The Power of DNA

    This time the jury got it right in convicting Steven Avery, once wrongly convicted in a 1985 rape case, of first-degree murder in the slaying of photographer Teresa Halbach.

    March 19, 2007
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
    Editorial

    DNA evidence sprung Steven Avery, of Manitowoc County, from prison. Now it's sending him back. The evidence served the cause of justice in both cases.

    Buy a link hereOn Sunday, a jury found Avery guilty of first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of Teresa Halbach, 25, a photographer. The verdict was fair, and the jury seemed conscientious. Telltale DNA, from both Avery and Halbach, was damning.
    In contrast, DNA evidence had the opposite effect for Avery in 2003, when it exonerated him of a sexual assault for which he had been convicted and had served 18 years in prison. DNA, this miraculous piece of evidence, has freed the innocent and jailed the guilty over the past 10 years or so. In Avery's case, it worked both ways.

    Avery snuffed out a promising life. Humans can't make up for murder. They can't bring back the victim. The best humans can do is locate the perpetrator and hold him to account for what he did. So in the Avery case, the system has done the best it can. Manitowoc County Circuit Judge Patrick Willis was commendably evenhanded. The prosecution put on a strong case. And the defense attorneys fought the evidence vigorously, as they should. The system can't work properly without an energetic defense, as Avery's wrongful conviction in the 1985 sexual assault may have demonstrated.

    The detective work, however, did fall short of ideal. For instance, Avery's lawyers discovered a vial of their client's blood unsecured in the Manitowoc County Courthouse last July - enabling them to argue that law enforcement officers planted DNA evidence. Sheriff's deputies found Halbach's car key on the floor of Avery's bedroom only after the third search - after vigorously shaking a bookcase, the deputies swore. And some DNA was contaminated by the lab.

    Fortunately, prosecutors were able to overcome those shortcomings. But police agencies and crime labs must make sure they're playing by the book so as not to free the guilty inadvertently.

    Avery also was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a gun. He was found not guilty of mutilation. His nephew, Brendan Dassey, 17, will next go on trial in connection with Halbach's murder. So far, justice has been done.



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