by Dick Hall-Sizemore
A recent podcast produced by VPM, Richmond’s public radio station, is both fascinating and disheartening. Admissible: Shreds of Evidence deals with the early days of the use of DNA as forensic evidence. In particular, it is the story of Mary Jane Burton, a long-time serologist for what is now called the Department of Forensic Science (DFS).
It may come as a shock to some of this blog’s readers, but, in the 1990’s, Virginia was a national leader in the use of DNA for solving crimes. In 1989, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that DNA could be used as evidence in trials. The 2001 General Assembly enacted legislation to allow offenders to request testing of any biological evidence that had been collected during the investigations of the offenses for which they had been convicted before the techniques for DNA testing had been developed.
Three people submitted requests in 2001 to test any DNA evidence in their cases. The first case taken up by DFS was that of Marvin Anderson, who had been convicted of rape in 1982 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Although he had been on parole for several years by 2001, he was anxious to clear his name, if possible. In looking through his file, the DFS director discovered the tip of a cotton swab taped to a page of the report. Including the evidence in the file in that manner was against the protocols of the agency. When the DNA of the fluid on the swab was tested, it ruled out Anderson as the perpetrator. The other two offenders who had requested testing of evidence in their files were similarly exonerated. Continue reading