Title: Preservation Of Evidence - Innocence Project
Headings: Preservation Of Evidence
Preservation Of Evidence
Preserving DNA evidence preserves the ability to prove innocence.
Do all states require the preservation of crime scene evidence?
Has any federal guidance been provided to states and localities to properly preserve biological evidence?
Key Facts:
Not all states that require the preservation of evidence succeed in fulfilling their mission.
What are some common shortcomings in existing statutes?
What should be contained in a statute requiring the preservation of evidence?
Ideally, legislation requiring the preservation of evidence will include the following provisions:
Case in Point: Robin Lovitt – Virginia Death Row Inmate

Content: • The retention of crime scene evidence that is associated with unsolved cases. • The retention of all items of physical evidence secured in connection with a felony for the period of time that any person remains incarcerated, on probation or parole, involved in civil litigation in connection with the case, or subject to registration as a sex offender. • Provisions enabling courts to determine the appropriate remedy when evidence is improperly destroyed. Ideally, legislation requiring the preservation of evidence will include the following provisions: • If biological evidence is destroyed, the court may vacate the conviction, grant a new trial, and instruct the new jury that the physical evidence in the case, which could have been subjected to DNA testing, was destroyed in violation of the law. • The court will also instruct the jury that if it finds that the evidence was intentionally destroyed, it may presume that the results of the DNA testing would have been exculpatory. Case in Point: Robin Lovitt – Virginia Death Row Inmate
Robin Lovitt, convicted of the capital murder and robbery of a pool hall employee in Arlington, Virginia, was sentenced to death in early 2000. When Mr. Lovitt sought to appeal the decision, it came to light that the evidence associated with his case had been destroyed. Despite being reminded that Virginia law required the preservation of evidence from the case, a court clerk nonetheless discarded the murder weapon, a blood-stained pair of scissors.