Evidence Preservation in Tennessee
State statute requires that following a motion for post-conviction DNA testing all evidence that could be subjected to DNA analysis collected in relation to first degree murders, second degree murders, aggravated rapes, rapes, aggravated sexual battery or rape of a child, and attempt cases must be preserved. The evidence must be maintained upon receiving notice from the court and during the pendency of the proceedings. Effective: 2001.
Tennessee’s statute does NOT meet the best practices standards outlined by the NIST Technical Working Group on Biological Evidence Preservation.