Hank Skinner, Twila Busby, Randy Busby, and Elwin Busby await justice
Twila Busby and her two sons lay silently beneath a blanket of Texas earth hoping for the light of justice to illuminate the truth. Hank Skinner found his name once again plastered to the headlines this past March thanks to the failure of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry to adequately administer justice. Because of the Parole Board and Perry's inaction the Supreme court decided to take control of the matter. On March 24 the Court granted a stay of execution to Skinner while it decides whether or not to hear his case. Should the Supreme Court choose to review the case it will have far reaching effects beyond Skinner's innocence or guilt, but more directly it darkens the continuing shadow over Texas' reputation as a kill-happy state.
A Skinner victory in this case could potentially make it easier for death row inmates to obtain DNA testing even after their trial and subsequent appeals. This will inevitably increase the already sky rocketing costs of pursuing capital punishment. According to the non-profit DeathPenaltyInfo.org, it costs taxpayers nearly three times as much to execute a prisoner than it does to jail that same prisoner in the highest security prison for forty years. From an accountants standpoint the choice is simple, but in the real world justice and revenge become muddled. Guilty people must pay for their crimes, but it hardly seems reasonably for this justice to come at the cost of a king's ransom. Had either the Parole Board or Perry granted a stay of execution the Supreme Court would never have been called upon to intervene in Texas matters.
Skinner's guilt has been called into question from the very start. A fair examination of Skinner's trial and evidence does create room for doubt. Perry and the Board have embarrassed the state they serve by making it appear as though Texas cannot tend to its own problems without help from the federal government. http://www.hankskinner.org/ is a website devoted to Skinner's innocence, and it is also home to his blog entitled "New Hell Hole News". Alternatively, http://www.hankskinner.com is a website devoted to exposing Skinner as a "ruthless killer". With so much media attention and debate over the true facts of this case, it seems irresponsible not to allow DNA testing at this point. It's too late for Perry or the Board to reverse their decisions and do the right thing. Now Skinner's fate and procedural guidelines for future DNA testing lay in the hands of all knowing Supreme Court Justices. The Board and Perry could have avoided this embarrassment and inevitable cost increase to taxpayers had they realized that granting DNA testing would have simply freed an innocent man or sent a murderer to his grave. Skinner and the victims alike deserve for justice to be served regardless of which way it falls.
Comments
No, it would be irresponsible to allow testing at this point. Courts will not grant post conviction dna testing if it will not change the outcome of the trial. Skinner's clothes were DNA tested and were positive for the blood of two victims. The defense blood stain expert reported that he was lying when he claimed to be passed out on the couch and was up moving around. There was med. velocity impact spatter on the front of his shirt and on all sides of his pants. There was cast off blood on the back of his shirt and on the lower and upper areas of his jeans. Skinner blugdeoned Twila to death. This is why the trial atty did not push for additional DNA testing. Skinner's only defense was to argue that there was a reasonable doubt b/c they hadn't tested it all. The smart jury did not fall for it. No amount of testing of other items will clear Skinner. The evidence that he bludgeoned Twila and stabbed Elwin does not disappear. There is not enough room to list all his lies.
If only "June" could read the information about Skinner, she would learn that the "blood stain expert", Dr Lowry, only stated that that Skinner was comatose and incapacitated at the time of the murders. Most of the evidence is untested. In regard to international laws, witholding evidence is a also a crime and the state or Texas has been witholding evidence for 15 years, even when testing is offer pro bono...They just think they would be better not to know the truth.
I agree with June. Skinner's own lawyer in the first trial said he chose not include DNA because it would only hurt their case. Texas had it right, but I guess the federal government has to mess up anything that is right...Loved the cartoon though
Andre: That's the problem,, I *did* read the information - all of it & unlike you, I understood it. He is not a blood stain expert. He is a toxicologist. He said it was highly unlikely Skinner would have awoken at midnight. But, we know that Skinner was awake at midnight. He said that Skinner should not have been able to stand or walk. But Skinner did stand & walked his guilty a** to his gf's house 4 blocks away to hide. In fact, there is a whole list of things that Lowry said Skinner would not be able to do but it’s uncontested that Skinner did do those things. All of this evidence contradicted Dr. Lowry’s testimony that most people at the alleged level of intoxication Skinner was at midnight would have been comatose or asleep. I say alleged b/c he testified that he did not know when Skinner took the codeine & his calculations were based on a blood sample drawn at 5:48 a.m., & calculated backwards to midnight. He never considered Skinner could have taken the codeine after midnite.
And, Andre, under the laws of most states (I can't say all 50 but I think it is 50 or close to it) Skinner would not have the right to this evidence. And the lower federal courts have upheld these laws. This is because we don't test evidence for the hell of it. Unless the results could change the outcome of the trial there is no reason for it. As previously explained, any further testing would not change the outcome. Also, the USSC ruled only a year ago that where the defense chooses not to test evidence for a tactical reason (like the case here) they can't demand to test it later
Rights, rights, rights! Everybody has them but the victims. When do they get their turn? Sadly, not often. Yes, it costs a lot to execute a prisoner convicted in 1993. Quite a few maximum security hotel stays while the system flounders when justice should be swift and clean. Crimes & consequences, being so disconnected by time, dull the edge of what this system purports to represent -- "Criminal Justice."
I agree with the author and with Andre. For ZERO dollars everyone including the victims' families could have finally known the truth. What an embarrassment the Texas Criminal Justice System and Rick Perry have turned out to be.
I want the true perpetrator of this crime to pay just as much as any of you do. The difference is I am not afraid to find out the truth.
No, Pat, you don't want the true perpetrator of the crime to pay. In fact, you want just the opposite. And if you really wanted to find out the truth, you wouldn't ignnore the actual evidence.
I have yet to hear any of you antideath penalty proponents make a plausible argument on how further testing will prove Skinner not guilty of capital murder. You can't. You all want to pretend that the DNA testing and blood spatter analysis of his clothes which prove that he was not passed on the couch but the one bludgeoning Twila will disappear. It won't.
Let me comment on the on-going oil slick in the Gulf. As an Alaskan of 37 years who was born into oilfield family in Louisiana, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly involving the oil field. Everything from the building of the Tran Alaskan Pipeline (one of the greatest engineering feats of all time) to the stupidity of the Exxon Valdez, the great engineering wonders of directional drilling in waters deeper than 30,000 feet and now another horror story in the Gulf. The blame game is on, no one is ever paying attention (until you make a mistake) America has thousand of consumer products as a result of oil exploration, whether we like it or not, our economy runs on oil and that requires huge investments, huge risk, and unfortunately mistakes involving men and equipment, costing lives and environmental nightmares that we are seeing today Find a better alternative for oil and you find the answer
The real problem is we don't use the death penalty enough. When you look at the number of horrible crimes committed to the number of death sentences compared to the number still waiting on death row. The lawyers have learned how to delay for years the justice that the victims and their families deserve. If you commit a crime you pay the price period...... We should stop all these delays and proceed with the executions. This is a true deterrent for future criminals. Right now they know they have a real good chance of free room and board for many years if they play it right. In the mean time we have more and more innocent victims. This has to stop. DNA or not, a jury finds you quilty and a sentence of death is given there should be no more than 30 days allowed for the follow through. We have our own government officials committing crimes that should leave them stripped of all money and belongings.
We have been too soft on all criminals to long.
An eye for an eye.
Thanks
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