From left to right, Mike Helton, Prentice Harvey, Mike Shea, Linda Smith, Jimmer Dudley, Tim Arnold, Damon Preston, Ed Monahan, Representative Johnny Bell. Not pictured: Senator John Schickel, who was also instrumental in the passage of the initiative.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed a bill Monday that will vastly expand the right of a convicted person to use DNA testing to prove their innocence. Post-conviction DNA testing in Kentucky had previously been limited to those convicted of a capital crime.
HB 41, which was sponsored by Representative Johnny Bell (D-Glasgow), passed unanimously in the Kentucky House and the Senate earlier this month. Prior to the bill’s passage, wrongly convicted Kentuckians in non-capital cases were forced to rely on judges and prosecutors to grant access to DNA testing, meaning testing was often granted in an inconsistent manner.
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News 03.27.13
Kentucky Governor Signs Improved Post-Conviction DNA Access Law

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