Hank Skinner

Henry Watkins "Hank" Skinner (born April 4, 1962) was convicted of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and stabbing to death her two sons, Randy Busby and Scooter Caler. Hank was sentenced to death. The murders occurred on December 31, 1993 at 801 East Campbell Avenue in Pampa, Texas. Hank, then 31, had been drinking earlier in the evening and passed out after taking codeine, to which he was severely allergic. A friend, Howard Mitchell, arrived to take Hank and Twila to a New Year’s Eve Party at 9:30 p.m., but could not rouse Hank.

The murders

At the party Twila, 40, was stalked by her drunk uncle, Robert Donnell, a big man who made rude sexual advances. She became agitated and asked Howard to take her home. She arrived home between 11:00 and 11:15 p.m. Shortly afterwards she was bludgeoned to death. Her younger son Randy, 20, was stabbed to death in his bed. Her older son, Elwin “Scooter” Caler, 22, was also stabbed, but managed to escape to a neighbor’s yard where he collapsed on the porch. He never regained consciousness. The neighbor found him and called police at 11:59 p.m.

Skinner's whereabouts

It is believed that after the attacks, Scooter revived Skinner and led him outside, but left him in an alley. Hank suffered a cut on his right palm that night, possibly from stumbling. Other than that possibility, Hank suffered no noticeable harm from the attacks, either because Scooter scared off the intruder(s), or the intruder(s) were only interested in attacking Twila and her sons, and Hank, being comatose, posed no threat. Hank managed to find his way to a different neighbor’s house, the home of Andrea Joyce Reed, where he was arrested three hours later.

Following his arrest Hank was unable to stand on his own for police photos. After being photographed, he was then taken to a hospital where blood samples were taken. The samples, taken six-and-a-half hours after the murders, showed a blood alcohol level of 0.21, more than twice the legal limit in Texas for intoxication. Tests also revealed high levels of codeine in him. Hank could not have drank alcohol at his neighbor’s house as she was a recovering alcoholic and did not allow it in her house.

Evidence

The most important evidence considered at trial against Hank was that bloody hand prints found at various parts of the crime scene matched his hands and the blood was that of the victims. However, Dr. William T. Lowry, a forensic toxicologist, testified at trial that the positioning of the hand-prints found around the crime scene, and attributed to Hank, would be consistent with someone stumbling around and suffering the effects of a stuporous state of intoxication.

Other evidence points to Hank's innocence: Autopsy results of Twila showed that she suffered a skull fracture that required great manual strength of someone wielding a club to inflict. Hank, besides being in a stuporous state at the time of the murders, was only 5’9” 140 lbs. and had a handicapped right arm. His right hand was too handicapped for him to have inflicted the strangulation injury found on Twila. In contrast to Hank, Scooter towered over him at 6’6” 265 lbs. and was in good health. Yet allegedly Hank was able to manually injure him and two other victims, without receiving any defensive wounds or bruises, aside from the possibility of his palm cut.

At the time of the murders, a witness, Ronnie Campbell, then in the county jail, phoned the house. Scooter answered and Ronnie heard an unidentified man who was not Hank speaking with Twila. On speaking to the frightened Scooter, he asked to speak to Twila but was told that she was speaking to "some guy". Ronnie claimed that he heard Twila "screaming hysterically in the background". Ronnie’s jailer confirmed that Ronnie reported the conversation to her shortly after it occurred. Neither Ronnie nor the jailer were called at trial by Skinner’s appointed attorney.

Witness recantation

The neighbor, Ms. Reed, who aided Hank after the murders, said after the trial that she was threatened with being charged as an accessory after the fact and with harboring a fugitive. She was also threatened with having her children taken away. In response, her trial testimony made it seem as though Hank forced his way into her home and that he was physically capable of committing the murders. She later felt remorse and signed an affidavit saying he did not force his way in and that he was unable to stand on his own. She said that she had to practically carry him wherever he went in her house.

Alternative suspect

After Twila left the New Year's Eve party, her uncle, Robert Donnell, reportedly left 5 minutes later. There was some evidence that Twila was raped. She was found with her pants unzipped and her blouse was pushed up over her abdomen. Although vaginal samples were preserved in a rape kit, police didn't test it. Donnell's truck was identified by a neighborhood boy as being present at the time of the murders.

Following the murders Donnell thoroughly cleaned his truck, replaced the carpets, and repainted the exterior. He was never questioned by the police. He was later killed in a drunken auto accident.

Apparent political motive

Hank had been something of an irritant to the district attorney’s office and to the sheriff’s office. He was an outspoken advocate of prisoner’s rights and had participated in inmate lawsuits. He had many interviews in the Pampa newspaper on the way the prior sheriff, Jimmy Free, treated inmates in the jail and violated their rights. He was previously arrested on a bogus burglary charge, but by demanding a rare examining hearing, got the matter dropped before he could be indicted.

Hank was convicted on March 18, 1994, and sentenced to death on March 23, 1995.

According to the defense team, Hank's conviction has been possible only through manipulation of the crime scene, ignorance of key witnesses and disregard for the physical DNA evidence, which mostly is still untested today but may be damaged. Samples of blood and hair clutched in the victims' hands and tested after the trial were proven to belong to another person other than Skinner or the victims.

Appeals

In 2000, David Protess, professor of journalism at Northwestern University, and his students conducted two independent investigations of the case. Their request for the analysis of the full DNA evidence has not been granted, and similar motions introduced by the defense team have been rejected by Texas High Courts. Convinced of the innocence of Hank Skinner, David Protess concluded that as long as motions for reviewing the case are rejected, nothing could be done. Appeals have been introduced to the Federal District Court, presided by Judge Mary Lou Robinson.

The defense of Skinner has permanently tried to revive the case through different strategies, listed on the legal documents of the official website. The first motion for DNA testing and the requests for appealability have been been introduced, without success so far.

On July 2, 2007, a Federal District Court Judgement denied the Certificate of Appealability which is requested for a new trial, this decision is currently on appeal with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On July 27, 2007, the defense team has introduced a renewed motion for DNA testing, arguing that the reasons given to reject the first motion have now been voided by the same court. This renewed motion for DNA testing has been rejected and, as of|2008|8|lc=on, Skinner is still on Death Row.

On May 18, 2008, Judge Jerry E. Smith, of the Northern District of Texas finally has granted a certificate of appealability for Hank Skinner, "with regard to the claim of failure to make use of the blood spatter report and with regard to the claim of failure to discover and present Ellis’testimony". The certificate of appealability examines the claims made about the ineffectiveness of Skinner's defense during the trial. It concludes that reasonable jurists would debate why the defense didn't use the testimony of Ellis describing the suspect behavior of the Donnel thoroughly cleaning his car shortly after the murders. It also finds that the defense didn't use a blood spatter report showing that the murderer had probably dealt with two victims at the same time, which bolsters the defense theory that Skinner was too intoxicated to commit the murders.

References

* [http://www.hankskinner.org/ Official site]

External links

* [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/drowlist/skinner.jpgOffender Information] . "Texas Department of Criminal Justice". Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
* [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/offendersondrow.htm Offenders on Death Row] . "Texas Department of Criminal Justice". Retrieved on 2007-11-26.