Kentucky: Court grants DNA test for death row inmate

By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky death row inmate can have hair taken from the scene of a 1997 triple slaying tested for DNA because the evidence has potential value to the case, the state's high court ruled Thursday. The ruling, in the case of 69-year-old John Roscoe Garland, overturns a 2008 order denying testing by McCreary Circuit Judge Jerry Winchester. "When subjected to DNA testing and analysis, the evidence may lend credibility to (Garland's) theory of the case," a unanimous court wrote in an unsigned opinion. Garland was sentenced to death Feb. 15, 1999, in the shooting deaths of Willa Jean Ferrier, Crystal Conaster and Chris Boswell, whose bodies were found in a mobile home in Whitley City. Much of the case against Garland was based on the testimony of his son, Roscoe, while no physical evidence connected John Garland to the killings. Roscoe Garland told Kentucky State Police that his father was going to kill Ferrier, a former romantic interest, because she was dating someone else. Roscoe Garland told police that his father confronted Ferrier, then shot Boswell and Conaster during the fight. After a few minutes, Ferrier returned from another room and was shot, Roscoe Garland told police. Roscoe Garland acknowledged helping his father cover up evidence by burning clothing and hiding the weapon, a .357 magnum, he used to own. Kentucky State Police detectives found a clump of blackish-brown hair in Ferrier's hand, which was next to Boswell's head. Boswell's hair, along with that Roscoe Garland, was brown. John Garland had silver-gray hair. A state police lab report on comparisons between the hair found in Ferrier's hand and Boswell's hair found that they were "similar in color and microscopic characteristics." But, the jury didn't hear about that report. Instead, the jury only heard that a clump of hair was found in the victim's hand. Prosecutors argued that the hair could have come from John Garland. John Garland's attorneys argued at trial that their client wasn't at the trailer and that Roscoe Garland, who has an extensive criminal history, committed the killings. The high court found that DNA test results wouldn't conclusively prove John Garland's innocence, but could have affected John Garland's sentence in the case given the importance of Roscoe Garland's testimony to prosecutor. "If the evidence still exists and can be tested, the circuit court is to order DNA testing and analysis," the high court ordered. Published: Fri, May 20, 2011