Federal judge: New York man has the right to DNA testing

In an opinion that could have wide implications, Judge John Gleeson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District issued an opinion last week finding that New York inmate Frank McKithen has the right to pursue DNA testing that could potentially prove his innocence. McKithen says he was wrongfully convicted of attacking his wife with a knife in 1992 and wants to test the knife for biological material.

Read the full opinion here

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The judge wrote: "The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment grants a convicted offender access to physical evidence for the purpose of DNA testing if it can be performed with negligible cost to the state and exculpatory results would undermine confidence in the outcome of trial."

The Innocence has project has consulted with McKithen’s attorneys at Arent Fox LLP on the case.