Carter v. State (Majority)
Annotate this CaseIn 1987, Appellant was convicted of rape, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, and burglary. The convictions were affirmed on appeal, and Appellant’s subsequently filed petitions for postconviction relief were unsuccessful. In 2012, Defendant filed a motion for postconviction forensic DNA testing, requesting that he be allowed to conduct DNA testing of the knife that was identified by the victim as the knife Appellant used during the rape, aggravated robbery, and burglary. The circuit court denied the motion without an evidentiary hearing, concluding that Appellant (1) failed to satisfy the statutory chain-of-custody requirements, (2) failed to satisfy the timeliness requirement of Ark. Code Ann. 16-112-202(10)(B), and (3) failed to demonstrate that he should be permitted to file a subsequent petition for postconviction relief. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court (1) erred in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Appellant satisfied the statutory chain-of-custody requirements; (2) erred in finding that Appellant failed to meet the timeliness requirement of section 16-112-202(10); and (3) abused its discretion in failing to permit Appellant to file a subsequent petition under Ark. Code Ann. 16-112-205(d). Remanded.
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