DNA frees Colo. man convicted of murder

[Gunny]

By P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 24 minutes ago

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Smiling and soft-spoken, Timothy Masters walked out of court a free man for the first time in nearly a decade Tuesday, his murder conviction wiped out by DNA evidence that points to another suspect.

Masters, 36, was ordered freed on a personal recognizance bond by Larimer County District Judge Joseph Weatherby. Prosecutors promised to decide quickly whether to try him again.

Masters had been sentenced to life in prison in 1999 in the killing of a 37-year-old woman whose body was found near his home, but new tests announced last week showed that someone else's DNA was found on her clothing.

more ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_re_us/murder_case_reopened

Now that DNA has become pretty-much mainstream, hopefully people won't have to wait a decade to be exonerated.

 

[watermark]

Now that DNA has become pretty-much mainstream, hopefully people won't have to wait a decade to be exonerated.

They've been using DNA for more than a decade...

 

[jillian]

They've been using DNA for more than a decade...

Historically, the problem has been getting the courts to open up the cases so that they even look at the DNA evidence. All those appeals that people complain about is the only reason it ever gets to where the court can hear it.

The Innocence project is over 25 years old, I think, so they were using DNA then, if I'm not mistaken. But there's always a lag between scientific advances and when they can be put before the courts as "generally accepted".

 

[Gunny]

They've been using DNA for more than a decade...

Sure they have. But a lot of the people being freed now were convicted prior to DNA testing being available, or its being accepted in court as evidence.

People convicted now should have benefit at their intitial trials rather than waiting for an appeal to slide through the bureaucracy.

 

[Gunny]

Historically, the problem has been getting the courts to open up the cases so that they even look at the DNA evidence. All those appeals that people complain about is the only reason it ever gets to where the court can hear it.

The Innocence project is over 25 years old, I think, so they were using DNA then, if I'm not mistaken. But there's always a lag between scientific advances and when they can be put before the courts as "generally accepted".

The appeals process should be complained about. It sucks.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

The appeals process should be complained about. It sucks.

What I always love is the excuse by Prosecutors that since the convicted had a "fair" trial and the appeal has nothing to do with procedural errors, there is no reason to make simple tests to see if the evidence the Prosecutor has actually supports the conviction.

 

[jillian]

The appeals process should be complained about. It sucks.

And if it wasn't what it is, all the people that have been wrongfully placed on death row would have been dead before they were exonerated.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

I suspect Gunny was saying the appeal process should allow reasonable challenges not deny them.