Earnest Ray White v. State

Bethel, Judge.

Earnest Ray White began serving a life sentence in 1996 following his conviction for aggravated assault, burglary, and kidnapping. He has consistently maintained his innocence, and in 2015 sought to re-open his case pursuant to OCGA § 5-5-41 (c), which provides those convicted of felony offenses with the ability to request DNA testing of evidence if, among a number of other factors, the identity of the perpetrator of the offense was at issue at trial. Because an improper legal standard was applied below, we vacate the order of the trial court and remand the case for further…