Court Says No to DNA Testing in Decades-old Death of Judge

TRI-CITIES (AP) — A request by a man convicted of killing a Benton-Franklin Superior Court judge with a pipe bomb in 1974 to allow DNA testing on evidence from his case has been denied.

The Tri-City Herald reports Ricky Anthony Young is serving a minimum 77-year sentence for murder in the death of Judge James Lawless, who opened a package and triggered the pipe bomb in his court chambers. Young's fingerprints were found underneath tape on a piece of paper from the package.

His attorneys from the Innocence Project Northwest sought DNA testing, saying it wasn't available for Young's trial 40 years ago and could identify the true perpetrator.

But a judge recently denied the request, citing a 1994 affidavit signed by Young, in which he admitted his guilt.

The judge also said the outcome of DNA testing wouldn't be enough to demonstrate Young's innocence.