Kenneth R. Isom v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Isom’s request for additional DNA testing of two third parties whose DNA was allegedly available in the state database. It held that abuse of discretion, rather than clear error or de novo review, governed the denial of relief under the DNA-testing statute, and that the results were sufficiently inconclusive but did not warrant further testing because they matched Isom and did not exclude him as the DNA source. The court also held that refusing additional testing was not fundamentally unfair under the Arkansas Constitution. Justice Danielson concurred on the ground that Isom’s request failed to satisfy the statutory requirements for new testing, while Special Justice Simpson dissented because broader testing was warranted in a death-penalty case.