Supreme Court Stays Execution of Inmate Seeking DNA Tests Shunned by His Trial Lawyer
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner on Wednesday evening, just one hour before he was scheduled to be executed.
The stay remains in effect until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to grant certiorari in Skinner’s case, according to the Houston Chronicle, SCOTUSblog and the Associated Press.
At issue is whether Skinner can seek DNA tests under civil rights law—his only remaining chance to obtain the evidence—rather than a habeas challenge, SCOTUSblog says. His lead lawyer, University of Texas law professor Rob Owen, wrote in Skinner’s cert petition that seven federal appeals courts permit the civil rights claim and two bar it, according to the Houston Chronicle.
When Skinner’s lawyer told him of the stay, he said he was surprised but pleased, AP says. “I’m eager to get the DNA testing so I can prove my innocence and get the hell out of here,” he said.
Skinner admits he was in the house where his girlfriend and two sons were stabbed to death in 1993, but he says the vodka and codeine he ingested that night left him without the physical strength or mental capacity to commit the crime.
Skinner’s lawyers want DNA tests that his trial lawyer shunned because of fears the results would be incriminating. Among the items that have not been tested are two knives, a bloody towel and a rape kit. Comer says he now backs DNA testing, but his trial strategy was justified, AP says. “I would make the same decision with the same circumstances again,” he said.
