LITTLE ROCK - Two groups sued a central Arkansas city on Thursday seeking the release of evidence they say could exonerate an inmate who was executed nearly three years ago.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Innocence Project asked a state judge to order Jacksonville authorities to release fingerprint tests and DNA evidence they say supports claims that Ledell Lee was innocent of the 1993 murder of Debra Reese. The groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of Patricia Young, Lee's sister.
"We just want to know the truth," Young said at a news conference. "If science can get to the truth, we hope the court will allow the testing so justice can be found."
Twenty-one death row inmates have been exonerated since the early 1990s through DNA evidence. If Lee is ultimately cleared, he could be the first person who has been executed to later be proven innocent with DNA and fingerprint evidence, the Innocence Project said.
Jacksonville's attorney said the physical evidence is not considered a public record under Arkansas law.
"Additionally, should the city release this evidence, there is the possibility that the evidence would be destroyed, further violating evidence retention laws," City Attorney Stephanie Friedman wrote in an email to Jacksonville's mayor and City Council Thursday morning.
Lee was the first of four inmates Arkansas executed in April 2017 before its supply of a lethal injection drug expired. The state had originally planned to execute eight inmates, but four were spared by court rulings.
The groups submitted affidavits from forensic experts questioning other evidence that was used to convict Lee, including claims that partial shoe prints found at the scene of Reese's murder matched Lee's shoe size.
The lawsuit argues the evidence is considered a public record under the state's Freedom of Information law. The groups said it's in the public interest for them to released, particularly since there's no longer an active criminal investigation.