....Jones' convictions were based largely on what Scheck says is dubious evidence. It included testimony from an accomplice who linked Jones to the slaying, and the report of a state forensic scientist who examined a 1-inch length of hair found at the scene and said that it was similar to Jones' hair.

Accomplice testimony and microscopic hair comparison testimony are notoriously unreliable. Now that DNA testing of hair is possible, Scheck says it should be done. The Tribune has uncovered information that a request for it was made right before Jones' execution, and Bush did not acknowledge it in refusing to grant a stay of execution:

Scheck said in an interview Monday that while he is not prepared to argue that Jones is in fact innocent, there is a question of whether then-Gov. Bush knew of Jones' request for the DNA testing when refusing to grant a last-minute plea for a stay of execution.

According to records gathered by Scheck, a request for a 30-day stay to allow DNA testing of the hair was filed with the governor's office on the day Jones was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection.

According to notes found in Jones' file at the Texas Department of Public Safety, the agency that handled the hair comparison at Jones' trial, a member of Bush's staff called that day to ask about the hair comparison in the case. The governor's aide was urged, according to the notes, to contact the FBI about "the likelihood of obtaining . . . DNA results from a 1" hair fragment."

But when the final summary of the case was sent to Bush for his decision on whether to stop the execution, there was no mention of the request for DNA testing of the hair, according to a copy of the summary obtained by the Tribune. "The only decision to be made is whether to grant a 30-day reprieve," the summary, written by an assistant general counsel for Bush, said. "At this time, I do not recommend that a reprieve be granted . . . " That attorney declined to comment Monday.