Mississippi justices block more DNA tests in death row case

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi Supreme Court says a death row inmate will not be allowed to seek additional DNA testing on crime scene evidence from two killings nearly 30 years ago. Willie Jerome Manning was convicted in 1994 in the 1992 killings of Mississippi State University students Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller. Manning is now 54 and is in the state prison at Parchman. In 2013, the state Supreme Court delayed his execution date to allow DNA testing of evidence. The court said Thursday that tests were inconclusive. A majority of justices denied his request for more specialized testing. Two justice dissenting, saying the tests should be allowed.