COUNTY OFFERS DNA TESTING TO INMATES RESULTS IN CASES OF VIOLENT CRIME COULD REVERSE VERDICTS.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer VENTURA - Ventura County law enforcement officials are offering free DNA tests to inmates convicted of violent crimes, even though the results could overturn verdicts and lead to civil action against the county. Prosecutors said Thursday they will split the $5,000 costs of the new program, in place since June, with the defense when tests are conducted by a private crime laboratory. It will refund the remaining costs in cases where the client is proved innocent. ``One unjust conviction is one too many,'' said Dee Corona, supervisor of the District Attorney Office's Sexual Assault/Family Protection unit. ``It's certainly the policy in the District Attorney's Office and our ethical obligation and goal to only convict the guilty. If there was some error made, we would want to know that.'' Public Defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was Ken Clayman said his office had not made any requests for DNA testing DNA testing Analysis of DNA (the genetic component of cells) in order to determine changes in genes that may indicate a specific disorder. Mentioned in: Acoustic Neuroma, Retinoblastoma, Von Willebrand Disease since the program began last month, but that his attorneys were keeping watch for such cases. ``Everybody's on the lookout for in search of; looking for. See also: Lookout the appropriate cases,'' said Clayman. DNA testing, which is also conducted by the sheriff's crime lab, allows experts to match blood, saliva, other fluids, hair and tissue to determine if a suspect and victim had contact or were in close proximity. The test is said to have a margin of error of only 1-in-5 billion cases. ``There's no such thing as too much information,'' said defense attorney Richard Hanawalt, who praised the program. ``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. is a rock-solid reliable science. DNA should be made available in every case where residual evidence exists in a contested case.'' Although the program has been in place since late June, prosecutors said they have yet to receive any requests for DNA testing from the Public Defender's Office or private defense attorneys. Prosecutors said they will only pay for testing in cases where convicts or their attorneys have a reasonable claim of innocence, often involving newly discovered evidence NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE. That evidence which, after diligent search for it, was not discovered until after the trial of a cause. 2. In general a new trial will be granted on the ground that new, important, and material evidence has been discovered since the . Costs for the prosecution would be paid through the general District Attorney's Office budget. ``It doesn't apply to every case,'' said Deputy District Attorney Richard Holmes Richard Holmes is the name of:
In law, evidence that is drawn not from direct observation of a fact at issue but from events or circumstances that surround it. If a witness arrives at a crime scene seconds after hearing a gunshot to find someone standing over a corpse and holding a . We have no problem with doing this in appropriate cases. It reveals a portion of critical evidence. Sometimes it can answer a critical issue in a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. fashion. Other times it means nothing.'' Examples where DNA testing is meaningless include a murder case where the defendant claims he acted in self-defense or a rape case where the defendant admits he had intercourse but said it was consensual, authorities said. Prosecutors said they would offer the tests even though an overturned verdict could lead to civil action against the county. ``We're interested in seeing that justice is done,'' Holmes said. A version of this story appears in News. |
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