CO - David Lee Johnson convicted of raping nurse at hospital, 1998

As staff members pore over case files to measure impacts, they have discovered discarded evidence in some of the city's most notorious cases, including some handled by Newsome himself.

One involves the so-called "Memorial Hospital rapist," David Lee Johnson, serving a 55-year sentence for the 1998 rape of a nurse in the facility's parking lot. While a cigarette containing his DNA was destroyed, the forensic traces had been separated from the butt, so the impact shouldn't be major, Newsome said.

"When his name showed up on the list, I can tell you there was a lot of concern," Newsome said. "Just one item was improperly disposed in the grand scheme and will not have a major effect. But it points to the dangers of the disposal that took place."

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