Death Row

The Austin American Statesman featured an editorial titled Death row inmate entitled to delay for DNA tests. The article discusses a man named Henry W. Skinner, 47, who is scheduled to be executed at 6pm Wednesday, March 24, 2010 for brutally murdering his girlfriend and her two sons.

The author of the article is making an argument towards Gov. Rick Perry for a 30-day reprieve. There are seven untested items that contain DNA that could set Skinner free. The state has blocked the testing because Skinner passed on a chance to have the testing done prior to his 1995 trial. Skinner's trial lawyer made that decision because other DNA tests on items found at the crime scene damaged his case. The author wants Gov. Rick Perry to delay the execution for 30 days and order the DNA testing.

Gov. Rick Perry has done this before in the case of Frances Newton, a death row inmate who claimed she was innocent and that retesting of gunpowder residue from the crime scene would clear it. It did not, and Newton was killed. In granting the Newton reprieve, Perry wrote that "Justice delayed in this case is not justice denied."

I do not know many facts from the Skinner case but I do agree that we should give Skinner the 30-day reprieve and if the DNA does not prove his innocence then we can still execute him 30 days later. I don't see the harm in that.