Evidence Preservation in Massachusetts
State statute requires the automatic preservation of biological evidence related to the conviction of an individual for a crime. The evidence must be preserved for the period of time that a person remains in the custody of the commonwealth or under parole or probation supervision in connection with that crime, without regard to whether the evidence or biological material was introduced at trial. Effective: 2012.
Massachusetts’ statute meets the best practices standards outlined by the NIST Technical Working Group on Biological Evidence Preservation.