North Carolina District Attorneys Continue To Ignore Reality Of SBI Corruption

Some North Carolina District Attorneys apparently continue to hold on to the blanket, unfounded assertion that no wrongs were committed on account of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) scandal recently uncovered. However, the independent audit commissioned by Attorney General Roy Cooper determined the SBI crime lab withheld or misreported blood test results in 229 cases. The SBI said this week that it has identified an additional 74 cases with similar issues.

The District Attorneys' position is simply ridiculous in light of the recent audit and examples of specific cases. Derrick Allen would certainly disagree. Chris Foye would likewise argue these District Attorneys are wrong.

Mr. Foye pled guilty to the 1991 murder of Bobbie Jean Morgan. After consultation with his defense attorneys, Mr. Foye decided to enter a plea (without acknowledging guilt) to the charge to avoid the risk of receiving the death penalty if convicted at trial. The problem with the case is that the SBI had identified another man's DNA in the victim's panties. That information would have obviously been tremendously important to his defense. However, the State never produced this potentially exonerating evidence to the defense. William Gerrans, who defended Mr. Foye noted "I absolutely never saw any report about DNA. If I had, I would have never let Chris plead." The SBI also failed to report a confirmatory test for blood was inconclusive. This test would have further provided an argument for the defense.