Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case Of Texas Death Row Inmate

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of Texas Death Row inmate Hank Skinner.  Skinner was convicted of the 1993 New Years Eve triple murder of his girlfriend and her two sons.  Skinner has proclaimed his innocence claiming that he was passed out because he was under the influence of anti-anxiety medication, pain killers and alcohol.  He has been claiming that DNA testing could help clear him of the murders.  Blood tests taken after the murders indicated he had the drugs in his system.  After Skinner was convicted of the murders, he married a French anti-death penalty crusader.  French President Nicholas Sarkozy and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner have expressed their desire to have the DNA testing conducted in support of his French wife.  The Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles rejected Skinner's request for DNA testing as have Texas Governor Rick Perry.  Texas holds the record for the most executions carried out in the United States, with 457 since 1976.  At least 17 prisoners have been released from death row in recent years after DNA tests exonerated them.  Yet Texas refuses to conduct the DNA testing.

Skinner case will be taken up by the Supreme Court during its next session.

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