LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Evidence issues have emerged in at least six capital cases in Kentucky, along with potentially hundreds of other prosecutions including rapes and robberies.
Defense attorneys tell The Associated Press that the evidence issues, including missing, lost or destroyed material, arose because until recent years, Kentucky lacked strict rules about handling and storing evidence after trials.
Kentucky Innocence Project Director Ted Shouse says his group's efforts at reinvestigating old cases have been hampered by lost evidence.
Boone County Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Tally Smith says lost evidence isn't the problem it may appear -- in many cases there is other evidence that points to the guilt of the person in prison.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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