In Alabama, no death row inmates have been freed strictly because of DNA evidence. But some convictions have been overturned during the appeals process because of DNA and other evidence. Stevenson's legal work, for example, helped free Walter D. McMillan of Monroeville, who spent six years on Alabama's death row. The state Court of Criminal Appeals reversed McMillan's conviction in 1993, ruling that prosecutors suppressed exculpatory evidence, and that a witness against him had lied. Thirty-one percent favored a moratorium.
All states now permit such evidence.
The problem is that most death row defendants are indigent and can't afford the testing or the experts and the trained lawyers to use it in court, studies show. In May, the state Supreme Court took away one level of review, perhaps making reversals of death sentences even less likely, critics have said. After urging from the governor and the state's attorney general, the court ruled that the defendants would no longer be guaranteed an appeal to both the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court, but only to the appeals court. In Alabama, no legislation has been introduced to enhance access to DNA testing. But state Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said this spring that strong sentiment exists in the Senate for making sure indigent defendants receive good legal representation and can get access to DNA testing.