Tag: Dna
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Colorado justices say access to Missy Woods data must be litigated in Jeffco
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defense attorneys seeking access to withheld information about a former DNA scientist’s misconduct must pursue the data in Jefferson County, where the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is located. Yvonne “Missy” Woods stands accused of intentionally deleting data,…
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Colorado Supreme Court weighs whether Douglas County judge has authority over Missy Woods records
The state Supreme Court will decide whether a Douglas County judge has the authority to compel the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to release data related to the misconduct of a disgraced DNA analyst whose work affected numerous criminal cases. Yvonne “Missy” Woods was criminally charged in Jefferson County on Jan. 22 with 102 felony counts…
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DNA scandal leads to plea deal that frees Colorado murder suspect from custody
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A suspect in a decades-old murder and rape in Weld County could be released from jail as early as Friday after the district attorney there “very reluctantly” agreed to a plea agreement because key DNA evidence in the case was compromised by an embattled Colorado…
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Accusations of flawed Colorado crime lab work haunt 2003 rape conviction
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Every Saturday, the call comes in at 10:30 a.m., on the dot. Vinnie Chacon knows that’s when her 64-year-old brother James Hunter will telephone her from Colorado’s Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. Hunter has been incarcerated for more than 21 years, ever since his…
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Glimpse of Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA testing backlash offered by first wave of court hearings
The curtain lifted Wednesday to unveil the first glimpse of how a Colorado Bureau of Investigation scandal involving the work of a veteran DNA scientist might play out in dozens of courtrooms across the Front Range. In an hour-long Boulder court hearing permeated by questions and uncertainty, a Boulder judge delayed the trial of an accused…
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Over 1,000 Colorado criminal cases ‘in question’ after state DNA scientist accused of data manipulation
DNA findings in more than 1,000 criminal cases in Colorado are now “in question” due to data manipulation by former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, state officials announced on Friday when they unveiled the findings of an internal investigative report into Woods’ work. The internal CBI investigation found that Woods deviated…
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Colorado cold cases: Pueblo County reaches out to Florida forensic expert for help
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In September 2022, investigators with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office discovered skeletal human remains in a remote location in eastern Pueblo County. With no leads, foul play suspected and DNA test results taking longer than expected, Pueblo County sheriff’s Detective Vanessa Simpson decided to embark on a different method for identifying the remains. On…
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House unanimously approves expanding post-conviction DNA testing in Colorado
Robert “Rider” Dewey spent nearly 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Dewey was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old Palisade woman in 1994. Dewey said he repeatedly requested DNA testing while in prison but was denied for years until connecting with the Innocence Project in…
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Bills advance to prevent police lying to minors, expand DNA testing, limit prison restraints
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The House Judiciary Committee advanced a series of bills Tuesday that seek to prevent police from lying to minors, expand post-conviction DNA testing and limit the use of restraints in prisons. If passed by the full state legislature, House Bill 1042 would make any statements…
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Appeals court finds Arapahoe judge mistakenly allowed man to represent self at trial
Colorado’s second-highest court has determined an Arapahoe County judge wrongfully found a defendant had waived his constitutional right to an attorney when she failed to establish Jahmal Ali Price understood the consequences of proceeding to trial without legal representation. Although the Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to counsel, it is possible for defendants…