Preserving Evidence to Convict the Guilty and Protect the Innocent: Massachusetts' Post-Conviction Access to Forensic and Scientific Analysis Act

Abstract

This brief article is the second of a two part series analyzing Massachusetts General Law Chapter 278A, which provides a mechanism for persons who claim they are factually innocent of crimes for which they were convicted to obtain testing and analysis to show this. This part examines the first-ever statewide evidence preservation obligation the Act creates, and suggests considerations for implementing regulations.

Keywords: Evidence Preservation, Evidence Retention, Collection, Biological Materials