Lawyers argue for DNA testing in 1974 bombing death of Franklin County judge

When Ricky Anthony Young was convicted of murdering a Franklin County judge with a pipe bomb, the key evidence considered by the jury was his partial fingerprint found inside the box.

That was more than four decades ago, and forensic science has vastly improved since then.

Young maintains he didn’t do it, and his lawyers said Friday that DNA testing of items from the bomb package is the next step needed to help support his innocence claims.

Young, 64, is serving a minimum 77-year sentence for the June 3, 1974, death of Judge James Lawless.

Prosecutors have said the evidence showed Young had a role in making, packaging or mailing the bomb — though they also have suspected he didn’t act alone.

So now, Young should be able to use technology not available in 1974 to test the prosecution’s claim that he handled the deadly package, said attorney Fernanda Torres.

Test results that exclude Young’s DNA from those items can scientifically establish his innocence, Torres said.

“Here we’re testing on a limited number of items handled by the person or persons involved in packaging the materials in making the bomb,” she said. “Considering the specific facts of this case and what the state’s theory of involvement was at trial … favorable results on that fingerprint do raise a probability of innocence.”

Torres, with the Innocence Project Northwest, has filed a motion asking for an order to conduct post-conviction DNA testing on 11 pieces of evidence that have been kept by the Franklin County Clerk’s Office and the sheriff’s office.

The request also covers an unidentified print found inside the bomb package.

Young has the backing of the Seattle-based legal clinic, which reviews claims of innocence by Washington prisoners and works to free those who have been wrongfully convicted.

Jacqueline McMurtrie, who founded Innocence Project Northwest, also argued on Young’s behalf.

Young is in the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla and was not transported to court.

The 2 1/2 -hour hearing was held in the courtroom dedicated to Lawless, with a picture of the late judge hanging on the wall near the bench.

Former Franklin County Prosecutor Jim Rabideau — who secured Young’s conviction in 1975 in a second trial — and then-Pasco police evidence technician Ed Johnson attended Friday’s proceedings.

Deputy Prosecutor Teresa Chen said she asked them to be in court as potential witnesses.

Chen argued that, even if test results show Young’s DNA is not on the items in question, that doesn’t mean he did not touch them.

She pointed out that the suspect’s DNA could have been “cloaked” when evidence became embedded in Lawless during the blast, or it could have been contaminated during the crime scene collection process that took three weeks with multiple federal agents.

“DNA testing is not a crystal ball of guilt or innocence. It just does not always exist,” Chen said.

She added that it is not appropriate to order testing merely because technology or science has improved.

Superior Court Judge Jackie Shea Brown had a long list of questions for Torres and Chen. She talked via speakerphone to Phil Hodge, a DNA expert with the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, who explained how newer technology helps forensic scientists extract DNA from miniscule items.

Hodge also noted that, considering the evidence is nearly 42 years old, the “degree of degradation” could affect their ability to get a DNA profile, but they won’t know until they go through the process.

Shea Brown took the case under advisement. She did not give an idea of when she would rule on the motion.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Lawyers argue for DNA testing in 1974 bombing death of Franklin County judge."