TAVARES

A glass slide with a semen smear could move a Mascotte man closer to a fatal injection or free him.

James Duckett, 45, on death row for raping and killing an 11-year-old Mascotte girl in 1987, must choose among three laboratories to test DNA samples from the crime he was convicted of committing.

“We are in a difficult position,” said Don Scaglione, assistant state attorney. “We want the DNA tested, but we don’t want to be accused of destroying evidence if the testing destroys the slide. We offered him the choice to have the slide tested at one of three different out-of-state labs.”

Lake Circuit Court Judge William Law ruled Friday that DNA testing is allowed on the slide, Scaglione said.

Law also dismissed a motion by Elizabeth Wells, Duckett’s Atlanta defense attorney. She argued said the state was not cooperating in giving evidence to the defense, according to court documents. Wells could not be reached at her office after several phone calls.

So far, testing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement turned up no DNA evidence, court documents stated.

FDLE tested Teresa McAbee’s jeans, panties and fingernail scrapings, along with a vaginal smear.

The state Supreme Court ordered DNA tests on a slide with semen and sent the case back to Lake County.

Testing the slide is not easy, because the slide has a misapplied cover, making it tough to test, Scaglione said. There is also the possibility of contamination. And the sample may have degenerated beyond usefulness, he said.

That possibility is precisely why the State Attorney’s Office wants Duckett, a former Mascotte police officer, to choose the lab where it will be tested, Scaglione said.

Duckett’s choice should place the State Attorney’s Office beyond reproach, he said.

After the case returned to Lake County from the Supreme Court, defense and state attorney’s launched a series of motions.

Reading the motions it seems as though the state is eager to give the defense what it wants and Scaglione agreed.

“This has gone on long enough. It has been on the minds of the people of Lake County long enough,” Scaglione said. “All Duckett has to do is choose a lab, and we’ll send the slide, but he has never said he wanted the slide tested.”

The judge is preparing a report to the state Supreme Court, a judicial assistant said. Because of the case’s sensitivity and because the death penalty is involved, Law declined through his assistant to speak about the case Monday.