State v. Johnson

In these consolidated cases, defendant appeals a trial court order that denied defendant’s motions under ORS 138.690 for DNA testing on the ground that defendant had waived in his 1993 plea agreement his right to seek that relief.1 As explained below, we reverse and remand.

We begin with the pertinent historical and procedural facts, which are undisputed, taking them from the trial court’s order:2

“Defendant was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989 following a jury trial for aggravated murder (victim: Beverly Gail Wilder) in case number 8710-35653 [A154905]. The conviction was ultimately…