DNA evidence casts doubt on conviction

To Baltimore City prosecutors, James Thompson is a no-good criminal who confessed to his role in the rape and murder of a young woman nearly two decades ago.

To attorneys with the state?s Innocence Project, Thompson is a wrongfully convicted man exonerated by new DNA evidence. Both sides clashed Wednesday in Baltimore City Circuit Court arguing over whether Thompson, 47, should get a new trial after recently tested blood and semen samples cast doubt upon his conviction.