Authorities in Colorado believe errors in DNA testing by the state's bureau of investigation could require the reworking of more than a thousand cases.
On Wednesday, the Colorado Department of Public Safety requested additional funding for the year to account for the retesting of samples used in litigation, after issues were discovered in some results of tests by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
It said that potentially up to 3,000 samples would need to be retested by a third-party laboratory after "anomalies were discovered in the work of one former CBI forensic scientist."
The department added that the incident was "isolated to one former employee" who was now subject to internal affairs and criminal investigations.
"It is possible that substantial evidence will be available to re-try prior criminal cases," officials noted in a budget request.
The Colorado District Attorneys' Council said that it "conservatively estimates" local prosecutors would need to review and potentially re-prosecute at least 1,150 cases across the state.
Over $21.5 million was appropriated to deal with the retesting in the previous financial year, and last month nearly $7.5 million more was approved by Colorado's legislature.
The Department of Public Safety estimated the cost of retesting each of the 3,000 samples would be $1,000, while the post-conviction review process is expected to cost a further $4.4 million.
In cases where the DNA testing issues could impact the outcome of a case, an extra 40-80 hours of work is anticipated to be required. Cases that could result in a retrial are expected to require an additional 100-200 hours of work.
State prosecutors will combined be required to complete an extra 72,000 hours of work due to the anomalies, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has set aside nearly $4.4 million to reimburse them for their time.
Quoting a letter from the Colorado District Attorneys' Council, the January budget request said the state's eight largest district attorney's offices would have to take on roughly 100 cases each, and smaller ones approximately 25 each. There are 22 district attorneys in total in Colorado.
The Department of Public Safety noted that the budget "does not account for the legal costs of retrials, because it is too early to tell how many cases will go to retrial," adding additional funds may be requested for this purpose in the future.
"I'm shocked that one person can cause this much expense to the state," Colorado state Senator Jeff Bridges, a Democrat who sits on the General Assembly's Joint Budget Committee, told the Colorado Sun.
The Department of Public Safety said that, as of January 2, it had completed a review of around 10 percent of the DNA samples reviewed by the former laboratory worker, of which 229 had been "impacted by this employee's actions."
It was on this basis that it estimated around 2,290 cases will be deemed to have been affected when all the samples have been reviewed.
Update 2/1/24, 8:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include further information.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
