Connecticut Reviews Old Cases for Wrongful Convictions

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Connecticut is looking into hundreds of old criminal cases to determine if any prisoners were wrongly convicted of rape, murder or manslaughter as part of an ambitious initiative under way around the country.

Fourteen states have received millions of dollars in federal grants for DNA testing of old cases. In Connecticut, the money will pay for prosecutors, DNA experts and defense attorneys to work full-time looking into the cases and ultimately testing evidence in some for DNA.

Officials predicted the initiative likely would lead to exonerations, but said it's too soon to say how many.

The Connecticut Innocence Project, which is involved in the new effort, has already helped free three men in Connecticut in the past four years who were wrongly convicted of murder or rape.