Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals says death row inmate should have hearing on DNA testing
By Andy Weber
KOCO 5 News
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday ruled that a convicted murderer on death row should be allowed a hearing to ask for new DNA testing.
The court granted Phillip Hancock and his attorneys the chance to argue for new DNA testing. Hancock was convicted of killing two men at an Oklahoma City home in 2001, and DNA testing has changed a lot in the last 20 years.
"In 2001, there were some still fairly rudimentary types of DNA testing," Oklahoma City University law professor Andrea Miller said. "It wasn't particularly sensitive, meaning, back then, DNA testing required there to be more DNA."
Miller told KOCO 5 that because of the changing technology, defendants – even after they're convicted – can ask for additional testing.
A trial court had denied giving Hancock even the chance to argue for such testing.
"The DNA testing post-conviction statute – that is the issue here – gives him and others like him a mechanism to go back to the court and ask for DNA testing to be conducted," Miller said.
Five judges with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously ruled that Hancock should have access to such a mechanism. Judge David Lewis wrote that the trial court abused its discretion and committed an error by failing to hold a hearing on DNA testing.The ultimate decision on testing is still up to the trial court.
"What the statute requires you to show to get DNA testing is there a reasonable probability that you wouldn't have been convicted had the DNA testing been available," Miller said.
Hancock's execution date is set for May 2023.
https://www.koco.com/article/teen-sa...treat/40688632
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