comments on the ludicrous recent decision by the Supreme Court regarding the denial of the right to DNA testing of crimes by "convicted" people...the quality of mercy is severely strained...jg From the New York Times, June 21, 200, Letters Section

Unfair Denial of DNA Tests

To the Editor:

At its core, due process of law is about fairness, reasonableness and justice, none of which was served by the Supreme Court’s decision to deny a request for new DNA testing to challenge a rape conviction (“Unparalleled and Denied,” editorial, June 19).

The court wrongly deferred to the other branches of government in supporting its decision, as evidence so potentially overwhelming as DNA testing rises well above any technical legal argument the court’s majority used to support its decision. The court should never shrink from its duty to vigorously enforce due process in whatever context it arises.

Moreover, if the criminal justice system failed, as it may have here, not only was the wrong man jailed but also the guilty have remained free.

Bruce Neuman
Sag Harbor, N.Y., June 19, 2009

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To the Editor:

Re “Court Rejects Inmate Right to DNA Tests” (front page, June 19):

The five hard-line conservative justices on the Supreme Court have once again acted to curtail justice in our country. There is no reason, if DNA evidence can exonerate an innocent convict, that the simple test ought not be given.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s argument that such a right would overthrow the established criminal justice system makes absolutely no sense, and only reveals his anxiety to uphold the institution of justice rather than its spirit.

The aim of the justice system is to establish the facts of each case. Therefore, the opposite of Justice Roberts’s argument is true: far from overthrowing the system, DNA testing would affirm it, whereas to refuse to examine pertinent DNA evidence would amount to a miscarriage of justice.

William Youmans
New York, June 18, 2009