We are a long way from a system that grants fair access to DNA testing for convicted criminals.
By Sheldon Krimsky and Tania Simoncelli
December 22, 2010
We have seen repeatedly that DNA can shed light on wrongful convictions. To date, about 250 people who were wrongly convicted have been exonerated because of DNA evidence that was reexamined after they were pronounced guilty. But we are a long way from a system that grants fair access to DNA testing.
One primary constraint on the use of DNA in response to a claim of innocence is the availability of the relevant crime scene evidence. According to the Innocence Project in New York, 22% of the cases that its team investigated from 2004 to 2008 had to be terminated because the crime scene DNA evidence was no longer available. At least 24 states either lack laws requiring preservation of DNA evidence or have inadequate ones.
RichardWanke.Com 
[…] DNA and justice denied – latimes.com […]
LikeLike