Hank Skinner, sentenced to death nearly 30 years ago for a triple murder committed in 1993, died in prison where he had never ceased to proclaim his innocence, his lawyers announced on Friday February 17.
Married to Sandrine Ageorge-Skinner, a French activist against capital punishment, this 60-year-old American narrowly escaped execution in 2011, saved in extremis by a decision of the Court of Appeals of Texas, State where he was incarcerated, authorizing DNA analysis.
However, these were not enough to clear him, and his execution was scheduled for September 13.
According to his lawyers, Henry W. "
Hank
" Skinner died of complications from surgery performed in December to remove a brain tumor.
Read alsoUnited States: appeal for clemency before the execution of a convict who tore his eyes out
He had been sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder, on December 31, 1993, of his then partner, Twila Busby, and her two sons.
He had obtained additional DNA analyzes after 13 years of proceedings, after escaping his execution by 20 minutes.
Another court had however rejected these analyses, considering that they were “not
favorable to the prisoner
”.
On the contrary, Hank Skinner saw it as " irrefutable
" proof
of his innocence, according to statements to AFP, made in 2014.
