Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell told a nine-member panel of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that death row inmate Hank Skinner’s request for DNA testing that could exonerate him was a “frivolous” attempt to delay his execution. Skinner, 50, who maintains his innocence, was convicted in 1995 of the murder of his then-girlfriend and her sons.
But the judges grilled Mitchell about his efforts to oppose the testing. One judge said the evidence was “not overwhelming, it’s circumstantial. The fact that there is a confession to a police is not the end all.”
When Mitchell argued that this case could force prosecutors to test every shred of evidence, no matter the cost, Judge Michael Keasler countered with “Prosecutors should be testing everything anyway.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals has previously denied Skinner’s request for testing based on a 2001 post-conviction DNA testing law that has since been repealed. Although it could take months for the court to reach a decision, Judge Keasler did remark during oral arguments that “You really ought to be absolutely sure before you strap a person down and kill him.”
For more information, read the article in The Texas Tribune, here.
