Lost evidence hampers reopening old cases

By Ed Stoddard

DALLAS (Reuters) - James Waller spent 10 years behind bars and waited another 14 years -- when his movements were restricted as a sex offender -- before DNA evidence finally cleared his name.

He is one of the lucky ones, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based organization dedicated to exonerating wrongly convicted people.

DNA testing allows crime laboratories to compare genetic evidence at a crime scene, such as semen, with the DNA of a suspect.

Some 218 people have been exonerated in the United States using DNA since the technique was first used to overturn convictions in 1989.

But for many others, the evidence has either been lost or simply was not preserved, the Innocence Project says.

Only 25 of America's 50 states and Washington have legislation compelling authorities to preserve evidence of old cases. Even where such laws exist, they are often inadequate, while storage procedures and facilities are poor.

"In New York City we have around 20 cases we are working on where the evidence simply cannot be located. It's unavailable to us for testing and we don't know if it is lost or if it has been destroyed," said Rebecca Brown, a policy analyst at the Innocence Project.

Waller, 52, was convicted in 1983 of sexually assaulting an adolescent boy. He spent 10 years in prison and for 14 years he was registered as a sex offender, preventing him from visiting his nieces or going where children might be present, such as parks or basketball games.