KSP crime lab backlog causes major delays in court, affecting KY’s criminal justice system

The Kentucky State Police Laboratory has a debilitating evidence testing backlog that leaves a negative trickle down affect in the state’s criminal justice system by causing delays that affect victims, their families, attorneys and defendants.

When a suspect is charged with a crime, it’s common for prosecutors and police to rely on DNA evidence to prove that suspect is guilty — or exonerate them. But some results for DNA sent to the KSP lab take months or years before they are returned to local police agencies who are left to find a costly alternative to have their evidence tested. The Lexington Police Department is looking into the use of private evidence laboratories that could expedite the testing of evidence, and help resolve cases more quickly.

Lt. Brian Peterson with the LPD personal crimes section said delays of evidence testing have led the department to consider personal laboratories which can process evidence – primarily DNA – at a quicker rate than the backlogged KSP lab.

How backlogged labs impact the courts

Peterson said the use of private labs would help investigators more quickly get justice for victims and their families. It could also help exonerate innocent people facing charges, or quickly convict those who are guilty. Regardless of a defendant’s final outcome, inmates awaiting trial contribute to statewide jail overcrowding while sometimes just waiting for one evidence test to come back.

Corry Jackson, a Lexington man awaiting a manslaughter trial after he was arrested in a shooting in the 400 block of Chestnut Street in April 2023, is one such example. Lakeisha Hill, 32, and Timonte Harris, 43, both died as a result of the shooting. Jackson was arrested one block away from the scene of the shooting, and witnesses later identified him as the shooter, according to court documents.

The lead investigator for Jackson’s case, Jeremy Adkins, said during a previous hearing that witness testimony was the only definitive evidence that placed Jackson as the shooter. Investigators did not find him with a weapon. Jackson was tested for gunshot residue. Results from that test were not returned before prosecutors presented what evidence they had to a Fayette County grand jury which indicted Jackson.

Daniel Whitley, Jackson’s attorney, said the backlog can present flaws in the system and harm those who are innocent. Whitley and the family believe the result of the gunshot residue test will exonerate Jackson. If it doesn’t, it can still delay the case.

“You go to court and they will say stuff like, ‘The test is not back yet, we are waiting for the tests,” he said in an interview with the Herald-Leader. “You know, ‘KSP laboratories are backed up.’ But they are not educating the public on the cost of that, because if we are going to house people in jail, put them in prisons, facing death, we will remove them from their lives ... “

Detective: ‘That’s the way it is’

Adkins said while the situation of presenting un-returned evidence to a grand jury is unfortunate, it is routine.

“That’s the way it is,” Adkins said in a previous hearing where Jackson was denied a bond reduction. “We have 60 days to present to the grand jury, and routinely we are waiting on these tests – it’s not ideal but it doesn’t discount that we have more than one eye witness to account for (Jackson) as the shooter.”

The “60 days” rule is established by criminal procedure: a prosecutor has 60 days to present a case to the grand jury for a defendant who’s in custody. If they do not meet that deadline, the defendant is either released from jail or the bond they paid to get out is refunded. The defendant can still face the criminal charges and the prosecutor can still present the case, but the defendant is no longer bound to a detention center.

Whitley said law enforcement should be “held accountable to give the whole truth” to a grand jury when giving them the opportunity to press charges against someone.

Sgt. Matt Merker, who works in the LPD Robbery/Homicide Unit, said investigators immediately send evidence to the lab because they know how long it takes. Some evidence, such as clothing, gunshot residue or firearm evidence can come back within a couple of months, Merker said.

But DNA testing can take “anywhere from a year and a half to sometimes three years,” Merker said.

“We want to get in that line,” Merker said. “That can really hamper a case if we really need that information.”

Peterson said the maximum three-year waiting period can have negative consequences – suspect and witness memory deterioration, or disappearing evidence.

“So that’s crucial we get that evidence processed as quickly as we can, and what we are seeing is some of these private labs that are better funded, have more staff, better technology, and they are able to provide us those turnaround times much, much quicker,” Peterson said. “In a fraction of the time.”

LPD didn’t provide information on when the department might have a partnership, the potential cost of collaboration with private labs, or if there are specific labs involved in the project.

Why are KSP labs backlogged?

Speaking before the Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 18, KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr., said the agency can’t pay enough to keep its crime lab well-staffed, and there’s been an increase in evidence submitted.

Burnett said Kentucky’s pay for its state crime lab ranks 47th — starting pay is just over $44,000. He said an increase in pay would help recruit and retain experts. And keeping the staff around for awhile would save the agency money, too.

“In 2016, we calculated the agency spent 1.4 million dollars in salaries training staff that have left before ever working a real case,” Burnett testified to state lawmakers last week.

He added that 90% of employees who resign say their primary reason for leaving is pay. Surrounding states offer nearly $20,000 more at the starting level, Burnett said. Since 2021, the state labs have never operated at more than 70% staffing capacity, he said.

KSP Laboratories have six labs across the state in Frankfort, Middletown, London, Cold Springs, Ashland and Louisville. The central laboratory, located in Frankfort, is the only site that does DNA testing.

For violent crimes testing, not including sexual assault, the forensic biology section received 1,700 testing submissions from Kentucky’s more than 400 police agencies, according to Burnett. The average turnaround time for those results was nine months by the end of 2023, Burnett said.

A large number of the DNA testing comes from Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence kit intake, commonly referred to as a “SAFE Kit.” SAFE Kit testing nearly doubled from 479 in 2016 to 882 in 2023. The forensic biology section which processes these cases operated at 58% staffing capacity, according to Burnett.

In 2016, the state labs had a testing backlog of more than 3,000 kits, which prompted the state to pass Senate Bill 63. This emergency bill established timelines of four to six weeks that required tests to be analyzed. It also increased funding for positions which was hopeful to establish an increase in ability to process tests.

The wait time for testing has decreased, Burnett said. Test times used to take about a year and a half, Burnett said. In 2023, they took about a year and a month.

But Burnett said the bill didn’t successfully fill out KSP’s testing staff. At no time since the bill’s passage — which provided money for 10 new positions — have those positions been full and working cases.

“With improved efforts and if the prior caseloads did not exist, we could take a SAFE kit brought in and could be analyzed in four to six weeks,” he said. “We do not have the staff numbers to make substantial strides in the previous case loads.”

Senator: Low state analyst pay is ‘embarrassing’

Senator Whitney Westerfield, the chair of the committee, said the poor pay rate for analysts is “embarrassing.” Westerfield said he would be remiss if he didn’t “give grief” to Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration.

“The legislature has asked for a salary study, and we waited — we have it now,” Westerfield said. “I think it finally came in November. But that hamstrung our ability to adequately fund, not just state police, not just the justice cabinet, but everyone else in the state government, and to help us compete as effectively as we need to everywhere else.”

Steeley Shacklette, the executive director of the state’s personnel cabinet said Westerfield’s statement is “simply not accurate.”

Shacklette said the Personnel Cabinet reviewed the state’s job classification and pay plan, as directed by the legislature, and assembled detailed reports as a result in July 2022 and November 2023.

“As a result of the Personnel Cabinet’s findings, pay raises have been provided to 21,300 employees,” Shacklette said in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader. “Sen. Westerfield’s suggestion that this administration hamstrung the General Assembly’s ability to adequately fund the Kentucky State Police or any other agency in state government is simply not accurate.”

During the hearing, several committee members commented on supporting the increase in starting pay for analysts. Some mentioned a non-compete clause being implemented.