SOUTH DAKOTA – The South Dakota Supreme Court is considering whether a man who has spent more than four decades in prison for a 1983 double murder should receive a new trial based on DNA evidence.
Eighty-four-year-old George Luna was convicted in 1984 in the deaths of his estranged wife and her mother and has maintained his innocence ever since. A Rapid City judge previously ordered a new trial, ruling that DNA testing conducted decades after the conviction could lead a jury to acquit Luna.
The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office has appealed that decision, arguing the DNA evidence does not identify another suspect and does not outweigh other evidence presented at trial, including alleged threats and circumstantial evidence linking Luna to the crime.
Luna’s attorneys contend the DNA results excluded him from key evidence at the crime scene and, combined with other factors, could change the outcome if the case were retried.
The Supreme Court’s decision could clarify how South Dakota courts should apply a state law allowing new trials when newly discovered DNA evidence may affect a conviction.
The case remains under review by the state’s highest court.
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