*** DNA changing limitation statutes
NEW YORK (AP) - With DNA solving crime after crime, some states are
extending or dropping the statute of limitations on prosecuting rape
and other violent offenses in case a genetic match that can prove who
did it turns up decades later. Such changes in the law challenge the
legal tradition that says prosecutors have to bring charges within a
certain amount of time after the crime - a rule based on concern that
evidence might get lost and witnesses prove untrustworthy after many
years have gone by. Generally, statutes of limitations for serious
offenses run for four to six years, depending on the state. Defense
lawyers warn that dropping those limits would give prosecutors too
strong a hand. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2565031045-81a
