Court stays Texas execution for DNA test

WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday granted a temporary stay of execution for a Texas inmate who requested a DNA test on evidence used to convict him.

The court said it would consider whether to take up the appeal of Henry "Hank" Skinner, 47, who had been scheduled to be executed by injection Wednesday for the 1993 killings of his girlfriend and her two sons. The court did not indicate when it will decide whether to hear Skinner's appeal, CNN reported.

Defense attorney Robert Owen said DNA testing would exonerate Skinner and determine who the killer was.

"This action suggests that the court believes there are important issues that require closer examination," Owen said.

Skinner was an hour away from execution when the court reached its decision. He was eating what would have been his last meal when he was informed of the decision, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said.

"I had made up my mind I was going to die," Lyons quoted Skinner as saying, adding he said, "I feel like I really won today."

Skinner was convicted in 1995. He has argued for DNA testing on physical evidence including vaginal swabs and fingernail clippings from one of the victims -- his live-in girlfriend at the time -- as well as hairs found in her hand and two knives and other evidence found at the scene.