DNA testing has played a crucial role in exonerating some notable Texas defendants, such as Michael Morton, who was freed in 2011 after 25 years in prison after another man was linked to items at the crime scene. Though Morton’s case was not a capital murder trial, Ellis said all testing should be provided by the state before the case goes to trial in cases in which the death penalty is sought.

The benefits of testing before going to trial are twofold, Ellis said: Those wrongfully accused are cleared earlier and police can refocus on other suspects.

“When we get it wrong, not only is an innocent persons’s freedom taken away, but a truly guilty person is free and emboldened to commit other crimes,” Ellis said.

via Bill would require DNA testing before death penalty trials – Houston Chronicle.