Innocence Blog

Prosecutors Fight DNA

Posted: November 28, 2011 6:10 pm

An article about prosecutors’ opposition to DNA evidence was featured in this week’s edition of New York Times’ Sunday Magazine.

Despite the many issues that have been raised by DNA exonerations across the country and the improvements to the criminal justice system, there are still local prosecutors who aren’t satisfied with DNA evidence pointing toward innocence.

Why prosecutors sometimes fight post-conviction evidence so adamantly depends on each case. Some legitimately believe the new evidence is not exonerating. But legal scholars looking at the issue suggest that prosecutors’ concerns about their political future and a culture that values winning over justice also come into play. “They are attached to their convictions,” (University of Virginia Law Professor Brandon) Garrett says, “and they don’t want to see their work called into question.”