Quinn OKs DNA tests for defendants who plead guilty

SPRINGFIELD A new state law gives defendants who plead guilty a chance to use DNA evidence to clear their name if the evidence were not available during trial.

The law most likely will be used in cases of murder and rape, but could be used for other cases in which DNA evidence would come into play, said sponsoring Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago.

The change is not expected to open the floodgates to new DNA appeals, but removes Illinois from a list of only a handful of states that blocked such testing following a guilty plea.

Post-trial DNA testing was a very limited opportunity. This makes it a little less limited, said Matt Jones, associate director of the states attorneys appellate prosecutor office.

Under the law signed by Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday, a defendant will need to present a pretty solid case to a judge that new evidence had been found that could lead to overturning the conviction in a guilty plea. A judge will need to find that a defendant had a reasonable probability of being acquitted had the evidence been available when the case went to court. The law took effect immediately.

Its an important element to make sure that we recognize the fact that, even when somebody implicates themselves and theres a lack of other compelling evidence, theres a possibility that they didnt commit the crime, Raoul said. We dont know all influencing circumstances that leads one to plead guilty to a crime they did not commit. Sometimes its coercion, sometimes its fear of intimidation from a prosecutor that theyll get a very stiff penalty if they go to court and lose.

It is well known that this happens. So in a case where someone can provide some additional evidence that DNA testing can prove them innocent, I think its absolutely the right thing to conduct the test, Raoul said.

Raoul could not specifically gauge whether the new law could right some wrongs, but the history of wrongful convictions in Illinois moved him to press for the law.

Ive always believed that given the mistakes that we have documented in the state (lawmakers should) give the state a sense that we are doing everything in our power to get it right, Raoul said. Nobody expects the criminal justice system to be perfect, but it should always strive for perfection.

Jones said negotiations reined in the breadth of the bill as originally introduced to prevent the crime data labs from being overloaded. He said prosecutors were comfortable this (new law) is one the system can embrace without weighing down crime labs.

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Quinn OKs DNA tests for defendants who plead guilty