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Typically, this opposition takes the form of an appeal to finality doctrine. These doctrines, which vary from state to state, are a way of putting an end to judicial proceedings that could otherwise drag on indefinitely. For instance, a finality doctrine might decree that once the appeals process in a criminal case has been exhausted, the verdict will be considered final, virtually regardless of any additional evidence that subsequently surfaces. Having a finality doctrine on the books often makes jurisprudential sense, because the odds of getting closer to the truth of a case typically diminish as you get further from the time of the original trial; memories fade, evidence degrades, witnesses disappear or die. But with the advent of DNA testing, finality doctrine ceased to make sense for certain criminal cases. Biological material (semen, hair, fingernails, skin cells, blood) has been regarded as evidence since time immemorial, but DNA testing of this material has only been standard protocol in the United States since the 1990s. As a result, there are many people serving prison sentences today for crimes in which biological evidence was collected and preserved but never subjected to genetic testing. In cases like these, a finality doctrine is an obstacle rather than an aid to justice. (Scheck et al., 247, and my interview with Neufeld.)

the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2009. Adam Liptak, “Justices Reject Inmate Right to DNA Tests,” the New York Times, June 18, 2009.

Michael McGrath. Background information on the Bromgard case comes from my interview with Neufeld; I am grateful to him as well for providing me with a copy of the deposition, from which the direct quotations are taken: “The deposition of Michael McGrath in the United States Judicial District Court for the District of Montana Billings Division, Jimmy Ray Bromgard, plaintiff, v. State of Montana, County of Yellowstone, Chairman Bill Kennedy, Commissioner John Ostlund, Commissioner Jim Reno, Arnold Melnikoff, and Mike Greely, defendants,” Sept. 29, 2006.

Chimerism. Clive Niels Svendsen and Allison D. Ebert, eds., The Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research (Sage Publications, 2008), 96.

When other forensic scientists reviewed his work. John O. Savino, Brent E. Turvey, and John J. Baeza, The Rape Investigation Handbook (Academic Press, 2005), 32.

“‘I saw murder in his eyes.’” This story was told to me by Peter Neufeld. The next story in this paragraph, about Calvin Johnson, was mentioned by Neufeld in our interview and appears as well in Scheck et al., 193–210. The quotation (“He doesn’t care about me”) appears on p. 209. See also David Firestone, “DNA Test Brings Freedom, 16 Years After Conviction,” the New York Times, June 16, 1999.

The sheriff’s department had failed to follow up. Penny Beerntsen’s story about a police detective visiting the sheriff with a tip about Gregory Allen is corroborated by that detective, Thomas Bergner (later the Manitowoc deputy police chief) in a memo from the Wisconsin Department of Justice: “Correspondence/Memorandum Department of Justice, December 17, 2003, to Mark Rohrer, District Attorney, Manitowoc County, from Peggy A. Lautenschlager, Attorney General, subject: Avery Review.” The memo also describes Beerntsen’s follow-up phone call to the sheriff’s department, and notes that the department’s file on her case included information on Allen. However, the memo also indicates that Sheriff Tom Kocourek claimed not to recall either the visit from Bergner or the subsequent conversation with Beerntsen, and denied that he or, to his knowledge, anyone else in the sheriff’s department knew of Allen at the time of Beerntsen’s assault.

five different hair samples (FN). Scheck et al., 162–163.

she wrote him a letter. I am grateful to Penny Beerntsen for sharing her letter to Steven Avery with me.

Teresa Halbach. For information on the murder and Avery’s conviction, see Tom Kertscher, “Avery Found Guilty of Killing Woman,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 19, 2007. As of the time that I finished this book, Steven Avery’s attorneys