( CNN ) -- As the nation and the world 's attention turned to the impending execution of Hank Skinner in Texas before a late stay by a Texas court , one question seemed paramount : `` Why the rush ? '' The answer to that question is buried deep inside the psychology of prosecutors and the culture of Texas . Skinner was scheduled for execution on Wednesday for the 1993 killing of his girlfriend , Twila Busby , and her two sons , until the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ( the top criminal court in that state ) issued a stay late on Monday . While Skinner was found hiding in another house after the murders and some tests showed the blood of the victims on his clothes , he has maintained his innocence . He claims he was in the house at the time of the killing , but was too incapacitated by alcohol and codeine to have hurt anyone . Some question his conviction and point to Busby 's uncle as another suspect , and Skinner wants some of the items found at the scene tested for DNA . Even the foreperson of the convicting jury has now stepped forward to ask that the tests be conducted . However , the prosecutors have steadfastly refused to allow such testing , and Skinner 's attorneys have failed ( thus far ) to get a court order requiring those tests . The prosecutors have been adamant about an immediate execution , precluding further tests , and it is this fact that many people find baffling . As a former prosecutor who then spent 10 years training future prosecutors in Texas , I am not surprised by this development . Quite simply , the prosecutors are committed to their conviction in a way that should surprise no one . To a prosecutor , convicting dangerous people and incapacitating them is a life 's work , nothing less than their duty to a community . Prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing whom to charge with capital murder and whether to seek the death penalty for the person they have charged . Once they have chosen that path , though , it is a somber commitment : It is nothing less than a public pledge to kill another person , and that is the kind of thing that is not done lightly . There is a deep emotional component to it , and that emotional commitment can not be ignored , especially when it no longer matches the trajectory of justice . Academics such as Susan Bandes and Ellen Yaroshefsky have studied the emotional overcommitment of prosecutors , and explain it in part by looking to peer groups . Throughout the post-conviction process , prosecutors are usually surrounded by people ( such as supervisors and investigators ) who share their commitment to a conviction . At the same time , ethical rules keep them away from the person with the highest stake in the game , the defendant , who may want to challenge the outcome . Among those complaining about the rush to execution has been the government of France . Here 's a news flash : Texans really do n't care much what the French think . What do Texans care about ? As even a casual observer of the campaign of Texas Gov . Rick Perry for president has probably noticed , many Texans care about the Bible . Texas , for good or bad , has a highly Christianized political culture , and the very center of the Christian gospels themselves contain a dramatic warning against the dangers of overcommitted prosecutors . At the trial of Christ it was the chief priest , Caiaphas , who took the role of prosecutor . As the trial wore on , he became frustrated . The evidence had contradicted itself ; it suggested more than one story . Finally , Caiaphas could take no more and demanded an immediate outcome . He tore his shirt and said , `` Why do we still need witnesses ? '' It was only then that Christ was condemned to die . That emotion , enough to tear your own shirt , is the kind of commitment that is in the heart of prosecutors . It is a passion born of good intentions , but one that can turn against the good . Caiaphas was not a hero , and Texans of all people should understand that . The commitment of prosecutors is too rooted in emotion to be a deciding factor in a case such as this , and the objectivity of courts must bring to bear what is right . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mark Osler .
Texas was set to execute man who wanted him tested for DNA . Court ordered his execution , over objection of prosecutors . Mark Osler says prosecutors who try death penalty cases display certainty . He says prosecutors have to step in to make sure justice is being served .