25 March 2010 :

Less than an hour before Henry "Hank" Skinner was scheduled to be executed by injection, the U.S. Supreme Court granted him temporary stay of execution to give him more time for DNA testing. Skinner, 47, white, was to die today in the evening in Huntsville for the fatal bludgeoning of his 40-year-old girlfriend, Twila Busby, and stabbing to death her two mentally impaired sons, Randy Busby, 20, and Elwin Caler, 22. The murders occurred on December 31, 1993. Skinner was sentenced to death on March 23, 1995. Skinner's attorneys maintain that DNA testing of the evidence could establish his innocence and determine the real killer. Skinner heard the news while he was eating what was to be his last meal, according to Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has received more than 8,000 letters from Skinner's advocates urging a stay, according to the Innocence Project and Change.org, whose members and supporters have sent the letters through their Web sites. State Sen. Rodney Ellis and state Rep. Elliott Naishtat were among those who have called for a reprieve. "It has come to my attention that there are numerous problems with Mr. Skinner's case that raise serious questions regarding the fairness of his trial and whether or not he is guilty," Ellis wrote in a letter to Perry on Tuesday. Kristin Houle, Executive Director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, a human rights organization that followed the case, issued the following statement: “The TCADP is extremely pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted a stay of the scheduled execution of Hank Skinner, who was scheduled to be executed even though critical DNA evidence that was collected at the crime scene has never been tested. This case illustrates the importance of testing DNA when there is readily available scientific evidence. By granting this stay the Court will have more time to determine whether to hear Mr. Skinner’s appeal. Hopefully, the court will agree to hear Mr. Skinner's case and ultimately allow him the chance to prove his innocence through DNA testing”.