Oops...

Yet another exoneration. And this one too comes with a lesson about the faulty mechanics of the criminal justice system. According to the AP:

Marlon Pendleton was cleared by DNA tests that the original lab analyst refused to conduct. ''It was no surprise to me,'' Pendleton, 49, told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday in an interview at the Dixon Correctional Center. ''I always knew I was innocent.'' Pendleton demanded DNA testing after his arrest, but police lab analyst Pamela Fish. said there wasn't enough genetic material to test the evidence. Pendleton was convicted based on the victim's identification.

The expert who conducted the new tests said he was surprised at Fish's report ''because I found a reasonable amount of DNA.'' Fish's work has been challenged in the past. In one case, Fish -- who no longer works for the police department -- testified that semen found on a body could have belonged to three defendants. A DNA expert later examined Fish's notes and said they showed none of the four men had a blood type matching the samples.

Oops.