It’s possible dozens of DNA samples linked to criminal cases could be retested after a lab tech in the Houston police crime lab resigned.
In all, 185 criminal cases may have been affected. According to reports, that includes 53 murders or capital murders. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office sent letters to attorneys in those cases.
Among those cases, according to court records, seven of the murder cases resulted in a murder conviction and one, a capital case, led to a life sentence.
Prosectors have said they would retest anything that was in doubt, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Because the department would not answer questions about the investigation, the allegations remain unclear. The problem appears to have arisen over one case, but the technician’s fingerprints are on dozens of others, leading defense attorneys to ask how their cases may be affected.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2014.
