Inmate requests DNA test despite guilty plea

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Rubin Weeks never would have pleaded guilty to the 1991 kidnapping and rape of a Southeast Missouri woman had he known of a lab report that indicated he couldn't have been the perpetrator, his attorney told the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Ellen Suni of the Midwestern Innocence Project in Kansas City, Mo., said court-ordered DNA testing of biological evidence related to the crimes will "determine with scientific certainty and finality" Weeks' guilt or innocence.

"Rubin Weeks is not asking now to swing open the prison doors and let him out," Suni said. "He is asking for a simple test."

DNA testing is even more accurate than an earlier test comparing fluid samples that Suni said could clear Weeks but was not disclosed to his original defense attorney in 1992.

Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court Judge William Syler rejected Weeks' request for DNA testing in April 2002. The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District in St. Louis upheld that ruling in April 2003.

The state argues that Weeks waived any right to post-conviction testing by pleading guilty. Assistant attorney general Andrew Hassell cited a state law that says inmates may seek testing in cases where the identity of the perpetrator is disputed at trial.

"The statute is very specific that identity must be an issue at trial," Hassell said. "Mr. Weeks' case never went to trial."

On Oct. 12, 1991, a 21-year-old woman was abducted while driving home after her shift working at a Jackson motel. Her abductor took her to an isolated area of Bollinger County, raped her and left her bound with duct tape. She later identified Weeks as her attacker in a photo lineup.

Hassell said Weeks confessed to police on five occasions. However, the defense countered that Weeks merely signed statements prepared by police and never confessed in his own words.

In entering his guilty plea, Weeks confirmed the details of the crimes as read by Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle but didn't describe the incidents himself. When asked why he was guilty, Weeks responded, "Because I did what they said I did."

Then-Circuit Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. sentenced Weeks to two concurrent life sentences. Now a member of the Supreme Court, Limbaugh recused himself for Weeks' appeal.

A serology test of semen samples taken from the victim showed the perpetrator had Type A blood and was a "secretor" -- someone whose blood type can be determined from other bodily fluids. While Weeks has Type A blood, a saliva test demonstrated he is a "nonsecretor." The test results were dated the day before Weeks pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 1992, but not admitted into evidence.

The state maintains the results failed to conclusively prove Weeks' innocence.

After Hassell repeatedly argued Weeks should be denied DNA testing on procedural grounds, Chief Justice Ronnie White interrupted him.

"What does the state have to lose by allowing testing to be performed in this case?" White asked.

Hassell said the state has an interest in protecting the process against a flood of frivolous jail house appeals. Suni said DNA evidence is available for testing in just a small percentage of old cases.

"The government is arguing here that finality ought to trump accuracy," Suni said.

Weeks, 42, is incarcerated at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, Mo.

The Supreme Court will issue an opinion in the case, Rubin Weeks v. State of Missouri, at a later date.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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