Hinrichtungsaufschub

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Henry Skinner was scheduled to be put to death on 24 February. On 16 February, the presiding judge of the court where Henry Skinner was convicted in 1995 withdrew the death warrant because of a technical legal error with the way it had been issued. In the same order, the judge set a new execution date:

"It is the Order of the Court that the Defendant, Henry Watkins Skinner, who has been adjudged to be guilty of capital murder, and whose punishment has been assessed at death, at any time after the hour of 6:00pm on the 24th day of March, 2010, shall be executed by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death and until the said Henry Watkins Skinner is dead…"

Henry Skinner’s lawyers, who were informed of the judge’s order on 17 February, expressed their dismay at the decision to set this new date despite the ongoing legal efforts to have the prosecution release items from the crime scene for DNA testing. In a statement, the lawyers said that "this unseemly haste to execute Mr Skinner ignores the growing public concern and outcry over the unanswered questions about Mr Skinner’s guilt." They said that delaying the execution by only a month would mean that the lawsuit seeking DNA testing, pending before the US Supreme Court, "must now be resolved under needless and entirely artificial time pressures".

Henry Skinner was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Twila Busby and her sons, 22-year-old Elwin Caler and 20-year-old Randy Busby. Henry Skinner pleaded not guilty at his trial, with his lawyers presenting the theory that he had been physically unable to commit the crimes and that the police had ignored a plausible alternative suspect. The defence presented a toxicologist who said that it was improbable that Henry Skinner could have committed the murders because of his level of intoxication with alcohol and codeine that night. The state presented no expert evidence to rebut this testimony, merely suggesting instead that his history of drug and alcohol abuse made him tolerant to such substances. The defence also presented expert testimony that a previous hand injury had left Henry Skinner without the strength required to have inflicted Twila Busby’s injuries. Nevertheless, the jury voted to convict Henry Skinner and sentence him to death. The case against him remains circumstantial, showing only that he was present at the scene of the murders, which he does not dispute. Further evidence has since emerged pointing to the possible alternative suspect, and a key prosecution witness has recanted parts of her trial testimony.

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SCHREIBEN SIE BITTE E-MAILS, FAXE ODER LUFTPOSTBRIEFE

• Erklären Sie, dass Sie nicht die Absicht haben, mit Ihrem Schreiben die Ermordung von Twila Busgy und ihren beiden Söhnen zu verharmlosen.

• Verweisen Sie darauf, dass nach wie vor Zweifel an Henry Skinners Schuld bestehen (unter Angabe seiner Häftlingsnummer #999143).

• Fordern Sie, dass Henry Skinner begnadigt und sein Todesurteil umgewandelt wird.

• Bitten Sie die Behörden, den von Henry Skinner beantragten Test der am Tatort gefunden DNS-Spuren auszuführen.

[APPELLE AN]

GOUVERNEUR DES BUNDESSTAATES TEXAS
Governor Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
USA
(korrekte Anrede: Dear Governor)
Fax: (001) 512 463 1849

BEGNADIGUNGSAUSSCHUSS VON TEXAS
Clemency Section
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
8610 Shoal Creek Boulevard
Austin, TX 78757-6814
USA
(korrekte Anrede: Dear Board members)
Fax: (001) 512 467 0945

KOPIEN AN
BOTSCHAFT DER VEREINIGTEN STAATEN VON AMERIKA
S.E. Herrn Philip D. Murphy
Pariser Platz 2
10117 Berlin
Fax: 030-83 05 10 50
E-Mail: über
http://germany.usembassy.de/email/feedback.htm

Bitte schreiben Sie Ihre Appelle möglichst sofort, so dass sie noch vor dem
24. März 2010 eintreffen. Schreiben Sie in gutem Englisch oder auf Deutsch.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY (INCLUDE INMATE NO: #999143)

• Explaining that you are not seeking to excuse the killing of Twila Busby and her two sons;

• Noting the serious doubts that remain about Henry Skinner’s guilt;

• Calling for clemency for Henry Skinner and for commutation of his death sentence;

• Calling on the state to grant Henry Skinner’s request for DNA testing of crime scene evidence.