Colorado prosecutors writing to inmates about DNA evidence manipulation that could overturn convictions
The District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District, which includes both Arapahoe and Douglas counties, sent a letter last week to dozens of prison inmates about potential issues with DNA evidence in their cases, and their right to obtain protected documents that could help them challenge their convictions.
In the letter, DA John Kellner said his office was complying "with the prosecution's legal and ethical responsibilities" by providing the information to defendants in cases potentially impacted by allegations of DNA manipulation at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Kellner's office drafted the letter following a recent court ruling out of Douglas County involving a cold case.
Back in 2021, Michael Jefferson was arrested in the murder of Roger Dean, 51, in the area that is now Lone Tree. It was a murder prosecutors claim Jefferson committed more than 30 years ago.
Investigators said Jefferson's 2021 arrest was made possible by advancements in DNA testing.
But this year, the legitimacy of that DNA was called into question, following an internal affairs report from CBI, alleging one of its star forensics analysts, Yvonne "Missy" Woods, manipulated and intentionally deleted some DNA results in many cases spanning more than a decade.
According to the internal affairs report, concerns regarding Woods' work were noted years ago, but Woods continued working.
"It's scary to think that these types of errors could have occurred," said Defense Attorney Michael Fay. "It's also scary to think that they weren't caught by their quality control people."
Fay represents Jefferson. It's because of both Fay and prosecutors' fight in court for more information about the DNA debacle at CBI during the Jefferson case that a Douglas County judge issued a ruling that "authorized additional disclosures in any case... where Woods handled, analyzed, or otherwise worked on evidence... even in "any closed or inactive case."
According to the letter Kellner's office sent to inmates last week, any defendant whose case may have involved Woods' expertise is entitled to review protected documents about the investigation against her. Experts say that's important, so people convicted of crimes can have all of the pertinent information they need to ensure their justice proceedings were, or will be, fair.
"It's important for people to have the information. The government's not always so keen on being forthcoming with information like this, and you have to fight to get it," Fay said. "So, we're happy that that's now available to other defendants."
As to how many inmates received the letter, a spokesperson for Kellner's office says, "approximately 67 cases have been labeled as 'impacted' according to the limited information our Office has received from CBI. The letters would have been sent related to those impacted cases."
A CBI spokesperson says letters like Kellner's is not unique to Douglas and Arapahoe, that "it is similar to what most DA's statewide are sending to inmates."
Meanwhile, Fay says it will likely take years for all of the potentially impacted cases to be reviewed or retried.
"I've been contacted by multiple clients from cases as old as 15 years ago, because Ms. Woods was involved in their DNA testing on their cases," Fay said. "We've been contacted by multiple clients about their possible remedies going forward."
CBI has requested more than $7 million from the state to pay for retesting and post-conviction review costs.
Woods' attorney, Ryan Brackley, sent the following written statement to CBS News Colorado, saying:
"We understand and appreciate the District Attorneys' obligations to notify defendants of any information that may be exculpatory, whether or not it is. Every criminal defense attorney has an obligation to determine if the issues at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation should impact each of their clients' cases or even change the outcome of any case, open or closed. This is especially pertinent given CBI lab management's likely awareness of those issues going back to at least 2018."
