The office of Gov. Mark R. Warner issued a letter last week directing the Division of Forensic Science in Richmond to reevaluate old cases using recent DNA technologies in order to exonerate people being held in Virginia prisons for violent crimes that the technologies could prove they did not commit.
"In the past, the serologists would sometimes save forensic evidence from case files if they thought they might be able to do some work with it later," Warner spokesperson Ellen Qualls said. "We now have the ability to reexamine these cases and see if DNA analysis can exonerate those who have been wrongly imprisoned."
The DFS has approximately 150,000 old case files that contain DNA samples. Due to the fact that it would be too costly to attempt to examine all of these cases, the DFS will take a random sample of approximately 10 percent of the files to see if any of them meet the criteria for further examination as outlined by Warner.
These criteria include that serologists -- the scientists that work with DNA -- retained remnants of the DNA samples originally tested in the case and that a suspect was eventually charged and convicted of a crime.
According to Qualls, the DFS expects to find approximately 40 case files that meet the necessary criteria for further testing. These files would then be outsourced to a private lab for further examination. The cost of the total project is expected to be between $150,000 and $200,000.
Biology Prof. James Murray said the ability to do intensive sequencing is what allows serologists to learn a lot more about DNA than they were able to in the past.
"If you have some physical evidence from the crime scene you can compare that with the DNA of the person that is accused," Murray said. "The great beauty of modern DNA testing is that it can exonerate a person. Although it cannot say with absolute certainty that a person is guilty, it can say with absolute certainty that they are innocent because you can tell that an accused person's DNA does not match the DNA found at the scene of the crime."
Qualls said Warner's decision to conduct random testing was sparked by last month's exoneration of Arthur Lee Whitfield, a Norfolk man who spent 23 years in prison for two rapes that DNA evidence proved he did not commit. More than 100 inmates across the country have been freed due to DNA analysis in recent years.
According to the letter, "Once this testing is completed, the governor will review the results to determine whether any further review of old serology cases would be productive."
If any more money would be required for further testing, the governor would have to receive approval from the House.
"Obviously if someone is exonerated due to this testing, the governor would consider putting more money into the initiative," Qualls said.
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