interesting website with some good recommendations for post conviction DNA testing legislation
www.innocenceproject.org
The Innocence Project recommends the following elements be contained in new statutes or existing statutes in need of amending:
Include a reasonable standard to establish proof of innocence at the stage where an individual is petitioning for post-conviction DNA testing;
Allow access to post-conviction DNA testing wherever it can establish innocence, even if the petitioner is no longer incarcerated, and including cases where the petitioner pled guilty or provided a confession or admission to the crime;
Exclude "sunset provisions," or absolute deadlines, for when access to post-conviction DNA evidence will expire;
Require state officials to account for evidence in their custody;
Require state officials to properly preserve and catalogue biological evidence for as long as an individual is incarcerated or otherwise experiences any consequences of a potential wrongful conviction (e.g. probation, parole, civil commitment or mandatory registration as a sex offender); (Read more about evidence preservation here)
Disallow procedural hurdles that stymie DNA testing petitions and proceedings that govern other forms of post-conviction relief;
Allow convicted persons to appeal from orders denying DNA testing;
Require a full, fair and prompt response to DNA testing petitions, including the avoidance of debate around whether currently available DNA technology was available at the time of the trial;
Avoid unfunded mandates by providing funding to DNA testing statutes; and
Provide flexibility in where, and how, DNA testing is conducted.
