Colorado House Approves Post-Conviction DNA Testing

The Colorado House of Representatives unanimously approved DNA testing in closed cases that resulted in a conviction. Supporters of the measure highlight how DNA testing can help combat wrongful convictions, an issue nationally and within Colorado.

One such wrongful conviction was that of Robert ‘Rider’ Dewey, who spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Dewey was sentenced in 1994 for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman from Palisade Colorado.

Dewey said he repeatedly asked for DNA testing while in prison but was denied for years. It wasn’t until 2007, after connecting with the Innocence Project, that he was able to get the testing in his case approved. Even then, it took an additional two years for the testing to be completed, and his case wasn’t overturned until 2012.

“While I was in there, my son died. My only child,” Dewey says. “I’ve got titanium from my first vertebrate to my pelvis now because of all the stomping I got. … I can’t stress DNA testing enough. They could have saved me a lot of headaches.”

Dewey is one of only three people in Colorado exonerated for DNA-related reasons in the 20 years since the state’s post-conviction DNA testing law was established. Lawmakers are looking to expedite the process of post-conviction DNA testing with House Bill 1034. The House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass the bill, sending it to the Senate for further consideration.

If approved by the Senate, the bill would expand the right to DNA testing from those who are actively incarcerated to those on felony parole, registered sex offenders, people who have completed their sentences, and people who were found not guilty by reason of insanity.

In addition to legislative work, nonprofit organizations like the Innocence Project work to put an end to wrongful convictions through methods “grounded in science and anti-racism.”  The Innocence Project represents clients seeking post-conviction DNA testing to prove their innocence.

To date, 375 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 21 who served time on death row. They served an average of 14 years in prison on wrongful convictions before exoneration and release, according to the Innocence Project’s website.

“Wrongful convictions are a problem in Colorado just as they are across the entire country,” says bill sponsor Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada, during the bill’s committee hearing. “By improving our statute, we can enable petitioners to access testing to prove their innocence and identify the actual perpetrators of the offenses.”