There are no uniform standards for the storage of DNA evidence in crime labs across the country.

Today, as DNA analysis has matured, old samples of blood, hair, dried saliva and other biological material preserved at the labhave transformed it into an archive of hope for prisoners held in error.

Crime-solving remains the lab's primary mission, and the old DNA samples have helped analysts identify criminals who have eluded investigators for years. Exonerations have emerged as a by-product of that mission. Since 2001, the lab's DNA archive has secured freedom for 21 prisoners serving up to life in prison — the most exonerations in any county.

As more horrific mistakes of the past are exposed, the Institute of Forensic Sciences has become Exhibit A in a national push by some lawmakers, civil rights advocates, prosecutors and the federal government for more uniform standards regulating how biological evidence should be retained in criminal cases.

Only about half the states — including Texas — now require the automatic preservation of DNA evidence after conviction, according to The Innocence Project, which uses DNA evidence to assist inmates' claims of innocence. Sixteen states have no preservation laws.

As new cases of wrongful convictions continue to emerge based on DNA tests, the campaign for consistent preservation standards is gaining momentum across the country.


Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-03-28-crimelab28_ST_N.htm?csp=34news