Among the cases that will be heard by the US Supreme Court this season is one from a Texas death row inmate claiming that he is innocent. Arguments on this case are scheduled to be heard on October 13th.
Henry Skinner who was convicted of of the New Year’s Eve 1993 killings of his live-in girlfriend and her two adult sons is demanding authorities conduct more thorough DNA testing of evidence gathered at the crime scene.
Mr. Skinner’s firmly believes that re-testing certain DNA samples would clear him. The state of Texas’ position is thats he is not entitled to testing of evidence that was not analyzed before his 1995 trial. It also claims the wealth of forensic evidence available at the crime scene which was repeatedly reviewed by multiple state and federal courts points to his guilt.
This case would affect the entire justice system. There are many on going reports of convicts being found innocent with DNA evidence. DNA testing is becoming more available, cheaper and faster. Many other inmates have started to pushed for DNA testing on old evidence to prove their innocence. A Supreme Court ruling could make future such claims easier or harder to pursue.
