Florida death row inmate James Duckett pushes for hearing reviewing DNA evidence
Judge orders hearing in DNA dispute involving Florida death row inmate
A Florida judge has ordered an evidentiary hearing in a long-running death penalty case after conflicting interpretations of DNA evidence raised new questions ahead of a possible execution.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. - James Duckett, a Mascotte police officer convicted nearly 40 years ago of raping and murdering a little girl, has managed to keep the executioner at bay for a little while longer.
His death warrant for the brutal attack of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee expired while attorneys argue over one last bit of evidence: A DNA sample Duckett thinks will change a jury’s mind about his guilt.
The DNA
The backstory:
The DNA sample leading to all this back and forth is from a bit of semen collected from 11-year-old Teresa McAbee’s underwear after she was found strangled to death and discarded in a lake in May 1987.
Two weeks ago, an analyst hired by the state said it’s 4,100 times more likely that the DNA belonged to Duckett than to someone else.
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But an analyst hired by the defense argued last week that the DNA test was shoddy, and the results can’t be used to make a confident conclusion.
The state’s position
The state argues, that evidence has been there all along and there’s nothing new about it.
And if the DNA analysis came back inconclusive, nothing should change regarding Duckett’s conviction.
The defense’s argument
The Defense says they want an evidentiary hearing so all the experts from both sides can answer questions about their conclusions.
"Our hands are tied without being able to put to talk to the experts," attorney Beth Wells told Judge Brian Welke.
Duckett’s case
That is not the only evidence that led to Duckett’s conviction.
Unusual snow tire tracks matched up to his car; fingerprints of his and those of the little girl were mixed on the hood of his car; and experts matched a pubic hair found on Teresa to Duckett.
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He was sentenced to death in 1988 and lost an appeal in 2001, along with four separate attempts to overturn his death sentence over the years.
He is also the sole suspect in two other similar rapes and murders of young girls.
What's next:
Judge Brian Welke says he wants the attorneys in this case to come back by Friday with dates for when they could hold an evidentiary hearing.
The Source: This story was written based on court filings and previous reporting by FOX 35 News.