On March 4th, the CCA affirmed the March 24th date for Hank's
execution, or more exactly it states it doesn't have jurisdiction to
overrule the Judge's order. The order has been posted in the legal
documents section on the website.
Please help Hank get the DNA testing. I have added a list of
newspapers and journalists to whom you can copy your letter to the
DA, below:
Hank sent a 5-page letter to the Gray County D.A. Lynn Switzer with a
number of exhibits, which was received by her office on January 27th
2010.
These documents can be downloaded in the "legal documents" section -
"DNA Issue" paragraph on the website.
Please take the time to read the letter, the exhibits document all
the points and statements made by Hank in his letter.
As you will understand from his letter, Hank is asking the D.A. to
put the execution warrant on hold, to grant him a 120-day reprieve
and order the DNA testing. It is important to support him in this
vital attempt. Of course the purpose is NOT to write to the D.A. and
attack her for what she hasn't done or should have done. What needs
to be emphasized is that justice calls for the truth and the untested
evidence is crucial to prove his innocence. Her position as D.A. is
to ensure that justice is served and not to allow the execution of an
innocent man when so many issues remain unresolved just a few weeks
from his execution date.
You can send your letters with reference "Hank Skinner - Execution
Date March 24, 2010" to:
Ms. Lynn Switzer
District Attorney
Gray County Courthouse
Pampa TX 79065
For more impact, you may consider copying your letter to a local
media of your choice and also to enclose a copy of Hank's letter as
well. If you do so, make sure you include the information after your
signature; ie: cc. Houston Chronicle (whathever newpaper you choose
or the journalist's name). Here is a non-exhaustive short list of
newspapers and/or journalists you can cc your letter to:
The Pampa news
PO Box 2198
Pampa TX 79066
Editor bphillips@thepampan
The Amarillo Globe news
Letters to the Editor
PO Box 2091
Amarillo TX 79166
Fax 1 806 345 3400
Letters@amarillo.
The Houston Chronicle
Roma Khanna - roma.khanna@
The Austin American-Statesman
Chuck Lindell - clindell@statesman.
Steven Kreytak - skreytak@statesman.
The Dallas Morning News
Emily Ramshaw - eramshaw@dallasnews
Editor Michael Grabell - mgrabell@dallasnews
The Texas Tribune
Brandi Grissom - bgrissom@texastribu
CBS News - 60 minutes
60m@cbsnews.
The Chicago Tribune
Steve Mills - smmills@tribune.
The Columbus Dispatch
Jeff Dutton - jdutton@dispatch.
Here are some points you can raise:
- All of the state's chief investigators and medical examiner on the
case testified in pre-trial and trial that they personally collected
the evidence in question that we are seeking to test, that they
believe evidence would conclusively show who killed Twila, Scooter
and Randy. So why won't they allow it to be tested?
- Both the State's star witnesses (Andrea Reed & Howard Mitchell)
have testified that they believe Hank to be innocent.
- All three of the previous D.A.s have publicly stated that they
believe the evidence needs to be tested.
- Article 2.01 of the TX code of criminal procedure compels the D.A.
to test the evidence or, allow the deffense to test it.
- The D.A. has admitted in Ch 64 DNA pleadings that the evidence is
in a condition making testing possible, that the chain of custody has
been maintained, that the evidence is capable of providing a
probative result and idendity is an issue in Hank's case.
- Texas should not execute a man it does not know for a fact to be
guilty. After Andrea Reed's recantation, according to the state own's
experts, the remaining evidence does nothing to prove guilt at all.
The A.G has stated through his spokesman that it would violate the
constitution to murder someone who is innocent - that has got to
apply equally to someone they do not know for a fact to be guilty.
Source(www.hankskinner.org)
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