efrigerate them and the stains deteriorated beyond usefulness.
Without forensic evidence to defend himself, Youngblood was convicted of molestation, sexual assault and kidnapping.
The Arizona Court of Appeals reversed his conviction on grounds that the state had breached a duty to preserve the evidence.
Then the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated his conviction.
"The failure of the police to refrigerate the clothing and to perform tests on the semen L.C. JACKSON samples can at worst be described as negligent," Chief Justice William Rehn quist wrote for the majority. But because the court found "no suggestion of bad faith on the part of police, ... there was no violation" of his constitutional due-process rights, the ruling held.
Three dissenting justices argued that the distinction between "good faith" and "bad faith" is "anything but bright," especially when police ineptitude deprived Youngblood of the ability to defend himself. "The Constitution requires that criminal defendants be provided with a fair trial, not merely a 'good faith' try at a fair trial," Justice Harry Blackmun wrote.
Nineteen years later, defense advocates still complain that the ruling is unconstitutional Al Newton relfects on the many years he spent behind bars for a crime he never committed. He was released, after years of effort, by recent DNA testing. (Post / Helen H. Richardson)and that the hurdle of having to prove malice is nearly insurmountable.
nyefrankracing frank on 10 Aug 09The Court issued a per curiam opinion. Given the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's answer to the United States Supreme Court's certified question, retroactivity was no longer an issue. The Court held long ago that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause requires a State to prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt before convicting a defendant of a crime. Here, failing to possess a permit was a basic element of the crime as it existed at the time of Fiore's conviction. The "parties agree that the Commonwealth presented no evidence whatsoever to prove that basic element." In fact, Pennsylvania conceded that Fiore had a permit. "The simple, inevitable conclusion is that Fiore's conviction fails to satisfy the Federal Constitution's demands."