Birdwell v. State

OPINION

BILL VANCE, Justice.

This is an appeal of the trial court’s denial of a postconviction motion for forensic DNA testing.

Background

Vaughn Birdwell was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in January of 1996. The murder involved the violent stabbing death of Irene Mitchell, Birdwell’s former girlfriend. Birdwell appealed, arguing that he was denied his constitutional right to be tried by a jury of twelve peers because one juror had a felony conviction and should have been disqualified and that he did not receive a fair trial when the trial court denied his motion for…