Keeping DNA evidence critical, task force says

Panel setting framework for uniform standards

By April M. Washington

Published November 28, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.

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Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky

State Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, listens to discussions during a meeting Tuesday of Gov. Bill Ritter's task force on handling and preserving DNA. The group is addressing Colorado's lack of uniform guidelines in preserving evidence.

DNA evidence that could free people wrongfully convicted of murder or sexual assault should be preserved by law enforcement for as long as the defendant is behind bars, members of a governor's task force said Tuesday.

"We all agree there ought to be a duty on the part of law enforcement to preserve DNA evidence involving the most serious crimes," said retired Denver District Judge Jeffrey Bayless.

The task force settled on a set of tentative recommendations that, in part, call for storing and preserving DNA evidence in sexual assault and first- and second-degree murder cases while the defendant is incarcerated or on parole.

But some district attorneys and police departments say their biggest challenge will be finding the space and resources to house physical evidence for long periods of time.

The 21-member panel's recommendations will become the framework of legislation four lawmakers plan to introduce next year aimed at creating uniform standards in preserving physical and biological evidence in criminal cases.

The panel will wrap up its work Dec. 4 and present its final recommendations to Gov. Bill Ritter, a former district attorney. Ritter formed the group to address Colorado's lack of uniform guidelines for preserving evidence.

Currently, it's left up to individual police and sheriff's departments to set rules for keeping everything from bloodstained clothes to a strand of hair found embedded in carpet.

The task force also will recommend that physical evidence be automatically tossed for lesser felonies such as armed robbery and drug offenses once a plea agreement is reached.

At the time of plea deal, the defendant could petition the court to retain any physical evidence for up to three years.

Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, said such a standard would apply to 95 percent of the criminal cases in Colorado.

The panel is not recommending any new criminal sanctions against law enforcement in cases of negligent or intentional destruction of DNA evidence.

The group was divided on how long law enforcement agencies should keep evidence in Class 3 felony cases, such as attempted murder.

Adams County District Attorney Don Quick expressed concern that defense attorneys won't likely waive their client's right to keep physical evidence, potentially creating the need for large storage facilities to stockpile evidence from a violent crime.

"My concern is that there may be 250 pieces of evidence in a murder case," he said. "A defense attorney may want to keep it all, claiming the evidence not tested could someday clear their client."

The panel's review of how DNA evidence is handled by law enforcement comes as attorneys in a Fort Collins murder case are fighting to win a new trial for Tim Masters, who is serving a life sentence for killing Peggy Hettrick.

Masters' lawyers have argued that some evidence that had the potential of exonerating Masters or pointing the finger at someone else is unaccounted for and apparently gone forever.

Preliminary recommendations

* Create a uniform standard that requires law enforcement agencies to preserve reasonable and relevant DNA evidence in murder and sex assault cases for as long as the defendant is incarcerated or on parole.

* Physical evidence would be automatically discarded for lesser felonies such as armed robbery once a plea agreement has been reached. The defendant may petition the court to retain any evidence for up to three years upon conviction.

* Police and sheriff's departments would be required to store and maintain DNA samples profiled by an accredited government laboratory.

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