MINNEAPOLIS -- Additional evidence from the mutilation-style murders of three women in Minneapolis in the 1980s will be tested for DNA.
The new testing follows a petition filed last June by the Innocence Project in the case of Billy Glaze, who was convicted in 1989 in the serial murders of Kathleen Bullman, Angeline Whitebird-Sweet and Angela Green. Innocence Project attorneys have asked the court for a new trial for Glaze who has always maintained his innocence.
The petition largely focuses on the recent discovery of DNA at two of the murder scenes that the Innocence Project says implicates another man, a convicted rapist, as the killer.
Since then, attorneys say more biological evidence has been found – on rape swabs and slides from Angela Green. The evidence will be tested for DNA.
Glaze's attorneys believe the results could add to already overwhelming evidence of his innocence.
"Billy has been in jail for 27 and a half years. He's 71 years old and we are looking to move this along as quickly as we can so that he enjoys justice and freedom while he still can," said Innocence Project attorney Ed Magarian.
But Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman believes Glaze should stay where he is – in prison - saying the evidence that convicted him is also overwhelming.
"Do we make mistakes? Yep. We didn't make a mistake with Billy Glaze. He's guilty," said Freeman.
While additional DNA testing will be conducted, there is still a question about where that testing will be done. That was the crux of an issue argued in Hennepin County Court Friday.
The Innocence Project wants the lab that already discovered the DNA of another man on evidence from two of the three murder scenes to do the testing. The county wants the testing done by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The judge will decide.
