Kansas Supreme Court Expands DNA Testing Statute

The Topeka Capital-Journal

reported on Friday that the Kansas high court ruled that a state statute limiting post-conviction DNA testing to only those convicted of first-degree murder or rape was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

 

The ruling reversed a Wyandotte County District Court ruling that denied DNA testing to Jerome Cheeks, who was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in 1993.

 

The court’s holding extended the right to petition for post-conviction DNA testing to certain people who have been convicted of second-degree murder.

 

The state’s Supreme Court sent the case back to the district court to establish whether Cheeks meets two other requirements necessary to secure DNA testing of evidence found at the crime scene.

 


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