Justice should never be denied.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 April 2006
• Author: Bookman, Alan B.

It doesn't matter whether you are a Republican or Democrat, prosecutor or criminal defense attorney, conservative or liberal--or somewhere in between. Consensus is mounting that DNA evidence is science of such certainty that it has both the power to lock up the guilty and set the innocent free. It's all about finding the truth and nothing but the truth.

That's why The Florida Bar has added its voice to the chorus that there should be no deadline on innocence. We advocate the passage of legislation that would do away with the current July 1, 2006, deadline on postconviction DNA testing.

This marks a golden opportunity for all three branches of government to work together to make Florida a model for criminal justice.

Already, Gov. Jeb Bush has signed an executive order to preserve physical evidence for postconviction DNA testing, saying, "the destruction of this evidence could potentially enable the innocent to be wrongly convicted and the guilty to go free."

The Florida Supreme...