AUGUSTA (AP) – Supporters of Dennis Dechaine and family members of the girl he was convicted of killing testified Wednesday at a hearing on a bill designed to make it easier for convicted criminals to seek new trials based on DNA evidence.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ross Paradis of Frenchville, said the threshold for Maine’s current DNA law needs to be changed, not just for Dechaine but for other prisoners who might be innocent and have had DNA evidence uncovered since their convictions.
Dechaine was convicted in 1989 in the kidnapping and slaying of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry of Bowdoin. Dechaine, who has fought for a new trial for years, has a large number of supporters who believe he is innocent.
Members of the victim’s family, including her mother, sister and grandmother, tearfully told committee members that Dechaine doesn’t deserve a new trial and has had his day in court.
“We continue to be victimized by a system that allows unlimited appeals. Now you want us to go through it yet again,” said Margaret Cherry, Sarah Cherry’s grandmother.
Sarah Cherry went missing in July 1988 from a home where she was baby-sitting in Bowdoin. Dechaine, who lived the next town over, was convicted the following year.
Dechaine’s defenders say that DNA evidence uncovered since his conviction casts doubt on his guilt. They say that testing by the state crime lab showed DNA of an unidentified man, not Dechaine, was in a sampling from Cherry’s fingernails.
To win a new trial under existing law, Dechaine’s lawyers must provide convincing evidence that DNA found under the young victim’s fingernails came from her killer, that the evidence was properly handled and that it outweighs all of the other evidence that led to his conviction.
At a hearing last September, Dechaine’s lawyers abruptly withdrew his motion for a new trial, saying the state law that allows for a post-conviction review of DNA evidence sets an unfair burden on defendants.
Dechaine’s lawyers said they would go back to the Maine Legislature and seek to amend the law before refiling the motion for a new trial.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.