"Every state now has a legal avenue where people can request DNA testing of evidence after being convicted. But in many cases, it's not clear if those statutes apply once convicts have died, said Brandon Garrett, a law professor at Duke University."
"The advent of DNA testing 'upended all these traditional notions of finality,' Garrett said. 'As long as it's kept in a dry place, you can test it 60 days later or 10 years later.'"
"Posthumous exonerations based on DNA testing are exceedingly rare. There are only seven such cases across the nation over the past three decades, according to a database maintained by Garrett."
Shawn Tanner maintained his innocence throughout 34 years in prison for a 1988 murder conviction. After his death in 2022, his advocates pursued DNA testing of crucial evidence, but prosecutors argued his death invalidated the request. The case reached the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, raising fundamental questions about whether deceased individuals can clear their names through DNA evidence. While every state has legal pathways for post-conviction DNA testing, application to deceased convicts remains unclear in many jurisdictions. Posthumous exonerations based on DNA are exceedingly rare, with only seven cases nationally over three decades. DNA testing's permanence and reliability have transformed traditional notions of legal finality, potentially enabling exonerations long after conviction.
Read at The Washington Post
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]