US PRISONERS do not have a constitutional right to a DNA test that might prove their innocence, the has ruled.
Many inmates are seeking to take a DNA test in a bid to overturn a conviction. However, in some states there are no specific rules to grant access to such tests. The court ruled in a 5:4 decision that rules on who should be allowed DNA tests after conviction should be made by individual states and the US Congress, not federal courts.
The New York-based , which fought the case on behalf of William Osborne, an Alaskan inmate who maintains he did not kidnap and sexually assault a prostitute, described the ruling as .
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Most prisoners will not be affected by the ruling. Of 240 so far exonerated by DNA evidence, fewer than a dozen had to turn to a federal court to obtain the test.