Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee in January approved a $7.5 million to deal with the fallout of an ongoing probe into a former CBI forensic scientist
By Brian Eason | THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado district attorneys worry that over 1,000 criminal convictions may have relied on dubious evidence due to “anomalies” discovered in DNA testing by a former Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic scientist.
The Joint Budget Committee last month approved a $7.5 million addition to this year’s state budget to deal with the immediate fallout. And the taxpayer costs are likely to grow, budget documents show.
“That’s extremely concerning, and clearly quite a liability for the state,” said Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver, a JBC member.
Department officials told the JBC the money would only cover the cost of re-testing DNA samples and reviewing convictions that relied on evidence now in question. Nearly all of the incarcerated people affected are expected to challenge their convictions, and an untold number could go back to trial.