Orrin Hatch: “In the last decade, DNA testing has become the most reliable forensic technique for identifying criminals when…”

“In the last decade, DNA testing has become the most reliable forensic technique for identifying criminals when biological evidence of the crime is recovered. While DNA testing is standard in pre-trial investigations today, the issue of post-conviction DNA testing has emerged in recent years as the technology for testing has improved. Because biological evidence, such as semen or hair from a rape, is often preserved by authorities years after trial, it is possible to submit preserved biological evidence for DNA testing. In cases that were tried before DNA technology existed, and in which biological evidence was preserved after conviction, post-conviction testing is feasible. While the exact number is subject to dispute, post-conviction DNA testing has exonerated prisoners who were convicted of crimes committed before DNA technology existed. In some of these cases, the post-conviction DNA testing that exonerated a wrongly convicted person led to the apprehension of the actual criminal.”