JULY 21, 2017
Forensic DNA Testing by DDC Helps Vacate Conviction

DDC, one of the worldโs largest private DNA laboratories, features a trusted, highly-regarded forensic DNA testing team.ย Our fully-accredited forensic laboratory provides unbiased independent forensic DNA testing and consultation services to legal and law-enforcement professionals. One of the high-profile cases DDC Forensics was involved in was recently in the news: here are the details.
DNA Analysis Conducted by DDC Assists in Death Penalty Case Reversal
The Supreme Court of Florida reversed the two-count murder conviction and death penalty sentence of Ralph Daniel Wright, Jr. of Tampa, FL for the 2007 murder of his ex-girlfriend Paula OโConnor and their son Alijah. DNA analysis conducted by DNA Diagnostics Center of a single black glove that was found at the crime scene (the same kind that had been issued to Wrightโs military unit) and other crime-scene evidence showed no definitive match for Wright. This DNA testing supported the courtโs decision that evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, and no other physical evidence linked Wright to the crime scene.
The court unanimously vacated Wrightโs conviction for the murders ruling that the evidence against him was โpurely circumstantial.โ Much of the stateโs case relied on the presence of the black military glove at OโConnorโs home, but the State could not prove the Wright ever wore the glove, that he left it at the victimโs home, that it came from McDill (the base where he was stationed), or that it was even used in the murders. DNA tests by Florida Departmentย of Law Enforcement reported the results as inconclusive, but independent analysis by DNA Diagnostics Center and Bode, the private labs hired by defense and prosecution respectively, excluded Wright as a contributor to the DNA on the glove.
Wrightโs defense team included the St. Petersburg Law Firm ofย Kidder & Bennett
Attorney Nat Kidder expressed, โIt is always gratifying to work with people who are consummate professionals.ย In a case where three labs had analyzed the DNA in this complex case, DDC and Dr. Julie Heinig provided the definitive evidence that Mr. Wright was โexcludedโ as the contributor to the DNA found in the glove.โ
Working closely with Nat Kidder and William Bennett, DDCโs Laboratory Director, Julie A. Heinig, Ph.D. stated, โDNA testing proves over and over that it is a powerful tool to help uncover the truth. Mr. Wrightโs acquittal is the ninthย such case DDC worked that ultimately proved an inmateโs innocence, and its value is especially evident in death-penalty cases like this where it helps a wrongfully-convicted man be set free.โ
Mr. Wright was scheduled to be released on July 18, 2017, following the mandate from the Florida Supreme Court.
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