Felon Has Right to DNA Test, Judge Says
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A federal judge in Alexandria ruled that felons have a constitutional right to DNA testing, and he ordered lab work for a Fairfax inmate serving a 25-year sentence for a rape he claims he did not commit.
U.S. District Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. said the Fairfax County prosecutor violated the civil rights of James Harvey by refusing to allow testing on evidence left from Harvey’s 1990 rape and sodomy trial. It was the first decision of its kind in the country.
“Denying the plaintiff access to potentially powerful exculpatory evidence would result in . . . a miscarriage of justice,” Bryan wrote.
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