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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