Swafford v. State

Roy Clifton Swafford, a prisoner under sentence of death, appeals the circuit court’s denial of postconviction relief. He seeks to have his convictions for first-degree murder and sexual battery vacated after newly discovered evidence revealed that there was no seminal fluid found in the victim.1 Specifically, as set forth in his motion for postconviction relief, Swafford alleged and subsequently proved that at the time of trial in 1985, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)

tested vaginal and anal swabs of the victim and got a positive result for acid phosphatase, a substance…