brings Skinner case closer to resolution". Texas Tribune.
- ^ Okun, Eli (July 16, 2014). "Ruling goes against Death Row inmate Skinner". Texas Tribune.
- ^ Staff Report (October 10, 2019). "DNA evidence not favorable". Pampa News.
- ^ "Texas death row inmate 'optimistic' after 27 years". France 24. June 13, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Burch, Jamie (February 16, 2023). "Pampa man on death row for triple murder dies 7 months before execution date". KVII. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.