Two years ago this month, in March 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States declined Willie Jerome Manning’s request for a review of his 1992 case involving two students. Things then moved quickly for a few weeks, during which Willie was very nearly executed with his request for DNA and fingerprint testing unmet. Eventually his execution was stayed and he was allowed to pursue the testing.

Unfortunately, since then procedures seem to have slowed. In April 2014 searches for forensic material were conducted, but it was not until last month (February 2015) that the Mississippi Supreme Court issued a status request to find out if the search was successful.

With a new trial granted for his 1993 case, Willie must be hoping that DNA and fingerprint testing can now be completed as soon as possible, so he can clear his name in both cases. We sincerely wish that his hope for a speedy resolution is fulfilled.