From The Republic:
NEWPORT, Ky. — A ruling by a northern Kentucky judge has reversed his prior court decision to allow DNA testing in a killing that occurred 25 years ago.
Campbell Circuit Judge Fred Stine's new order is a blow to the exoneration efforts of William Virgil, who was sentenced to 70 years in prison in the 1987 killing of 54-year-old Retha Welch, whose body was found in a bloody bathtub in her Newport apartment.
Virgil is now 59.
Commonwealth's Attorney Michelle Snodgrass asked Stine to reconsider his initial order, noting that Kentucky law establishes the right to DNA testing only in capital punishment cases, according to The Kentucky Enquirer (http://bit.ly/qGY3rO).
Defense lawyer Linda A. Smith of the Kentucky Innocence Project is disappointed, saying courts have inherent power to find the truth.
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