Texas is known as an enterprise-friendly state and rightly so, but God help anyone moving into that state that is arrested. As Radley Balko writes in the Huffington Post, prosecutors are trying to get Hank Skinner executed before the courts order them to test evidence that could exonerate him of murder.
This is a compelling story, and I think Radley gets it right. Texas prosecutors for years have been able to get away with the worst kind of misconduct (and never receive even a smidgen of punishment) over the years.
And, if one is a judge in Texas, then that is a free pass to beat one's children. The moral of the story is this: do business in Texas, but you might not want to live there.
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Birthplace of Lyndon Johnson, John Connolly, George W. Bush, and Rick Perry, to name just a few.
'Nuff sad.
Sad sad, is all i can say.. is there not any justice anywhere...
Lord help us...
This is interesting that prosecutors are fighting this so hard. A DNA test could exonorate him. But it also could confirm that his conviction should stand. This is their classic question, turned on them. If you have done nothing wrong then you should have nothing to hide. If the prosecutors have done nothing wrong then there should be no reason to hide from a DNA test.
It seems to me that Texans should want the evidence to be DNA tested to prove that they are not executing innocent people. If the DNA tests show that the defendant is not guilty, let him go. If the tests show the defendant is guilty, the state could execute him with a clear conscience.
The fact that the state does not want the evidence tested suggests that something is amiss. Is the state trying to avoid paying the defendant for a wrongful conviction?
Both of these recent cases explain why my coworkers say that they do not want Texas law in our state. These cases should also alert Americans NOT to vote for Rick Perry for president.
Stay granted pending DNA test.....yes!
http://reason.com/blog/2011/11/07/stay-of-execution-granted-for-hank-skinn
UPDATE: Radley has more on the court order for the stay. First and foremost, he notes that the order isn't for DNA testing, it's "a stay to determine "if" he should get DNA testing."
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Pathetic!!!
Read Scott Henson's Grits For Breakfast blog at:
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com
which covers many important issues in the criminal justice system in Texas.
Follow-ups to Hank Skinner case:
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/search/label/hank%20skinner
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