The judge in the Dennis Dechaine murder case delivered a
blow to the convicted man's campaign for freedom this week by
issuing a ruling that narrowly limits the evidence he will
allow Friday when a hearing begins on Dechaine's motion for a
new trial.
Declaring the hearing itself is not a new trial, Justice
Carl Bradford said in an order made public Tuesday that he
will only consider evidence presented in Dechaine's original
trial in 1989 and DNA tests conducted last year. The limits on
evidence fall far short of what Dechaine's lawyers argued for
in court papers.
Michaela Murphy, Dechaine's defense attorney, would not
discuss the ruling. "We are in the process of deciding what
this means for the hearing," she said.
Deputy Attorney General William Stokes, the state's lawyer,
also would not comment.
In his ruling, Bradford said he would exclude testimony
about victim Sarah Cherry's time of death, which Dechaine's
supporters say would exonerate him.
Bradford also ruled out consideration of a police
investigator's newly discovered notes that raise questions
about incriminating statements attributed to Dechaine, and
said he would limit evidence of an alternative suspect to what
is shown by DNA results.
"Were the court to allow all 'other evidence' to be
introduced for the first time at this hearing, it would
essentially be conducting a new trial," Bradford wrote.
"(Dechaine) is not at that stage of the proceeding yet."
Bradford said Dechaine must first prove that DNA evidence
excludes him as a source of the biological material tested.
Then he must show that the evidence was not contaminated.
If Dechaine meets those standards, Bradford would then
weigh the new evidence against the trial evidence and decide
whether to order a new trial. If that happens, Bradford said,
all the evidence surrounding Cherry's death could be
reexamined.
Dechaine and his league of supporters have always claimed
that he would not have been convicted in 1989 if Bradford, who
presided over the trial, had allowed DNA testing and testimony
that implicated another man in the torture murder of Cherry,
who was 12.
In 1993, a lab hired by Dechaine found that blood scrapings
from Cherry's thumbnails contained the DNA of an unknown male.
The state crime lab confirmed the results last year.
The DNA profile is not strong enough to identify an
individual, but it has been used to eliminate Dechaine and
others who had contact with Cherry and her body. Douglas
Senecal, the man most often named by the defense as an
alternative suspect, has refused to submit a DNA sample.
In court papers, Murphy said that in addition to the DNA
results, she should be able to introduce witnesses who did not
appear at the trial, including one who could testify about a
potential motive for Senecal to kill Cherry.
In his ruling, Bradford said Dechaine could only
demonstrate evidence of an alternative suspect "through
favorable DNA results."
In 2001, Maine joined nearly every other state by passing a
law that allows convicted prisoners the chance to use DNA
results to prove their innocence. However, Maine puts a heavy
burden on the defendant.
Dechaine has to show that the material found under Cherry's
fingernails is not his DNA, and that only the real perpetrator
of the crime could have been its source. Michigan is the only
other state to make that requirement in its law on motions for
a new trial, according to a study cited by Bradford.
In his ruling, Bradford wrote: "The focus of the statute is
narrow. It allows for a deviation from the concept of finality
of judicial decisions to exonerate wrongly imprisoned persons
who can establish their innocence via DNA evidence. It follows
then that the focal point of the DNA analysis hearing . . . is
on the meaning of the DNA evidence."
But in court papers, Murphy said Bradford should consider
other evidence, such as Senecal's refusal to submit his DNA,
when the judge decides the meaning of the state's test
results. "The court can draw any rational inference it
believes is appropriate from that refusal," she wrote.
The hearing is scheduled to begin Friday morning in
Cumberland County Superior Court and continue through Sept.
30.
Staff Writer Gregory D. Kesich can be contacted at 791-6336
or at:
gkesich@pressherald.com
MAINEJOBS 
.gif){kind=spacer}
Be sure to check