Prosecutors Snap Back On DNA Handling

Last week, The Denver Post published a series of articles revealing serious problems with the protection of DNA evidence in the United States. Unfortunately, the tone of the articles left the impression that Colorado prosecutors deliberately discard DNA evidence and seek convictions without regard for truth or justice. This simply is not true.

If there are criticisms of our justice system, they should be based on facts in Colorado, not misinformation and innuendo. It is unfair to crime victims, jurors and the general public to create a false impression of their criminal justice system. It is, therefore, important to correct the record.

"The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict." So states the American Bar Association's Standards for Criminal Justice. That's precisely what prosecutors in Colorado do every day: protect the community, care for victims, prosecute criminals, and, above all, seek justice and the truth.

DNA evidence is one of the best ways to do that. DNA evidence helps expose the guilty and exonerate the innocent. For that reason, we strongly support the protection of DNA evidence. Indeed, we insist upon it. When DNA evidence is lost or destroyed, victims and their families are deprived of the justice they deserve. It also eliminates one of the best methods of determining the guilt or innocence of the accused. That is why protecting DNA is so important to us.

Thankfully, Colorado prosecutors have a strong record of protecting evidence. To begin with, we have a first-rate state crime lab that performs our DNA analysis and comparisons. Of the 45,000 felony cases we prosecuted in 2006, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation analyzed more than 5,000 pieces of evidence for DNA. The CBI has protocols governing the collection and storage of DNA evidence that can be found at cbi.state.co.us.

The Post detailed numerous examples nationwide where DNA evidence was lost or mishandled. Out of all of these examples, however, only two were from Colorado. The police department did accidentally purge DNA evidence in Colorado Springs, which is regrettable. DNA evidence was also inadvertently discarded in the 1987 Moses-EL case in Denver after the defense attorney failed to pick it up for several weeks. These examples are the rare exception, not the rule. The Post series seems to imply otherwise.

The Denver Post