Judge rules for DNA testing in Tennessee death penalty case

DNA tests on a knife and other evidence must be performed in the case of a Tennessee death row inmate facing execution in December for the stabbing deaths of a woman and her daughter 33 years ago, a judge ruled Wednesday. Shelby County Judge Paula Skahan ruled in favor of attorneys for Pervis Payne, who had filed a petition in July requesting DNA testing in the long-running case. The judge decided the evidence should be sent to a California laboratory hired by defense attorneys to perform expedited testing at no cost to the state.