The Justice Project has just released two policy reviews related to DNA testing and the criminal justice system. The first, “Improving Access to Post-Conviction DNA Testing,” chronicles the lessons to be learned from the case of Kirk Bloodsworth. Bloodsworth was sentenced to death in Maryland and spent almost nine years in prison for the rape and murder of nine-year-old Dawn Hamilton before DNA testing proved he did not commit the crime. The report contains the Justice Project’s recommendations for avoiding such mistakes in the future, including: preservation of biological evidence, openness to legal claims based on DNA testing from prisoners, availability of DNA testing and representation to bring claims, and standardization of testing procedures.

The second policy review, entitled “Improving the Practice and Use of Forensic Science,” addresses the needs for reform in the handling and testing of forensic evidence. The report explores the erroneous testimony of a forensic analyst that helped convict Brandon Moon in Texas of a rape he did not commit. The faulty handling of post-conviction DNA testing kept Moon in prison for seventeen years before he was exonerated and freed. Both reports examine problems and solutions, the legal landscape, profiles of injustice, and models of policy related to DNA testing and forensic science.
Visit www.theusticeproject.org for copies of the studies. See also Studies.

Citation Guide