What's Wrong with Seeking the Truth?

Last week the New York Times reported on a US Supreme Court case to be argued on March 2nd. The case is about access to DNA in order determine guilt. The state of Alaska contents that one of its prisoners, convicted of rape, has no constitutional right to have crime scene DNA tested that would conclusively prove either his guilt or innocence.

Although the DNA has been in evidence for over 15 years, remarkably, it has never been been subjected to the kind of precise analysis that has been available for years.

Read the Times article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/nyregion/11about.html.

Also astonishing is that President Obama's Deputy Solicitor General, Neal Katyal, plans to argue on behalf of the prosecution, to maintain that testing of the crime scene DNA would be detrimental to justice.

No one knows for sure what the results of testing will reveal, but you have to wonder why so many in this case fear the truth, or even more, why they are unwilling to support a process that can unlock the truth not only in this case but in others down the road.

It's easy for you to send your opinion on this issue to President Obama and to Neal Katyal. Just go to http://criminaljustice.change.org/actions/view/give_prisoners_access_to_dna (if you don't have an account on Change.org you can sign up for one free of charge) and sign the petition.