Innocence Blog

Colorado task force says state should improve evidence preservation

Posted: November 29, 2007 1:38 pm

A 21-member panel formed this year by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has developed a set of recommendations that could lead to evidence preservation reforms in the state during the 2008 legislative session, members said this week. The group was created after a Denver Post series revealed serious problems with the way law enforcement agencies in Colorado – and nationwide – handle the storage and preservation of critical biological evidence. In the DNA age, this evidence has the power to overturn wrongful convictions and identify perpetrators.

"We all agree there ought to be a duty on the part of law enforcement to preserve DNA evidence involving the most serious crimes," said retired Denver District Judge Jeffrey Bayless.

Read the full story here.

The Innocence Project assisted in the research undertaken by the Colorado task force. Read Policy Analyst Rebecca Brown’s October blog post from Colorado.