Before last week, Indiana was one of only 15 states in the U.S. without an evidence preservation law, leaving the decision on how long to preserve biological evidence completely up to law enforcement agencies, court clerks, hospitals and more—an inconsistent approach at best, one that could have a major effect on court cases and people’s lives at worst.
As of March 15, however, all stakeholders now have clear guidance on evidence preservation rules thanks to Senate Bill 263.
Among other guidance regarding property seizure and disposal after arrest, Section G of the bill specifically deals with all evidence for a violent offense that could be subjected to DNA testing and analysis.
The bill mandates the preservation of evidence that can be DNA tested for 20 years from the date the defendant’s conviction becomes final or the period of the defendant’s incarceration. In cases where an investigation does not result in a conviction, the bill states biological evidence should be preserved until the expiration of the statute of limitations for the alleged offense.
If, for some reason, the preservation of the evidence is impractical, SB 263 directs law enforcement agencies to “remove portions of the material evidence likely to contain biological evidence related to the offense in a quantity sufficient to permit future DNA testing.” This is an especially crucial part of the bill given the explosion of DNA testing advancements the forensic industry has seen in the past decade. From collecting trace amounts of DNA, to analyzing mixtures to genetic genealogy, DNA analysis innovations have made it possible to solve more cases than ever before, especially cold ones.
Beyond cold cases, DNA testing advancements have also made a huge impact on the wrongfully convicted. According to the Innocence Project, in the U.S to date, there have been 375 exonerations based on DNA evidence.
“If [biological] evidence had been destroyed, tainted, contaminated, mislabeled, or otherwise corrupted, we never would have discovered the innocence of these wrongfully convicted people,” the non-profit said in a statement regarding the new Indiana bill.
Additionally, in some cases, the preserved evidence not only helped exonerate the innocent but also convict the actually guilty. In 165 of the 375 cases, the true perpetrators of the crimes were ultimately identified.
“[These] 165 people who committed the crimes for which the innocent languished remained free and subsequently committed an additional 154 violent crimes: 36 murders; 83 rapes; and 35 other violent crimes,” said the Innocence Project.
The new Indiana law puts the state on par with neighboring states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois—all of which already have a statutory automatic duty of preservation.