(Flickr Photo via luca_volpi)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that a state statute limiting post-conviction DNA analysis to cases involving only first-degree murder or rape is unconstitutional. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the court said Friday that the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The decision reverses a Wyandotte County district court ruling that denied DNA testing to Jerome Cheeks, who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted in 1993 of second-degree murder. The high court's decision says the Kansas law limiting post-conviction DNA analysis only to people convicted of first-degree murder or rape should be extended to cover people serving life sentences for second-degree murder.