Donna has worked in the allied health field for 35 years and was an educator in the public school system for over 10 years, during which time she created a Allied Health Board for her school health department, writing curriculum for invasive procedures to be taught in pre-nursing and pre-medical classes for on track students including 2+2+2 articulation program with Fresno City College. Donna and her students ran the School Districts TB Clinic each year. 

After Keith was arrested and convicted, Donna knew no one would work on Keith's case for years, she could not let that happen so she changed her profession in mid-life and became a paralegal and Notary Public so she could adequately pursue post-conviction information. While getting into the grit of Keith's case, she became involved in several other inmate appeals at the state and Federal level; one case (CA State vs Edlebacher) Donna had information for Edlebacher*s Penalty Phase retrial that caused the court proceedings to be abruptly stopped; taking Edlebacher off Death Row and giving him Life Without Parole (LWOP), which is on appeal. 

Donna is an active member of: California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), Death Penalty Focus, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, "Outsiders Looking In" Fresno Support Group, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalist Social Justice, Amnesty International, and the Journey of Hope, in which she traveled and spoke out against the Death Penalty throughout the entire state of Ohio in 2003. 

In the year 2000, Donna traveled and met with Parliament Dignitary's throughout the United Kingdom (UK), studying, visiting, and researching the prison system there. Donna was excited to see real rehabilitation happening for the inmates and their families in every capacity available, and immediately recognized there are no SHU units but Mental Health Counselors, qualified doctors, nurses, psychiatrist, psychologist, clergy, and mentoring peers who come to the rescue of someone who may be in a crisis. Finding that the recidivism rate for violent to moderate crimes is 3% in the UK, while the US is 87%. 

Having a full background of the health profession and teaching credentials Donna continues to study subjects of interest and is looking forward to finishing Law School.

Speech:

Donna Larsen-Mother:

Thank you for allowing this Mother of a Death Row Inmate, Keith Doolin, speak openly about the money, ($) that general population defendants and their families do not have to save the innocent by DNA. 

In vision this: The Prosecutor strutting across the courtroom with his index pointing to the Defendant, Keith Doolin, with a loud boisterous voice proclaiming, "Make no doubt about it, Mr. Doolin is the killer".  Continuing, Prosecutor Dennis Cooper again pointed his finger at Mr. Doolin's face saying, "This DNA, I submit to you, it does point the finger at the defendant.  (RT 4387)

The DNA have never been done!  How was it that Dennis Cooper, a servant of the states prosecution could lie to the jury who brought back a guilty verdict, and the sentence of Death?

There had never been a granted DNA test on the defendants side, in this case, before or during trial, except the District Attorney's office decided to take a selective piece of evidence in the middle of trial and send it to their own Department of Justice (DOJ) lab; which the results concluded "Negative" for Keith be to a contributor to the evidence of the DNA. Yet the judge would not let the defense side do any DNA testing to the excuse of money. Judge Quaschnick stated it would delay the trial and he and the prosecutor, Dennis Cooper, had their plane tickets to Hawaii to vacation together with their girlfriends. (FOX TV, local Channel 26 wrote a $5,000 check for the DNA to be done, yet, the motion was denied) [CRT, appellate file] 

At the same time of these court rulings the defendant, Keith Doolin, did not know that his own attorney would only spend a total of $5,000 on his whole case including the penalty phase; a set deal with the Judge.  A Death Penalty case cost the defense side alone $500,000 to $1,000,000, where the DA's side will spend as much as $2-3 million, just to get a Death sentence, particularly during an election year to show "tough on crime".

Defendants and their family members who know nothing about criminal proceedings, have no idea of the corruption and deals done in hallways and judges chambers.  Many times as in this case, the lack of hundreds of thousands of dollars not owned by the defendant nor his family members, sets the case as indigent, thus giving the District Attorney a run away course of lies, false evidence, false witnesses, and Judges who allow the prosecutor to run the courtroom including swooning the jury. 

Fundamental fairness entitles indigent defendants to an adequate opportunity to present their claims fairly within the adversary system."  (Ake v. Oklahoma (1985) 470 U.S. 68, 77.)  Keith has always, even to this day,  maintained his innocence of these crimes though he now sits on Death Row.

The request for DNA testing at trial and the Post-conviction motion under Penal Code section 1405, is asking for no more than an opportunity to subject certain evidence to testing. In Keith's case, the prosecution put DNA evidence before the jury, argued that it pointed the finger at the defendant, Keith, that he had sex with the victim, which is believed played a significant role in his conviction. When the DNA  motion was argued before Judge Quaschnick, the trial Judge, the governments attorney, Dennis Cooper, stated that the evidence is not material and has nothing to do with the case.  What does that mean?, you can't argue that both ways!  "If in fact it turns out to not be the defendants, then under the prosecution's own theory of the case, he can't be the killer". (R.T. 5082)

When The California Legislature decided that post-conviction DNA testing was necessary to prevent the death or imprisonment of innocent persons, then to deny this motion would be to deprive Keith of his only meaningful opportunity to prove that his conviction and sentence was erroneous and unlawful.  Yet all DNA testing, including the post-conviction motions have been denied. (What are "they" hiding?)

Former FBI Director, now Judge William S. Sessions argues that prosecutors have a professional duty and moral responsibility to seek the truth. Judge Sessions also states too many prosecutors vigorously oppose DNA testing, and implies that the prosecutors work hard to keep DNA testing out of pretrial, trial, and post-conviction testing. J. Sessions does not understand why prosecutors oppose a defendants access to DNA evidence for testing in cases where the results could make a difference.  "Prosecutors have nothing to lose--unless they put their pride before their professionalism--in allowing post-conviction DNA request to go forward.  If the DNA test proves the defendant is guilty, than all doubts will be resolved.  If it exonerates the defendant, then there is an opportunity to correct a tragic mistake and begin the search for the real criminal." [The Washington Post, Sept. 21, 2003.]

Think of the money the state would save by allowing the DNA to be done in an early, yet timely manner?  What about the emotions, stress, financial lost to family and friends, job loses, time and energy expended, man hours of the state to prepare the person to be an inmate, etc.

A procedural due process violation is established when a person is deprived of life, liberty, or property interest without adequate procedural protection.  (Matthews v. Eldridge (1976) 424 U.S. 319; Foss v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Inc. (9th Cir. (1998) 161 F.3d 584,588.) Here, Keith's life and liberty are at stake. Under our own DNA Laws, Statues, and Penal Codes, fundamental fairness requires that the Court Grant this Capital Defendant access to evidence to conduct test that might prevent the state-sponsored execution of an innocent man.  As execution of an innocent man violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Untied States Constitution (Herrera v. Collins (1993) 506 U.S. 390; Carriger v. Stewart (9th Cir. 1997) 132 F.3d 463)

Checking our own California Assembly and Senate Legislation, this year alone there are 15 bills before the Assembly, and 5 bills before the Senate.  In 1993 the Legislation was trying to figure out what this DNA was about and started writing Bills regarding this new technology with new born babies and post-parium mothers, to identify them as Mother and Child.  Each year thereafter, more Bills started surfacing as the pocket liners from corporations were needing money to continue their research, which at that time we see the Bills erupting from the judicial to the prison system.

We must remember at this point of Legislation notice, there erupted a law that all Death Row Inmates, Sex Offenders, and other Felony Inmates must participate in having their DNA taken by oral swabs, drawn blood, and fingernail clippings or they would be held down to take the specimens, then go to the SHU (hole).  An Injunction ensued, and the collection stopped only after all the inmates had contributed their DNA.  Today, in Fresno County, if you are stopped or arrested for anything, DNA is taken, usually under the pretense that you have been drinking, and they need the Alcohol blood level.  They now have the source for DNA to be done.

In 1995, along came the O.J. Simpson case and DNA was on the map for the courts/Judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to learn and understand, which to this day many of these public servants to not understand, however, those who do understand the results of DNA and the progression of the testing to be done have successfully used it to exonerate 137 men and women from Death Row across the US, and many more lifers, numbers unknown.

DNA is the name, MONEY is the game!  As one reads through the legislative bills regarding DNA, you soon get the message that the work of the Prosecutors and Judges are well and working to word the recommendation to make it harder for an innocent person to be freed from arrest through sentencing along with prison terms.  Every angle has been looked at, as DA's, Judges, and Courts do not and sometimes will not admit a wrong, but would rather have one killed by the state in the name of the People of California, you and me, than to set the innocent free.

To add to the false results of DNA, contaminated laboratories, untrained lab personnel, we now must concern ourselves with the new device of RFID: radio-frequency identification chips. The chips are made by VeriChip, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions of Delray Beach, Fla.  The rice size micro chips are implanted into the upper arm by a syringe-like device, then activated by a scanning signal that can be linked to the person's identity, other pertinent information, like security clearance.  This device makes is easy for the government to track the person with the implant.  Something like GPS (global positioning satellite) which all GMC vehicles and many other vehicles have, and stores driving information along with audio (voice) information for five years.  I suppose they implant the RFID at birth?

If State Attorneys, Judges and Courts are not going to follow the law, then we must work harder for the right of the law.

*Calling for a moratorium of the Death Penalty, *watch the bills that are effecting all of us and our loved ones,*make a statement by contacting your representatives not once, twice, but many times.  The biggest thing that must happen is to *educate the general public, as many of them have NO IDEA what is really going on, as they live day by day in their own world, thinking "that problem" belongs to someone else, guess what,? it is their problem; any amount of money spent on unlawful doings effects/affects each of those who don't care as it effects those of us who do care.

Thank you again, PEACE

Donna L. Doolin-Larsen
Fresno, Ca 93722