JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — The lawyer for a man convicted of killing a woman in Tunica County nearly two decades ago argued Tuesday to the Mississippi Supreme Court that DNA evidence prosecutors used to link him to the crime is unreliable.
Fannie Lee Burks was slain in 1995 in her apartment. At that time, the slaying was deemed unsolved, and the case went cold.
However, in 2008, the Tunica County Sheriff’s Office tested biological evidence that was found under Burks’ fingernails at the time of her death. The evidence had been stored in the property room.
The DNA profile found under the fingernails of her right hand was consistent with that of Joe Cotton. In 2011, Cotton was charged with Burks’ murder. He was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison.
Cotton’s attorney George Holmes told the court the only contact between the two was when Burks gave him a sandwich bag when he stopped at the cafe where she worked.
Court records showed Cotton and Burks knew each other and their families.
“There is a host of other reasonable hypothesis. As a matter of law, there is no way the state has proven its case without a reasonable doubt. DNA was found under one fingernail and one hand … this just goes to support the hypothesis that it was not a violent situation. If there had been violent contact there would have been more material,” said Holmes, with the Office of State Public Defender.
Special Assistant Attorney General Billy Gore said the DNA testing found material from Burks and an unknown male, which was eventually found to be Cotton’s.
“It’s pretty conclusive that we have his DNA under her fingernails. We know it is his DNA. There was no flour. There was no cornmeal. There was no pepper; no salt. Her hands were clean. All there was the DNA from Mr. Cotton. No other reasonable hypothesis exists,” Gore said.
The state Court of Appeals upheld Cotton’s conviction last year.
The appeals court said in a 7-3 decision that while the evidence against Cotton was circumstantial, it was sufficient to uphold the jury’s verdict. The court said there was testimony that Cotton was in the restaurant where Burks worked on the night of her slaying and that the two knew each other.
The court said a jury could reasonably conclude the DNA found under Burks’ nails came from her attacker.
