Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Hank Skinner Part VIII -- To Test or Not To Test

*** CORRECTION ***
The exact quote stuck through in the post below came from a Hank Skinner post.  I have since learned the quote was not exact, as indicated by his quotation marks, rather that it was paraphrased.  The error is mine for using the quote prior to substantiating it. -- TSJ


There was so much DNA evidence available in the Hank Skinner case that it is easy to lose track of it all. Even an expensive, colorful, professionally generated graphic would be inadequate to tell all there is to tell. In this part of the Hank Skinner story, I will attempt to remedy the problem somewhat.

###

I begin by summarizing the DNA evidence presented at the trial of Hank Skinner.

Twila’s blood was found on Hank’s shirt and pants. The prosecution argued that it came to be there as Hank bludgeoned Twila with the axe handle, after first having strangled her. The defense claimed it came to be there as Hank fell to the floor while trying to rise from a drunken stupor, thereby coming in contact with Twila’s blood, either on her person or on the floor.

Twila’s blood was found also on Elwin. In this case, the prosecution did not argue that it came to be there as Elwin bludgeoned Twila. The defense argued that Elwin must have been standing in the living room near his mother as she was being bludgeoned. They argued further that a stuporous Hank would have been unable to kill either of them, much less both of them.

Elwin’s blood was found on Hank’s pants. The prosecution argued that it came to be there as Hank stabbed Elwin while they were in the bedroom. The defense argued that it came to be there as Hank fell to the floor while trying to rise from a drunken stupor, thereby coming in contact with Elwin’s blood. Alternatively, they argued the blood came to be there as Elwin attempted to roust Hank from his slumber and help him from the house.

Randy’s blood was found on the blanket that partially covered him. The prosecution argued that it came to be there as Hank stabbed Randy three times in the back while Randy lay on the top bunk. They argued further that Hank cut himself while stabbing Randy, that the knife hit bone and Hank’s hand slid down the knife. That is presumably why they tested the blood on the blanket, expecting to find Hank’s blood there. The absence of Hank’s blood did not deter them from their pursuit.

The hairs found on Randy’s blanket, back, and cheek came from Randy himself. Once again, the prosecution presumably expected them to belong to Hank. They did not.

The handprints near the doorway of the boys' bedroom came from Hank. The print was only eighteen inches above the floor. The prosecution argued that it came to be there after Hank stabbed Randy and cut his hand in the process, and after Elwin tackled Hank as Hank was leaving the bedroom. The defense argued that the blood came to be there as Hank stumbled while trying to make his way out the back door. The defense argued further that Hank had cut his hand on the broken light fixture glass when he fell to the floor in his drunken stupor. Alternatively, his appellate counsel would argue that Hank might have been wounded by the same person who killed the others in the household.

The the handprints on the back door came from Hank. The defense argues that Hank left them there as he exited the house in a stuporous state. The prints on the back door leave unexplained the evidence that the killer exited via the front door.

###

After the trial, DA John Mann (Lynn Switzer’s predecessor, once removed) succumbed to public pressure and sent additional DNA material to GeneScreen for testing. He did so to get people to “shut up” and to “put a few more nails” in Hank’s coffin.

The DNA from the two hairs clutched in Twila’s hand came from an unknown male, possibly a male relative of Twila. This finding posed severe problems for Mann, since he had earlier claimed they definitely “came from the head of her assailant as Twila yanked out his hair during the struggle for her life which she ultimately lost.” Mann dealt with the awkward results by lying about them. He ran a 7-month smear campaign against Hank claiming the testing showed the hairs came from Hank Skinner. Only after Mann left office did the DNA lab issue a written report. That report absolutely confirmed Hank to be excluded as the contributor of those hairs clutched in Twila’s hand. Because Mann had cleverly provided comparative DNA samples only from Hank Skinner and Twila Busby, the results could not prove or disprove the possible male relative to be Twila’s predatory uncle, Robert Donnell.

Blood found on the gauze apparently used to wipe fingerprints from the front porch knife excluded both Hank Skinner and Twila Busby as donors.

Blood found on a cassette tape excluded both Hank Skinner and Twila Busby as donors.

Other hairs sent for testing excluded Hank Skinner as the donor, but did not exclude Twila or a relative of Twila’s as potential donors.

The swab from the rape kit was sent for testing along with the other material in this group. The results of that testing were not included along with the other results. The location of the rape kit evidence is now being kept secret from Hank’s defense team and from the public. It is possible, indeed likely, that results from the kit excluded Hank Skinner and are still being suppressed, even as Hank’s execution nears.

The fingernail material was sent for testing along with the other material in this group. The results of that testing were not included along with the other results. The location of the broken fingernails and associated DNA evidence is now being kept secret from Hank’s defense team and from the public. It is possible, indeed likely, that the results from the fingernail scrapings excluded Hank Skinner and are still being suppressed, even as Hank’s execution nears.

The broken fingernails nonetheless exculpate Hank Skinner. It is likely Twila broke them as she fought for her life, possibly as she clawed at her assailant's head and came away with several of his hairs in her grasp. We don’t need the DNA from the broken fingernails to tell us they weren’t broken while clawing Hank. He had no scratches on him when he was arrested for her murder.

###

Despite all the DNA material tested both before and after the trial, there remains still to this day substantial DNA material to be tested.

The blood, hairs, and sweat from the windbreaker resting just a few feet from Twila’s body have not been tested.

The blood from the handprint left on the front storm door has not been tested, and may never be tested. The police removed that pane from the storm door, covered the print with firm paper taped around the edges, and stored that pane in the Sheriff’s evidence vault. While under the control of the sheriff, someone scraped the handprint from the pane.

The dish towel from the from the trash bag was not tested, despite a possible blood stain on that towel. It’s possible the towel was used to wipe the fingerprints from the knife which was found in the same trash bag. That’s the trash bag that had the handprint that did not belong to Hank Skinner.

The blood on the knife in the trash bag was not tested, though it is likely that knife was the one used to stab both Randy Busby and Elwin Caler. That knife was found in the trash bag that had the handprint that did not belong to Hank Skinner.

The knife found on the front porch was not tested for the presence of blood. It appeared to have none. It seems not to be the murder weapon. That suggests that the blood on the gauze that was apparently used to wipe the prints from the knife originated elsewhere, possibly from the killer.

Most significantly, no DNA sample was ever taken from Robert Donnell. The police never requested a saliva, blood, or semen sample from Twila's maternal uncle.

In Part IX of this X part series: we'll take a closer look at Uncle Robert.