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Wyoming legislature considers DNA access law
Posted: November 27, 2007 6:05 pm
There’s one thing all 208 exonerees have in common – at some point they were able to secure DNA testing in their cases. Sometimes prosecutors agree to testing immediately upon request, but other times it takes a long court battle for an innocent defendant to obtain testing. Today 42 states have some form of law allowing inmates to apply for DNA testing if it could prove innocence. Eight states still have no such law, meaning inmates in those states are often unable to prove their innocence, even when key biological evidence is sitting untested in a storage facility.
Wyoming is one of those eight states without an access law, but lawmakers there say it’s time for a change. A joint legislative committee yesterday heard testimony on the issue from a cross-section of criminal justice experts, and many are hoping to see a bill passed during the 2008 session.
Rep. Edward Buchanan, R-Torrington, who raise the issue with the committee last year, warned against rushing the bill to the full Legislature if it is not “rock solid.”Does your state have a DNA access law? View our interactive map.
But other committee members, including Sen. Bruce Burns, R-Sheridan, said the committee should push the bill forward.
“For those people who may be sitting in jail or prison who are in fact not guilty, for us to sit there and say, 'We want to wait until it's absolutely perfect,' that's unacceptable in my mind," Burns said.
Read the full story here. (Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, 11/27/07)
Tags: Wyoming, Access to DNA Testing
Wyoming lawmakers approve DNA testing bill
Posted: February 22, 2008 4:52 pm
Wyoming is one of the eight states without a law explicitly granting defendants access to post-conviction DNA testing when it could prove innocence or guilt, but some state lawmakers hope that this won’t be the case for long. The Wyoming Senate yesterday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would provide DNA testing access. The state’s current law only allows inmates to prove their innocence through the standard appeals process, which normally expires two years after conviction. This means inmates convicted before DNA tests were first used in courtrooms in 1989 wouldn’t be able to apply for testing.
Read more:
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: Senate Oks post-conviction DNA tests
Caspar Star-Tribune: Panel approves DNA bill
Is your state one of the eight without DNA testing access? View our map to find out.
Tags: Wyoming, Access to DNA Testing
DNA access bill moves forward in Wyoming
Posted: March 6, 2008 4:30 pm
A bill to allow some inmates to seek DNA testing to prove their innocence took another step toward approval this week in Wyoming, when the state’s House of Representatives granted preliminary approval. The Wyoming Senate passed a similar bill last month.
Wyoming is currently among eight states without a law explicitly granting defendants access to post-conviction DNA testing when it could prove innocence or guilt. Many of the 42 states however, grant broader access than the proposed Wyoming House bill, which would strictly limit the convictions that could be challenged.
The bill would need two more rounds of approval from the House, then Senate approval of amendments and the governor’s signature in order to become law.
Read more here. (Billings Gazette, 03/04/08)
Tags: Wyoming, Access to DNA Testing
Wyoming Legislature Passes DNA Testing Bill
Posted: March 7, 2008 4:37 pm
A bill that would explicitly allow post-conviction DNA testing in Wyoming passed in the House today. It already passed in the State Senate, so now it goes to Gov. Dave Freudenthal for his signature.
If the governor signs the bill, Wyoming would become the 43rd state with a statute explicitly granting post-conviction DNA testing that can resolve claims of guilt or innocence.
Does your state have a law granting access to DNA testing? Check out out interactive map to find out.
Learn more about why states should grant access to DNA testing.
Tags: Wyoming, Access to DNA Testing