After notice to the prosecution and an opportunity to respond, the court may order fingerprint analysis if the court finds that:

(1) A reasonable probability exists that analysis of the evidence will produce fingerprint results that would have rendered the petitioner’s verdict or sentence more favorable if the results had been available at the proceeding leading to the judgment of conviction;
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-30-405

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • fingerprint analysis: means the processes through which fingerprints are analyzed and compared for identification purposes, including, but not limited to, latent print comparisons and searches in fingerprint databases. See Tennessee Code 40-30-402
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
(2) The evidence is still in existence and in such a condition that fingerprint analysis may be conducted;
(3) The evidence was not previously subjected to fingerprint analysis, was not subjected to the analysis that is now requested which could resolve an issue not resolved by previous analysis, or was previously subjected to analysis and the person making the motion under this part requests analysis that uses a new method or technology that is substantially more probative than the prior analysis; and
(4) The application for analysis is made for the purpose of demonstrating innocence and not to unreasonably delay the execution of sentence or administration of justice.
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