TAVARES -- James Duckett, a former Mascotte police officer on
death row for raping and killing an 11-year-old girl in 1987, no longer
wants the DNA tests he has said will prove his innocence.
At issue
is a semen sample on a slide made in 1987. Duckett's lawyer, Beth Wells,
wrote in a letter to Circuit Judge William Law of Lake County this week
that the slide is old, in poor condition and may not have been properly
stored.
In addition, she questioned whether current technology can
provide the answers they seek. Analysts say testing by current methods
would consume the entire semen sample. Wells said that's a chance she
doesn't want to take.
"New methods of DNA testing are in the
process of being developed that will provide a greater likelihood of
success,'' she wrote in the letter dated Jan. 14. "When these new methods
that are more successful with degraded materials become available, it will
be too late for Mr. Duckett. … The prudent course would be to wait until
newer, more reliable methods of DNA testing become available.''
Law
was not available for comment Friday morning.
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