Simms v. Shearin, Warden

Approximately ten years after his 1998 conviction of two first-degree murders, Appellant Joseph Simms filed a pro se petition seeking additional DNA testing of clothing introduced at his trial pursuant to Maryland’s post-conviction DNA testing statute — Maryland Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol.), Criminal Procedure Article (“CP”) § 8-201 — in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. 1 Although the court ultimately granted this petition, Appellant’s claim that additional DNA testing would prove his innocence could not be substantiated because the clothing had been destroyed by the Baltimore City…