Boston Herald: Convicted killer may be innocent

Bruce Jackson, a molecular biologist at BU School of Medicine, a nationally known DNA expert, and head of the forensic DNA science program at Massachusetts Bay Community College, has joined the effort to clear a Massachusetts man serving a life sentence for a 1971 murder. Jackson believes Robert Breest, convicted in 1973 of murdering New Hampshire teenager Susan Randall, deserves better quality DNA testing.

According to an article in the April 4 Boston Herald, during Breest's trial prosecutors argued that Randall clawed her killer "to the bone," that Breest was the lone assailant, and that the blood under Randall's fingernails matched Breest's blood type. DNA testing was not available at the time, but in January a New Hampshire Superior Court judge granted Breest's request for DNA testing. The results, from Cellmark Diagnostics in Maryland, indicate Breest could not be ruled in or out as the killer. Jackson takes exception to the quality of the tests. "If the test is well-done," he says, "the signals are strong, like a new typewriter ribbon." Of particular concern was why a basic test, a Y chromosome analysis, wasn't done. "If you have a male suspect, it's the easiest thing in the world to do," he says.

Breest has suffered three heart attacks in prison and is experiencing blood pressure problems. His lawyer, Donald Brisson, is asking a New Hampshire Superior Court judge to allow another, better quality round of testing. "I'd hate to see him die in prison and DNA come back and say, 'gee, it wasn't Bob Breest,'" says Brisson. "That would be a tragedy."