FY24 Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence

Our innocence organization (IO) seeks funding to review two categories of cases in which postconviction DNA testing could produce exculpatory results: (1) a newly-obtained list of 54 Denver cases in which the discredited discipline of hair microscopy was conducted by the local crime lab and seemingly used to secure the conviction, and (2) another group of over 600 cases, reviewed and rejected for DNA testing a decade ago by the Colorado Attorney General's Justice Review Project (JRP), that may now be strong candidates for advanced DNA testing.
Colorado lags behind other states in the number of DNA exonerations. The IO attributes that shortcoming to the state's former postconviction DNA testing statute in effect from 2003 to 2023 that severely restricted access to testing. Another factor was the JRP's use of the same restrictive standard not only to deny testing to hundreds of incarcerated applicants, but then to broadcast a narrative that their review ensured the accuracy of convictions statewide.

In 2024, both categories of cases are ripe for review. A new statute, which went into effect on October 1, 2023, substantially lowered the standard for postconviction DNA testing and made testing available to any person convicted of a felony. In the wake of this change to Colorado's statute, a growing number of Conviction Review Units in Colorado recognize the new legal landscape and are more amenable to reaching agreements for testing. And, absent agreements, the IO is well-positioned to succeed in court on petitions for postconviction DNA testing. In addition to the improved standard for testing, advances in DNA technology mean that testing is more likely to yield probative results both in the hair microscopy cases and the cases previously rejected by the JRP.
Through the IO's review of the hair microscopy and JRP lists, incarcerated individuals with viable claims of innocence will finally get access to DNA testing. But Colorado's entire justice system stands to benefit. In the IO's comprehensive review, the most important factor will be determining whether the police and prosecution collected physical evidence with a nexus to the crime, such that DNA testing could provide exonerating results. In these cases, DNA testing has the potential to reveal whether our justice system succeeded or failed. DNA is an important safeguard in our justice system, regardless of the outcome of testing.