Delaware
New bills would require Delaware to keep DNA evidence in criminal cases
Gov. Meyer addresses crime, closure of the Plummer Center
Gov. Meyer recently addressed crime statistics and the closure of the Plummer Center during a recent interview with The News Journal.
Television crime dramas have trained audiences to believe DNA evidence is always collected, stored and available to be tested years later. In Delaware, that assumption is often wrong. A new legislative package would overhaul how the state preserves biological evidence, a change advocates say could determine whether wrongly convicted people ever get a real chance to prove it.
According to data from the University of Michigan Law School, Delaware has recorded just five known exonerations. That figure stands in sharp contrast to nearly 4,000 exonerations nationwide since 1989. Lawmakers and advocates say the disparity is evidence of a criminal justice system that makes it difficult to prove innocence after a conviction becomes final.
Efforts to address that concern center on Senate Bill 214, introduced by Sen. Kyra Hoffner. The bill would, for the first time, require the state to preserve biological evidence connected to criminal cases. The proposal is supported by Innocence Project Delaware, which has received nearly 200 requests for post-conviction assistance since opening in 2020 from people who say they were wrongly convicted.
Dan Signs, a staff attorney with Innocence Project Delaware, said Delaware is one of a small handful of states without a formal statute that sets clear standards for how long biological evidence must be preserved. As a result, there is no uniform system for maintaining blood, semen, hair or other material that could later be tested using DNA technology unavailable at the time of trial.
By failing to keep pace with national standards, Delaware leaves people with credible innocence claims unable to access evidence that could vindicate them.
What’s in Senate Bill 214?
If passed, SB 214 would mandate the preservation of all biological evidence in the state’s custody that is connected to a criminal investigation or prosecution. Evidence would have to be retained for as long as a crime remains unsolved or for as long as a convicted person remains in custody, regardless of whether the conviction resulted from a trial or a guilty plea.
The bill also spells out the when biological evidence may be destroyed. Under limited and clearly defined circumstances, destruction would be allowed only if all five of the following conditions are met:
- More than five years have passed since the conviction became final and all appeals are exhausted.
- The evidence is not tied to a Class A through Class E felony.
- No other state or federal law requires the evidence to be preserved.
- The state sends certified written notice of its intent to destroy the evidence to specified parties, including anyone still incarcerated because of that conviction.
- No person who has received such notice files a motion for DNA testing or a written request to retain the evidence within 180 days.
For evidence that is too large or impractical to store, the state would still be required to preserve any portions likely to contain biological material. If evidence that should have been preserved cannot be produced, courts would be required to hold a hearing to determine whether its destruction was intentional.
The legislation would take effect 30 days after becoming law.
Legislative package to reform forensic justice
SB 214 is intended to work in tandem with two additional bills introduced by Hoffner that target other barriers to post-conviction relief.
SS1 for Senate Bill 57 would eliminate outdated technological restrictions and legal processes that hinder defendants from pursuing innocence claims. The bill would modernize Delaware’s post-conviction DNA testing law by removing time limits that prevent access for those convicted before DNA testing became routine and allow individuals to petition courts for post-conviction DNA testing.
SS1 for Senate Bill 58 would establish a formal court process for challenging convictions that relied on forensic methods later shown to be unreliable or discredited.
Advocates point to a growing list of forensic techniques once treated as authoritative but now widely questioned or rejected:
- Bite mark analysis
- Hair comparison analysis
- Certain arson investigation methods
- Comparative bullet lead analysis
Breakthroughs in DNA testing and forensic science have repeatedly exposed flaws in these methods, leading to exonerations in other states.
What happens next?
The two post-conviction reform bills are awaiting consideration in the Senate Finance Committee. SB 214 is expected to be heard in the Senate Corrections and Public Safety Committee later this January.
Supporters say the proposals together would mark a systemic shift in Delaware’s approach to justice. Instead of relying on procedural conclusions, the state would commit to preserving evidence and revisiting past cases when science advances or new facts emerge, allowing truth, even when delayed, a chance to come to light.
To share your community news and activities with our audience, join Delaware Voices Uplifted on Facebook. Nonprofits, community groups and service providers are welcome to submit their information to be added to our Community Resources Map. Contact staff reporter Anitra Johnson at ajohnson@delawareonline.com.
Best and worst states for LGBTQ+ people
Out Leadership index shows widening gaps between LGBTQ+ friendly states like Massachusetts and more hostile states.
This story was produced by Spotlight Delaware as part of a partnership with Delaware Online/The News Journal. For more about Spotlight Delaware, visit www.spotlightdelaware.org.
For years, Delaware’s LGBTQ+ history has lived in fragments, scattered throughout the state.
Stories from the community have been found in shared memories, archives, temporary exhibits, small businesses, annual Pride events and community spaces.
Now, the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective is trying to give that history a permanent home in the state’s largest city.
By the end of this year, the organization plans to open The Collective, a 3,200-square-foot facility on Market Street in downtown Wilmington. It would serve as an LGBTQ+ visitor center, museum, co-working space, and community hub.
Organizers say the project would create Delaware’s first queer history museum. It would also create the first brick-and-mortar LGBTQ+ community space in northern Delaware in over 35 years – following the closure of the Griffin Community Center in Wilmington.
Similar centers exist in Sussex County and Philadelphia.For Noah Duckett, co-founder of the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective, the space’s purpose feels vital. He emphasized that while there have been “incredible events” in Wilmington, there is not a single space “to showcase all of that in a permanent way.”
“It felt like now was the most important time to have a space that was created by us, created for us, that is not going to go away,” Duckett said.
Duckett’s plans come after LGBTQ+ rights were thrust into the center of national political debates amid President Donald Trump’s second term.
Since taking office, Trump issued an executive order to recognize two sexes – male and female. His administration also issued a string of directives and orders aiming to alter health care for transgender individuals by pulling federal dollars from hospitals nationally and in Delaware that provide gender-affirming care.
Meanwhile, some states and conservative groups have called for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its decade-old ruling, legalizing same-sex marriage.
Duckett said those government actions only increase the need to build a community center.
“We have sponsors that are pulling away, we have hospitals and agencies and government practices that are really just trying to minimize their support as much as possible,” Duckett said.
Inspired by the Griffin
Duckett and his mother, Julissa Coriano, founded the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective in 2018. Both are clinical social workers, sexuality therapists, and advocates in the queer community.
Duckett said their organization began as a provider of family therapy, and clinical education and training, among other things. It then expanded into social programming and direct support services. Those included hosting the Pride Closet clothing drive, and offering recovery support for people healing from gender-affirming surgery.
A brick-and-mortar space had long been part of the conversation, Duckett said.
The Collective is expected to include a visitor center highlighting LGBTQ+ businesses, organizations, and events across Delaware; a gift shop featuring local queer artists and makers; a co-working space with offices and day-pass work areas; and a community room available for meetings, events, and programming.
It will be located on Market Street in Wilmington, but Duckett said the exact address will not be announced until the lease is finalized. It will be near the historical location of Wilmington’s previous LGBTQ+ community center, the Griffin, Duckett said.
Duckett’s organization is raising $500,000 to help cover upfront rent, construction, buildout and long-term sustainability. He said the goal is to make sure the space can last.
“We don’t want to have a really great idea and then it burns out in two years because we run out of funding,” he said.
‘Not just a temporary exhibition’
At the center of the project will be a permanent museum curated by Carolanne Deal, a longtime historian focused on Delaware’s LGBTQ+ history. Deal previously led research for the state’s first digital exhibit on LGBTQ+ history.
Deal noted that queer history is rarely represented in a permanent way in Delaware museums or archives.
“It’s so incredibly important for us to have a permanent space that’s not just a temporary exhibition that comes out once a year for Pride month,” Deal said.
According to officials at the Delaware History Museum, the only active physical exhibit in their space is a certificate for the first gay marriage signed in Delaware.
The LGBTQ+ museum will feature graphics, visuals, text, as well as reproductions of newsletters and panels discussing various historical events, such as the founding of one of the first queer student union groups in the country at the University of Delaware, Deal said.
Deal plans to bring a wide scope of historical events and information about important figureheads in Delaware’s LGBTQ+ community, including Ivo Dominguez Jr. and James Welch, the pioneers who founded “The Griffin,” the state’s first queer community center, in 1986.
Building on a legacy
During the height of the AIDS epidemic, the Griffin Community Center served as a meeting place for organizations, such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Delaware, or GLAD, and the state’s first HIV/AIDS service agency, now known as AIDS Delaware.
The center also hosted meetings for various other community organizations.
Dominguez and Welch, who are longtime partners, began their activism in the late 1970s, a time when the community’s advocates across the country were gaining visibility, but also facing a conservative backlash.
Over the years, they organized HIV/AIDS education and fundraising events, founded GLAD, Delaware’s first statewide gay rights organization, and opened Hen’s Teeth, the state’s first queer bookstore, in Wilmington.
The Griffin closed just four years after it opened. Dominguez said burnout contributed to its closure.
Today, apartments stand where the small row building once existed. But Dominguez and Welch said the need for a physical gathering space for Delaware’s queer community never disappeared.
Dominguez and Welch have been assisting with the creation of The Collective by attending planning meetings and doing outreach. As activists who have done the work before, Dominguez says his biggest advice to Duckett and Coriano in establishing the space is to “live as if you are free.”
“We have the benefit and the privilege right now of living in a state that is relatively kind and good to our people; we’ve got to keep it that way,” Dominguez said.
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What causes thunderstorms? Here’s how thunder and lightning form
Here are the three things a thunderstorm needs to form.
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for southeastern Sussex County until 2:30 p.m. June 27.
The National Weather Service located a thunderstorm over Dagsboro that is moving east. It’s expected to bring 60-mph winds and nickel-size hail to the region.
At 1:57 p.m., the NWS located a severe thunderstorm over Millville, New Jersey, seven miles north of Ocean City, moving east at 25 mph.
Hail could bring minor damage to vehicles and the high winds could damage roofs, siding, trees and power lines.
Locations impacted include Millville, Ocean View and South Bethany.
What is a severe thunderstorm warning?
A severe thunderstorm warning is issued when a storm is occurring or about to occur with winds of 58 mph or higher or hail 1 inch in diameter or larger, the National Weather Service says. These storms can also bring heavy rain and, in some cases, flooding or flash flooding.
How to stay safe during a thunderstorm
- Seek shelter immediately and once inside, stay away from windows and avoid using electrical equipment or plumbing.
- Keep a battery-powered weather radio nearby in case of power loss.
- Secure loose objects outside, as they can become dangerous during high winds.
- Bring pets inside, and if time allows, make sure fences are secure to prevent pets from escaping or running away.
- If in a car, ensure all windows are fully closed and refrain from touching radios, ignition systems or any metal parts connected to the vehicle’s exterior.
Costumed golden retrievers at Dewey’s Golden Jubilee in Rehoboth Beach
Dozens of golden retrievers paraded down Rehoboth Avenue before heading to an ice cream social Sept. 26, 2025.
Delaware may be small, but its appetite for ice cream is far from it.
The First State ranks second in the nation among the most ice cream-obsessed states, according to an analysis of search data trends. The Northeast dominates the rankings for ice cream enthusiasm, with neighboring states New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine all placing in the top 10.
Results from the study show that colder-weather states in the Northeast consistently displayed high search interest in ice cream, challenging the assumption that warmer states would rank higher. At the lower end of the list, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Arkansas showed the least interest in ice cream.
Here’s a closer look at trends in ice cream brands and flavors:
Favorite ice cream brands by state and nationally
State-level leaders
In Delaware, Breyers is the most-searched ice cream brand, along with New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Halo Top, in particular, emerged as a leading brand in many states, reflecting a growing interest in lower-calorie dessert options. However, Cold Stone Creamery ranks first in more states than any other brand, primarily across the West and Midwest. Founded in Arizona, the company remains especially popular in western states.
National rankings
The most searched ice cream brand in the country is Halo Top, which leads national search interest in the overall rankings of ice cream brands. The result may reflect that consumers are becoming more calorie-conscious when choosing a sweet treat, as the brand has surpassed more established ice cream companies that have been on the market for decades.
Cold Stone Creamery follows right behind. The brand has storefront locations nationwide and offers packaged products in the grocery aisle. At its retail locations, it’s an experience to watch your ice cream get crafted. Employees place the ice cream on a frozen granite slab and then fold, chop, and mix toppings, preparing the dessert right in front of customers’ eyes.
And Delaware’s favorite, Breyers, ranks third in the nation. As the brand originated in 1866, it goes to show some ice cream lovers can’t switch up on the classics.
Favorite ice cream flavors by state and nationally
State-level rankings
Strawberry ranks on top without a doubt, placing first in 16 states. The flavor is not concentrated in any single region, showing broad popularity across the country. Strawberry was actually the earliest documented “ice cream” flavor, originating in 1744, which consisted of iced cream and strawberries and continues to be the fan-favorite across many states.
A newer flavor, birthday cake, ranks as a top-searched option across several regions, from Delaware to Alabama, and is the second most popular flavor in the study’s state-by-state rankings. Its rise in popularity coincided with the growth of cake batter ice cream and was fueled in part by chains like Cold Stone Creamery.
Some of the most unusual top-searched ice cream flavors by state include boba in Florida, lavender in Oregon and matcha in Kansas.
National rankings
At the top of the list remains strawberry; however, chocolate chip and cookie dough place second and third, with chocolate and vanilla following right behind.
Both chocolate chip and cookie dough are simply upgraded, and newer versions of the classic flavor of chocolate and vanilla but rank above the two.
The national rankings of the least-favorite flavors are some that you don’t see at every ice cream shop or your local grocery store.
Ube, the nation’s least favorite ice cream flavor, is a popular Filipino dessert made from purple yams. The ice cream flavor is described to have a sweet and nutty taste with its vibrant purple color.
Another flavor some may be unfamiliar with is, and is the nation’s second least popular flavor, is blue moon. It’s most common in the Midwest and is described as a mystery flavor as it consists of many opposing flavors all in the same bite.
Lauren Lingle is an intern with Delaware Online/The News Journal. Contact her at @llingle@gannett.com
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