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| Florida legislation gives convicts DNA lifeline |
| By Miami Herald |
| Published: 06/05/2001 |
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For untold hundreds of Florida convicts who went to prison despite untapped DNA evidence that might have proved them innocent -- and for the police and prosecutors who put them there -- judgment day is at hand. A bill signed last week ushers in a genetic revolution in the criminal justice system. Starting in October, prisoners may seek DNA testing if they can prove genetic technology could clear them or weaken the case against them. 'If you've got the wrong guy, that's not justice,'' said state Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, co-author of the law. 'And the guy who did it is probably out there doing it again.'' On Wednesday, lawyers will debate a set of similar rules before the Florida Supreme Court. Authored by the Florida Bar, the rules would empower an even larger group of prisoners, including those who have pleaded guilty, to seek DNA testing. That could spark a genetic turf war between the Legislature and the high court. It isn't clear which would prevail. Florida joins Texas, Maryland, Virginia and other states that have enacted sweeping DNA laws in recent months. To date, almost no one in the Florida prison system has been allowed to invoke modern genetic testing in a case from yesteryear. Judges typically bar DNA analysis because of statutory language that discourages new testing on old evidence. |
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