Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey D. Clark are both serving life in prison for a murder they say they didn’t commit. However, the DNA evidence that could exonerate them has never been tested due to a Kentucky law that only allows post-conviction DNA testing for those sentenced to death. Hardin and Clark are challenging that law in the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Lawyers for Hardin and Clark claim that the case against them has all the trappings of a wrongful conviction. No witnesses saw the crime and no forensic evidence directly linked either defendant to the scene. The case was mainly based on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of a jailhouse snitch who has since been discredited.
Hardin and Clark’s best chance to prove their innocence is DNA testing of two hair found in the victim’s hand. However, the Kentucky Attorney General opposes the testing saying that it would swamp the state crime lab with cases and be prohibitively expensive.
Kentucky currently has the most restrictive post-conviction DNA testing laws in the nation.
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