Johnson v. State (Majority, with Concurring and Dissenting)
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Defendant's request seeking postconviction DNA testing of twenty-six pieces of evidence under Act 1780, holding that the circuit court properly found that Defendant failed to meet the predicate requirements for testing.
Defendant was twice convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Carol Heath. All of Defendant's challenges to his conviction were unsuccessful. Here, Defendant sought postconviction DNA testing claiming that the proposed testing could undermine the prosecution's case or exonerate him. The circuit court found that Defendant had not satisfied the requirements for testing under Act 1780. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that none of the evidence that might result from the proposed testing could advance Defendant's claim of actual innocence or raise a reasonable probability that he did not murder Carol Heath.
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