DNA testing that death row inmate Hank Skinner said would prove he is not a triple murderer is doing just the opposite. On Wednesday, the Texas Attorney General’s Office filed papers that say the DNA incriminates Skinner.
Skinner was convicted of killing his live-in girlfriend and her two adult children on New Year’s Eve in 1993.
But Skinner has insisted he’s innocent and the DNA would clear him of the crimes. The DNA was not tested during his murder trial and Skinner has been fighting in the courts to get access to the evidence for testing.
In 2010, Skinner was an hour away from execution when the Supreme Court intervened, but in an advisory filed Wednesday, state lawyers said the DNA tests are confirming that Skinner is the killer.
The DNA testing is not complete, but the state said it sees no reason to continue the tests given these results.
Rob Owen, one of the attorneys working with Skinner, released a statement saying -“We find it troubling that the Attorney General’s Office has seen fit to release partial results of the DNA testing and submit its ‘advisory’ to the court while the DNA testing is still in progress.”
Skinner had testified that he suffered a deep cut on his hand that night and bled at the murder scene.
Owen continues that, “All the parties must do everything in their power to make sure Texas does not make an irreversible mistake.”
