FRANCE-US-EXECUTION-HANK SKINNER

People gather on the Concorde place in front of the US embassy on March 24, 2010 in Paris, few hours before the execution of death row inmate Hank Skinner. The fate of the death row Texan on March 23, 2010 is in the hands of the US Supreme Court which can still suspend his execution scheduled for March 24, 2010 and thus leave him time to request for new DNA testing and formally ask Texas Governor Rick Perry for a reprieve. Last week, he lost a bid before the Texas Court for the fatal bludgeoning of his 40-year-old girlfriend, Twila Busby, and the fatal stabbing of her two adult sons, 22-year-old Elwin Caler and 20-year-old Randy Busby, more than 16 years ago. Skinner claims he was under the influence of anxiolytics for anxiety and pain killers and was unconscious at the time of the murders. His lawyer Robert Owen says a DNA test would put the matter to rest.