I've allowed it four or five times, and I've yet to have one come back where the guy didn't do it. In the absence of any mandate that they must test, the practice of prosecutors and judges in the region varies. Generally speaking, District and Maryland officials look more favorably on requests for post-conviction DNA testing than those in Virginia, where inmates are also hampered by a state law that gives them only 21 days after their conviction to ask for a new trial based on new evidence. In other words, whether an inmate gets DNA testing largely depends on where the crime was committed. And that, some experts and politicians say, is unfair.
Many states have no clear process and continue to resist legitimate requests for testing.
No state should deny the access to truth and justice that DNA offers. Leahy has introduced a bill that would mandate DNA testing for a wide variety of inmates who seek it and require authorities to notify prisoners before disposing of the evidence from their cases. In prison, he read a book about the first British case based on DNA testing. Eventually, prosecutors agreed to test a dime-size spot of semen found on the child's underwear, and the results excluded Bloodsworth. If a man is sitting on death row or in prison for 10 years or 20, and there's something that could help him prove he was innocent, he should be allowed to do it.