Bipartisan Legislation Passes in Response to CBI Scandal
The Colorado House unanimously approved House Bill 25-1275 on Wednesday, following a scandal involving former Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) DNA analyst Missy Woods. The bill passed with a vote of 65-0 and aims to establish formal procedures for reporting misconduct within Colorado’s crime laboratories.
Woods faced charges totaling over 100 counts, including forgery and cybercrime, for manipulating DNA test data in more than 800 cases since 2014. Her actions resulted in an agonizing 558-day wait for sexual assault kit results and recently led to the exoneration of a man wrongfully convicted of murder over a decade ago when DNA evidence was retested.
Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Democrat representing Colorado’s 52nd district, emphasized the bill’s importance: "The CBI scandal has had devastating consequences for survivors of sexual violence. This bipartisan solution will inform defendants if evidence in their case was implicated in the scandal, allowing them to seek post-conviction relief."
Sponsored by Zokaie and Republican Rep. Matt Soper from Colorado’s 54th district, the bill outlines several critical measures to enhance accountability. It mandates that crime lab employees report any misconduct they observe or discover within 14 days. Additionally, both defendants and victims must be informed of any misconduct that affects their cases. This move also affords defendants the right to return to court if CBI misconduct impacted significant evidence used for their convictions.
The legislation requires crime laboratory directors to review all records to identify wrongful actions by current or former employees before July 1, 2025. Authorities have described the bill as a necessary step to uphold the integrity of Colorado’s forensic system, aiming to prevent future misconduct.
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