Justice should never be denied.

It doesn't matter whether you are a Republican or Democrat, prosecutor or criminal defense attorney, conservative or liberal--or somewhere in between. Consensus is mounting that DNA evidence is science of such certainty that it has both the power to lock up the guilty and set the innocent free. It's all about finding the truth and nothing but the truth.

That's why The Florida Bar has added its voice to the chorus that there should be no deadline on innocence. We advocate the passage of legislation that would do away with the current July 1, 2006, deadline on postconviction DNA testing.

This marks a golden opportunity for all three branches of government to work together to make Florida a model for criminal justice.

Already, Gov. Jeb Bush has signed an executive order to preserve physical evidence for postconviction DNA testing, saying, "the destruction of this evidence could potentially enable the innocent to be wrongly convicted and the guilty to go free."

The Florida Supreme Court has temporarily extended the October 1, 2005, deadline on postconviction DNA testing until July 1, 2006. Before that, the court had already extended a two-year deadline originally set by the legislature, when it was obvious the time frame was too short. More than 1,000 petitions for review have piled up at the two-lawyer office of the Florida Innocence Initiative in Tallahassee.

Meanwhile, legislators are working on a permanent end to the deadline that would be retroactive to October 1, 2005.

Even before the regular legislative session began March 7, the Governmental Operations Committee substitute for HB 61, co-sponsored by Rep. John Quinones, R-Kissimmee, and Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Ft. Lauderdale, and SB 186, sponsored by Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami--both identical bills--had already unanimously passed out of committees in each chamber. These bills include the opportunity for DNA testing, even for those who have entered no contest or guilty pleas, recognizing that sometimes even the innocent are persuaded--by any number of reasons--to "plead out."

Nationally, seven inmates who entered into plea agreements have later been cleared by DNA evidence.

David Rothman, a Miami criminal defense attorney and member of your Florida Bar's Board of Governors, testified eloquently at both the House and Senate criminal justice committees on Jan. 25 to show the Bar's support.

"How can we possibly refuse to allow inmates to use the advances of science to demonstrate that they have been wrongfully incarcerated and may be facing death wrongfully, whether they plead or were found guilty by a jury? How can we look ourselves in the mirror?" Rothman asked lawmakers.

"Incredibly, we in the criminal justice system can fail. It's not anecdotal. It's empirical. We will fail again."

Those failures have faces.

In just a year and a half in Florida, three men wrongfully convicted of rape, all of whom spent more than two decades in prison, were freed by DNA evidence. Wilton Dedge gained his freedom in August 2004 after spending 22 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. In August 2005, Luis Diaz, who spent 26 years in prison wrongly convicted as Miami's "Bird Road Rapist" responsible for 25 attacks from 1977-79, was freed. In January, exonerating DNA evidence opened the cell door for Alan Crotzer who spent 24 years in prison for a rape and robbery he did not commit.

Before that, Jerry Frank Townsend was wrongly convicted of four murders and freed in 2001 after 21 years in prison. Frank Lee Smith had already died of cancer when 11 months later DNA evidence exonerated him of rape and murder that kept him locked on death row for 14 years.

That's just the Florida story.

Nationwide, 173 inmates have been exonerated by DNA evidence, according to the Innocence Project.

All of these exonerations are the product of modern science coupled with true commitment to justice by lawyers, many working pro bono.

The Bar's Board of Governors unanimously passed the following legislative position: "The Florida Bar supports making DNA testing a permanent and meaningful component of Florida's criminal justice system--to help ensure that the real perpetrators of crimes are punished, that the freedom of innocent people is protected, and that the public's trust and confidence in the judicial process are not diminished."

It does not weaken, but rather strengthens, the integrity of the judicial system when we are not afraid to admit we make mistakes and work together to make amends.