Independent DNA Lab Necessary to Successfully Prosecute Dangerous Criminals and Prevent Wrongful Convictions
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Last month we posted a blog about the ever increasing need for an independent crime lab in Harris County. The Houston Chronicle reported recently about Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ call for an “emergency DNA lab.” The newspaper reported that the Houston Police Department’s (HPD) DNA lab, which has been plagued with mismanagement and scandals over the past several years, has 4,076 rape kits dating back to 1996 which have not been DNA tested and another 969 criminal cases scheduled for DNA testing.
The DNA lab problem is acute, and despite the millions county taxpayers have paid to correct the HPD’s crime lab deficiencies, the clouds of despair still loom on the horizon. DA Lykos told the Chronicle that the DNA backlog grows by 75 cases each month. She urged city-county officials to honor its commitment to an “emergency” DNA lab which would not only deal with the backlog of cases but process the ones coming in each month as well. She said vacant labs at the Texas Medical Center could be retrofitted into a “temporary lab” at a cost of $1.3 million until a regional crime lab could be constructed.
But this leads to yet another problem—the more serious one, the “political problem.” The Chronicle reported that Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the HPD are “cautious about a forensic partnership.” Parker pointed out that Lykos’ proposed project was not included in HPD’s $666 million dollar budget approved earlier this year. While the mayor said she is committed to removing as many “forensic applications” as possible from the control of the HPD, a goal that we laud as extremely significant and encouraging, she added this cautionary note: “This is not a good economy to be launching new initiatives that cost more money. On the other hand, we really can’t put a price on justice, and these kinds of cleanup operations have proved to be extremely expensive to the city of Houston.”
As the city former comptroller, the mayor is budget conscious as she should be, but DA Lykos’ determination to move the wheels of justice forward is clearly putting political pressure on Parker’s cautious approach. Pointing out that earlier this year she secured a commitment from the Harris County Commissioners Court to develop a plan to establish a “temporary DNA lab” by mid-September, the District Attorney told the Chronicle: “I cannot overstate the vital importance and necessity of the court to authorize the budget office to proceed immediately [with funding for the temporary lab]. The scientific tools exist to identify, apprehend and successfully prosecute dangerous criminals and prevent wrongful convictions. And we don’t have them.”
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