DNA evidences retesting in Virginia



By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2008; B04

Virginia is preparing to send letters to about 400 felons convicted
in the 1970s and 1980s notifying them that genetic evidence in their
cases has been reviewed, including eight cases in which defendants'
DNA did not match crime samples.

The Virginia Forensic Science Board voted yesterday to send letters
explaining that evidence in their cases, some decades-old, has been
retested using DNA technology that was not available at the time of
conviction. No determination has been made about whether any of the
felons are innocent, and the letter will explain that they can seek
further information about the test results.

The board's 13 members were split in their decision, however, with
some arguing that the letters could languish at old addresses or that
recipients might be confused by the content. About 200 Virginia
lawyers had volunteered to track down the felons, but the board
rejected the offer because of concerns about safety and privacy.

The notifications mark the latest step in an unprecedented review of
criminal files from the 1970s and 1980s that was launched by then-
Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) in 2005 after a more limited analysis of old
evidence led to the exoneration of five men.

"We may as well just throw all these letters up into the wind," said
Steven D. Benjamin, a board member and Richmond defense attorney. He
said some felons might not be able to read well enough to understand
the letter. Others might be suspicious of a letter coming from the
government. A lawyer hand-delivering a letter would be able to offer
guidance.

"I don't think there's any doubt in anyone's mind that we have a
moral and statutory duty to notify people that evidence exists that
could prove their innocence," Benjamin said. "By choosing to use the
mail we are selecting the least reliable method of notification. "

Board Chairman Joseph P. Bono, a retired Secret Service laboratory
director, said the state will send both a certified letter and a
regular-mail letter. He said recipients will have to sign for the
letters, so there will be a record of delivery. If the felons can't
be tracked down, he said, the state will take additional steps to
find them.

"I think it's a first step," Bono said. "I think it will work in
many, many of the cases. In those cases where it doesn't work, then
we can explore another option."

Bono said the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, which assists people
who say they were wrongly convicted, has agreed to be listed on the
letter as a resource for the felons to contact.

The state crime lab began the project by combing though about a half-
million old files of investigations into violent crimes, such as
rapes and murders, to see whether bits of blood-stained cloth, hairs
or other genetic material had been preserved. Nearly 800 cases have
been sent to a private Northern Virginia DNA laboratory for analysis,
and the laboratory has completed work on about half.

Evidence has been recovered in about 150 additional cases, said Tom
Gasparoli, a spokesman for the Department of Forensic Science. That
evidence will be sent to the laboratory once it has been determined
that a suspect was convicted in a case, he said.

This year, the General Assembly directed state agencies to notify the
felons that the evidence had been tested. The department will send
letters in the first 400 cases as soon as possible and will inform
other felons as additional analysis is completed, Gasparoli said.

Gasparoli said the department has informed commonwealth' s attorneys
and law enforcement agencies about the test results in the eight
cases in which the felons' DNA did not match the crime evidence. He
said that the felons have not been notified but that letters will be
sent to them.

Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who pushed the measure in the
legislature, said he is convinced "99 percent" of the people are
guilty but is frustrated that the notification process has been so
long in coming.

"Science has advanced, and now there is other information available,
so let's let them know about it," Albo said. He said the effort is
worthwhile, "if there is even one person who is innocent."

http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ article/2008/ 08/06/
AR2008080603686. html?nav= rss_metro