Report: Ohio Inmate DNA Testing Flawed

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Report: Ohio Inmate DNA Testing Flawed

Monday January 28, 2008 1:31 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio's DNA testing program
for inmates seeking to prove their innocence is
deeply flawed, with police routinely discarding
evidence after trials and court-ordered tests
never getting done, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Judges also ignore requests for DNA testing,
leaving inmates in legal limbo, and nearly a
third of the denials examined by The Columbus
Dispatch failed to cite a specific reason, as
required by state law. In other cases, there's
no indication that anyone even read the inmate's
request for DNA testing, the newspaper reported.

Gov. Ted Strickland told The Dispatch he is
calling for an overhaul that would speed up the
review process, open up testing to more inmates
and establish statewide standards for preserving
evidence.

Across the country, more than 200 inmates have
been freed because of DNA tests, including six
from Ohio. Four of those came before the state
created a formal DNA testing program in 2003.
Since then, 313 Ohio inmates have applied but
only 14 tests have been done. In some cases,
evidence has been lost or destroyed, the
newspaper said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7260684,00.html

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Related: Lost hope - Columbus Dispatch

[eppur_se_muova]

1. "Mistakes were made."

All miscarriages of justice shall be acknowledged in the passive voice.