A Peoria County judge is allowing new DNA technology to be used in a 36-year-old double murder case. Johnnie Lee Savory was convicted of a gruesome double-murder that happened when he was 14.
Judge Steve Kouri says the request to test five pieces of evidence falls within similar cases where the courts permitted DNA testing.
Savory was convicted of killing 14-year-old James Robinson and 19-year-old Connie Cooper. He was paroled in 2006. But Savory contends his conviction was unjust.
The Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth and Northwestern Law Students last year requested the court allow DNA testing. The court will set specific guidelines for the testing at an August 30th hearing.