"Trashing the Truth" by Susan Greene and Miles Moffeit, Denver Post, July 23-26, 2007.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For twenty years TWENTY YEARS. The lapse of twenty years raises a presumption of certain facts, and after such a time, the party against whom the presumption has been raised, will be required to prove a negative to establish his rights. 2. , Clarence Moses-El has claimed that he is innocent of the rape for which he's serving a forty-eight-year sentence. When a judge finally granted his request for a DNA test DNA test n → DNS-Test m in 1995, Moses-El raised $1,000 from fellow inmates to pay for the lab work. Before the test could be performed, however, police destroyed the crime-scene evidence, in what they said was an accident. Moses-El's case is one of 141 uncovered by the Denver Post in their four-day series "Trashing the Truth," an exhaustive examination of DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. mishandling. Looming large over the controversy is a 1988 Supreme Court decision declaring that destruction of evidence only violates a fair trial if it's done in "bad faith." As the Post describes, however, that standard is almost impossible to prove. The Post approaches the issue from multiple angles, including the disorganization disorganization /dis·or·gan·iza·tion/ (-or?gan-i-za´shun) the process of destruction of any organic tissue; any profound change in the tissues of an organ or structure which causes the loss of most or all of its proper characters. of evidence vaults and the lack of a uniform national policy. The series combines inmate interviews, statistical analysis, and expert testimony Testimony about a scientific, technical, or professional issue given by a person qualified to testify because of familiarity with the subject or special training in the field. . The Post also developed a multimedia presentation of the issue on their Web site, featuring explanations of DNA evidence Among the many new tools that science has provided for the analysis of forensic evidence is the powerful and controversial analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the material that makes up the genetic code of most organisms. , video interviews with inmates, and an interactive timeline of the history of DNA case law and criminal policy. The series has already made an impact. One case highlighted by the paper is being reexamined by the district attorney; Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has created a task force to investigate the issue. "The governor has been reading the Denver Post series," an aide told the paper. "We are aware of the issues that it has raised. And we'll be having conversations about that as we go forward." As for Moses-El, the Denver DA is defensive. "You can't just assume that [the destroyed evidence] would have exonerated him," he told the Post. Moses-El will have another twenty-eight years to wonder just that. |
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