Hank Skinner, for nearly 30 years on 'death row', has died

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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.

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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 Texas Court of Appeals , State where he was imprisoned, authorizing DNA analyses.

These were not enough to clear him, however, and his execution was scheduled for September 13.

According to his attorneys, Henry W. “Hank” Skinner, died of complications from surgery performed in December to remove a brain tumor.

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 ires after 13 years of proceedings, after escaping his execution by 20 minutes.

Another court, however, rejected these analyses, considering that they were “not favorable to the prisoner”. Hank Skinner, on the contrary, saw it as “irrefutable” proof of his innocence, according to statements to AFP, made in 2014.