Proposal would give Nevada convicts easier access to DNA testing
CARSON CITY — Felons could bypass a court hearing and pay for DNA testing of evidence to try to prove their innocence or lessen their sentence under a bill heard Wednesday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
The measure, Assembly Bill 268, comes out of a recommendation by the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice. It was presented by Assemblyman Justin Watkins, D-Las Vegas.
“It allows a convicted felon to file a post-conviction petition to pay for genetic marker analysis,” Watkins told the committee.
Under existing law, an inmate must petition a court and show the evidence sought is material to the case and favorable to the inmate. A judge determines whether the testing should be ordered.
AB268 would allow an inmate to file a petition but pay for the testing, and choose a laboratory to conduct it. No hearing is required and Watkins said tests would not be conducted until the petitioner pays.
Someone could petition the court through the existing process, Watkins said.
Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, D-Las Vegas, who served on the advisory commission, said the bill would be a tool to ensure only the guilty are behind bars.
“I just don’t see how anyone can be against this on a conceptual level,” Anderson said, noting reports nationwide of people on death row who are later exonerated.
“This is one of those things that will give people more confidence in the justice system,” he said.
Watkins said if the measure proves the innocence of one in the 1,000 inmates, “it’s worth doing.”
Backers pointed to the case of Cathy Woods, who served more than 35 years in prison for the 1976 murder of a college student in Reno before she was exonerated in 2014. DNA testing of a cigarette butt found at the scene linked the crime to Rodney Halbower, an Oregon inmate now charged in a series of murders in the Bay area in the 1970s known as the Gypsy Hill killings.
LAW ENFORCEMENT OPPOSES
Prosecutors and law enforcement representatives opposed the bill, arguing it is unnecessary and would lead to a backlog at state labs. They also raised chain of custody concerns about using outside labs, arguing it could jeopardize the integrity of evidence.
“In law enforcement we want to put the right people behind bars,” said Chuck Callaway with Metro police.
“I’m not 100 percent convinced the system is broke,” Callaway said, adding that having a judge vet arguments of why DNA testing should be conducted avoids frivolous efforts.
“Now that goes out the window,” he said.
Jennifer Noble, a Washoe County prosecutor, said the existing system works as intended and noted her office approved of testing the cigarette butt in the Woods case.
“Once DNA testing was requested, once they articulated what items they wanted tested … our office did not stand in the way of that.”
Noble echoed the objections of others over removing the court from the process, saying it will cause “a flood of orders to test DNA.”
“We certainly support the idea behind this bill and the spirit behind it,” Noble said. She suggested a compromise and amendments.
“There needs to be a standard and there needs to be a vetting process,” she said. “The court needs to be involved.”
No action was taken by the committee.
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.