Editorial: Legislature, pass bill expanding access to DNA evidence testing

Texas has a band of brothers the likes of which no other state can claim. Theyre the dozens of innocent men who spent years often decades behind bars for the crimes of others before DNA tests set them free.

Some of them gather to offer moral support when a new innocent brother secures his hard-won freedom. They gather when they have the chance to rebalance the scales so justice is not denied thoughtlessly. When they gather, the moment deserves our attention.

So it was last week, at a bill introduction in Austin attended by Billy Smith of Dallas, who spent 20 years in prison for a rape committed by another man, and Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife, before DNA tests freed him and led to the real killer.

The two are testament to the importance of legislation authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, to improve post-conviction access to DNA testing. As Morton framed it, innocent but convicted men now face a catch-22: The law says they may have material tested for DNA if it contains biological evidence, but they might be unable to prove that biological evidence exists without todays modern tests. An article of clothing, for example, may contain microscopic sweat or saliva DNA that only the latest technology can detect. Yet some cases are 20 years old and rely on tests that were far more limited.

Had a stringent reading of the law bound his case, Morton might still be in prison. His lawyers battled for years to get court approval to test a soiled blue bandanna found near the home where his wife was bludgeoned to death. It turned out to contain DNA from traces of her blood and that of another man, a dishwasher with a criminal history. The tests corrected a horrible miscarriage of justice and put a dangerous man in prison.

Not every potential DNA case proceeds like that. Last year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied death-row inmate Larry Swearingens request to test pantyhose used to strangle Melissa Trotter in 1998, in Montgomery County. Swearingen could not prove that potential DNA evidence was there to test.

A fix in state code proposed by the Ellis bill (SB 487) would allow DNA analysis when there is a reasonable likelihood of biological material that could be tested. Its a good change that gives courts clearer direction and provides a potential stopgap against fatal or avoidable error.

Despite its law-and-order reputation, Texas has made remarkable advances in criminal justice reforms in recent years. Many like the 2013 Michael Morton Act, which clarifies a defendants access to prosecution files before trial grew out of hindsight from failures in the legal system.

The band of brothers offers some of that wisdom today on how DNA can be the difference between justice and justice denied.

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Editorial: Legislature, pass bill expanding access to DNA evidence testing