Skinner's Reprieve

The Austin American Statesmen article “Death row inmate entitled to delay for DNA tests” written by the Statesmen Editorial Board reports on Rick Perry’s pending decision on whether or not to grant Henry Skinner a 30 day reprieve from his execution scheduled for 6:00pm March 24th. Skinner was convicted of killing, his girlfriend and her sons, at their home in Pampa. The Statesmen argues that the inconsistencies in the murder case call for additional DNA testing of certain objects. There are currently 7 untested pieces of evidence. In this article, the Statesmen tries to convince the reader that it is Rick Perry’s moral responsibility to grant this reprieve.
The author tries to appeal to a wide range of readers, from those against the death penalty to those who advocate it. The Statesmen did this by appealing to the commonly held opinion that one should only be punished only if guilty instead of attempting to argue that is capital punishment wrong. Regardless of peoples differing views on capital punishment, people can agree only the guilty deserve to be punished. The article argues that evidence collected after the trial could disprove Skinner’s conviction. It also mentions investigators avoiding DNA tests in the past because it wasn’t helping their case. This article plays on the reader’s emotions by telling a personal story about a man who died in jail wrongly accused. This example helps to connect a name and a face with the issue.
Ultimately Rick Perry faces an important decision that not only impacts Skinner but the entire Texas Criminal Justice System. Is it really justice when there’s a chance the state has killed an innocent man? This is a subject matter where there is no room for error. How are we to respect and comply to a government that cannot ensure its citizens their right to justice? I strongly agree with the authors of this articles that the reprieve should be granted.
FYI Today, March 24th, Not Rick Perry but the U.S. Supreme Court granted Skinner the reprieve. Although this does not ensure the DNA testing will happen, Skinner’s lawyers have a bit more time.