LaRue v. State

OPINION

Appellant, Joe Edward LaRue, was convicted in a bench trial of the capital murder of Donna Pentecost and sentenced to life imprisonment. His conviction was based in part on DNA evidence and in part on the very detailed testimony of a jailhouse informant. The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. Appellant filed a motion for forensic DNA testing, seeking re-testing of several things—including the oral swabs from Pentecost, and blood samples from a t-shirt worn by one-time suspect Jackie Ray Augustine. The motion was denied by the trial court. The Beaumont Court of Appeals, holding…