That's the title of a report by Brandi Grissom in the Texas editition of the Sunday New York Times. An expanded version is posted at the Texas Tribune. There is an interactive infographic at the Tribune page. The article references the case of Hank Skinner.
In some Texas counties, it takes six months or longer to get DNA test results from the Department of Public Safety, says William Lee Hon, the Polk County criminal district attorney.
Now, Mr. Hon and other prosecutors fear that come Sept. 1, when a new law takes effect requiring DNA analysis of all biological evidence in death penalty cases, the wait could grow longer. “We’re not sure that D.P.S. has the resources currently to adequately comply with that legislation,” he said.
In Texas, there have been 54 exonerations based on DNA test results, including those of two inmates on death row, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Lawmakers this year approved Senate Bill 1292, written by Senator Rodney Ellis, Democrat of Houston, which aims to prevent wrongful convictions. Many prosecutors say that the bill may go too far, and that the pursuit of testing in some cases could be used to delay a conviction.
Tom Vinger, a safety department spokesman, said it was too early to predict the law’s impact. Mr. Ellis, who is the board chairman of the Innocence Project, which is dedicated to using DNA evidence to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, said that if the state sought the death penalty, expedience should not take priority over certainty.
“If you’re going to ask for the death penalty,” he said, “you ought to be confident that you have the right person.”
The bill’s champions include Attorney General Greg Abbott, the leading Republican candidate for governor, who said the measure would save Texas years of appeals.
“There’s no reason to test these items more than a decade after the crime was committed,” Mr. Abbott said in March.
Earlier coverage of the DNA testing legislation begins at the link; also available, additional coverage of the Texas Legislature's 2013 regular session and more on Hank Skinner's case. Related posts are in the DNA category index.
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