File photo of Henry Skinner, convicted of killing three people in Pampa
HOUSTON (AP) - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has refused to halt the scheduled execution next week of a man convicted of a triple slaying in Pampa in the Texas Panhandle more than 16 years ago.
The state's highest criminal court Wednesday denied a request from 47-year-old Hank Skinner to stop his lethal injection, set for March 24 in Huntsville.
Skinner contends he's innocent of fatally bludgeoning 40-year-old Twila Busby and fatally stabbing her two adult sons, 22-year-old Elwin Caler and 20-year-old Randy Busby. They were killed at their home on New Year's Eve in 1993.
Skinner and his attorneys want additional time to test evidence for DNA they say could prove he's not the killer.
Skinner says he couldn't have committed the murders because when they occurred, he was passed out on a couch, sick from alcohol and codeine use.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Texas Tribune sat down for an interview with Henry Skinner click here to see that interview.
