Bush Gave Last-Minute Reprieve
July 12 -- New DNA tests have failed to clear a Texas inmate given a reprieve by Gov. George W. Bush last month just minutes before he was to be executed on rape and murder convictions, USA Today reported.
The way Bush has dealt with the death penalty in two terms as Texas governor has been a campaign issue as he awaits formal nomination next month as the Republican candidate for president.
The new FBI tests are said to point to Ricky McGinn or a relative as the sourceof a pubic hair found inside the body of Stephanie Flanary, 12, the convicted man's stepdaughter. None of McGinn’s relatives have been linked to the case.
She was found in May, 1993, and McGinn was convicted of her rape and murder two years later.
Bush Granted Reprieve
McGinn, 43, was facing execution the night of June 1. Although DNA evidence was used by prosecutors to help convict McGinn of the rape and slaying of the girl, his defense team contended newer, more sophisticated testing now available would help his case.
They argued that new DNA tests proving the hair was not McGinn’s would show he did not rape the girl. Without rape as an aggravating circumstance of the slaying, McGinn would not be subject to the death penalty on the murder conviction.
For the first time as governor, Bush granted a 30-day reprieve just minutes before the scheduled execution.
“Any time DNA evidence can be relevant as to the guilt or innocence of a person on death row, we need to use it,” said Bush on June 1.
New Execution Date Possible
A published report says the tests were completed last month and filed with Stephen Ellis, a judge in Brown County, Texas, where the crime occurred.
It said a second set of tests being done by other labs could rule out McGinn as the source of semen left at the crime scene, but quoted sources close to the case as saying that appeared unlikely.
If Ellis decides the most recent DNA tests do not exonerate McGinn, he could set a new execution date. The decision is expected sometime after Aug. 15.
