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Texas plans to execute Larry Swearingen tomorrow. Multiple forensic experts now say that evidence presented at Larry’s trial doesn’t actually hold up under scientific scrutiny and that expert testimony at the trial was “overstated.” Larry has always maintained his innocence.
Larry Swearingen was convicted of killing Melissa Trotter in 2000. Melissa was strangled with one leg of pantyhose. Police searched Larry’s home twice and found nothing tying him to the crime. It was only later that Larry’s landlord claimed to have found another leg of pantyhose.
A lab technician from the Texas Department of Public Safety testified at Larry’s trial that the pantyhose found by his landlord were “a unique physical match” to the pantyhose used to kill Melissa and that all other pantyhose were excluded as a match.
The prosecutor told the jury that the pantyhose were “really, the smoking gun, if you would, the irrefutable evidence … The smoking gun, folks.”
Here’s the problem: Two different fiber analysis experts examined the pantyhose materials after the trial and they concluded that the pantyhose found by Larry’s landlord and the pantyhose used to kill Melissa did NOT match.
A third fiber analysis expert says that the state lab technician’s testimony at Larry’s trial was “overstated.” That’s been confirmed by the Texas Department of Public Safety. They now say that the technician should NOT have testified that all other pantyhose were excluded.
Blood flakes were found under Melissa Trotter’s fingernails and a DNA profile was developed. The male DNA profile did NOT match Larry Swearingen. A technician testified that the DNA came from lab contamination, but now the lab says there was never any evidence of contamination.
There are a lot of problems in Larry Swearingen’s case. You can learn more in this article: beta.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019…
