Lawmakers study new rules for DNA evidence
State lawmakers are studying whether the state should require law enforcement agencies to preserve DNA evidence for long periods of time in felony cases such as homicide or sexual assault.
Under the current regulations, law enforcement agencies must preserve biological evidence that might contain DNA materials in cases that resulted in a felony conviction for a minimum of three years. Critics of the current law say that's not adequate.
On Tuesday, the Law and Justice Interim Committee heard from representatives on both sides of the issue.
Jessie McQuillan, director of the Montana Innocence Project, said the state's three-year policy for retaining DNA evidence isn't a long enough time for the defense or prosecution.
McQuillan pointed to the 242 Americans who have been exonerated by DNA evidence — in some cases more than a decade after they were wrongfully convicted of the crime — as reason for why authorities should maintain biological evidence much longer than three years.
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