Funding for DNA tests ends

A DNA test exonerated a man who was convicted of rape and was imprisoned. COLUMBUS (AP) -- Advocates for prisoners' rights say Ohio should reopen a program that, until it expired Saturday, allowed inmates to request state-funded DNA testing after a conviction. The statute gave prisoners who had not pleaded guilty and had at least a year left on a sentence a two-year window to apply for the testing. Of Ohio's 45,000 inmates, 289 applied and 12 tests were conducted. One man, Donte Booker, was exonerated after 16 years in prison on a rape conviction. Many applications are still under review, but most were denied because comparison DNA evidence had been cleared out of evidence rooms. Jim Foley of the state public defender's office said he worries even more evidence will be cleared out now that the statute's program has ended. As evidence-testing methods improve, such a house-cleaning could deny exoneration to inmates whose innocence can't be proven with current technology, he said. Holding on to evidence John Murphy of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association said police departments can't be expected to hold to evidence indefinitely. Making the program permanent would stifle departments and keep cases from ever being closed. "We gave the prisoner a reasonable amount of time, two years," Murphy said. "You can't have a guy come in 10 years from now and say, 'Well, OK, I want to apply for a test.' By then, we may have destroyed the evidence in the case." State Sen. David Goodman, a Columbus-area Republican who sponsored the bill that created the testing program, said two years was an adequate window. His bill called for only a one-year program, but lawmakers extended it last year. "Why would anyone need more time if they are innocent?" he asked. "They should have already applied for the test." About 40 states have similar laws, many of them permanent. Last year, President Bush awarded post-conviction testing to federal criminals. "There's no deadline on innocence," said Colin Starger, a staff attorney for the Innocence Project in New York. "There are too many people in prisons to be absolutely sure that you have given everyone a fair shake." There were no attempts to extend Ohio's program this year. Lawmakers expected prisoners to rush for the tests, but that rush never came. Murphy said the fact that only 289 inmates applied highlights the accuracy of Ohio's criminal justice system. "I think most of these prisoners are guilty and know they are guilty," he said.