re: SCOTUS Lifts stay on Ledell Lee execution

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How many innocent people have been put to death since the advent of DNA evidence?

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Nobody can answer that question just like you can't.

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How many innocent people have been put to death since the advent of DNA evidence?

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I could be wrong, but you are implying that people don't get wrongfully convicted anymore now that DNA testing is commonplace, and thus aren't at risk of wrongful execution.

That doesn't change the fact that there are an untold number of people whose convictions predate DNA testing, and who were convicted on unreliable eyewitness testimony, pseudoscience experts, etc. It is, unfortunately, extremely difficult for people already in prison to obtain DNA testing to confirm their innocence. Most jurisdictions have no set protocols for making DNA testing available to those already convicted. That leaves overburdened advocacy groups like the Innocence Project to fight their way through appeals, which takes year and is always an uphill battle because the odds are stacked against them. Look at the West Memphis Three. They argued for DNA testing for over a decade and had to deal with every prosecutor and law enforcement official in Arkansas throwing their weight against them. It took something like ten years to obtain a testing that unequivocally confirmed their innocence in a matter of days.

I think this guy Lee was probably guilty based on what I have read, but what would be the harm in a DNA test (which he wanted) prior to execution?