Post by sclcookie on Jun 1, 2006 15:50:27 GMT -5
Death-row inmate's DNA request denied ---- More appeals expected to be
filed before case sees end
Condemned killer Sedley Alley failed to win court approval Tuesday for DNA
testing on 20-year-old crime scene evidence he hopes can save his life.
Alley was scheduled to die May 17 when he got a 15-day reprieve to seek
the testing, and now more appeals are expected.
Shelby County Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs rejected defense
arguments that DNA testing, if performed at the time of the rape and
murder for which Alley was convicted, might have changed the outcome of
his trial.
Alley's conviction of killing a 19-year-old woman by sexually assaulting
her with a sharpened tree limb has withstood numerous reviews by state and
federal appeals courts.
But Barry Scheck, a co-founder of the nonprofit legal clinic called The
Innocence Project, said Higgs' decision will lead to new appeals.
"I think we've made a very powerful record here and I have some confidence
that we'll find a court that will evaluate it," Scheck said. "There's the
(state) Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court and ultimately
the United States Supreme Court."
When the reprieve granted by Gov. Phil Bredesen runs out, the state
Supreme Court will have to set a new execution date before Alley's
sentence can be carried out. The high court could hold off on setting a
date if an appeal is under way.
Scheck contends DNA tests that were not available at the time of Alley's
conviction could prove him innocent. At a hearing before Higgs, Scheck
said DNA profiles could be built on traces of blood, semen, sweat or
saliva taken from crime scene evidence, including the victim's clothes and
the murder weapon.
Those profiles could be run through a nationwide database of DNA from
convicted criminals, including serial killers and rapists, to look for a
match, Scheck said.
Alley was convicted of killing Suzanne M. Collins, a Marine who was
abducted while jogging at a Navy base in Memphis in 1985. She was severely
beaten and taken to a secluded park where her attacker tore a limb from a
tree, sharpened one end and assaulted and murdered her with it.
Alley confessed but argued he was not responsible for the murder because
he suffered from multiple personalities. The trial jury rejected his
insanity plea and appeals courts refused to hear his complaints that
defense lawyers were inefficient.
"For 18 years he did not insist he was innocent," prosecutor John Campbell
told Higgs. "For 18 years, he insisted he was insane."
(source: Associated Press)
filed before case sees end
Condemned killer Sedley Alley failed to win court approval Tuesday for DNA
testing on 20-year-old crime scene evidence he hopes can save his life.
Alley was scheduled to die May 17 when he got a 15-day reprieve to seek
the testing, and now more appeals are expected.
Shelby County Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs rejected defense
arguments that DNA testing, if performed at the time of the rape and
murder for which Alley was convicted, might have changed the outcome of
his trial.
Alley's conviction of killing a 19-year-old woman by sexually assaulting
her with a sharpened tree limb has withstood numerous reviews by state and
federal appeals courts.
But Barry Scheck, a co-founder of the nonprofit legal clinic called The
Innocence Project, said Higgs' decision will lead to new appeals.
"I think we've made a very powerful record here and I have some confidence
that we'll find a court that will evaluate it," Scheck said. "There's the
(state) Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court and ultimately
the United States Supreme Court."
When the reprieve granted by Gov. Phil Bredesen runs out, the state
Supreme Court will have to set a new execution date before Alley's
sentence can be carried out. The high court could hold off on setting a
date if an appeal is under way.
Scheck contends DNA tests that were not available at the time of Alley's
conviction could prove him innocent. At a hearing before Higgs, Scheck
said DNA profiles could be built on traces of blood, semen, sweat or
saliva taken from crime scene evidence, including the victim's clothes and
the murder weapon.
Those profiles could be run through a nationwide database of DNA from
convicted criminals, including serial killers and rapists, to look for a
match, Scheck said.
Alley was convicted of killing Suzanne M. Collins, a Marine who was
abducted while jogging at a Navy base in Memphis in 1985. She was severely
beaten and taken to a secluded park where her attacker tore a limb from a
tree, sharpened one end and assaulted and murdered her with it.
Alley confessed but argued he was not responsible for the murder because
he suffered from multiple personalities. The trial jury rejected his
insanity plea and appeals courts refused to hear his complaints that
defense lawyers were inefficient.
"For 18 years he did not insist he was innocent," prosecutor John Campbell
told Higgs. "For 18 years, he insisted he was insane."
(source: Associated Press)