Problems found in Houston police lab testing

HOUSTON -- Problems with the Houston crime lab may have affected scores of criminal cases, including seven murder convictions - though none of those cases resulted in a death sentence.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office has sent letters to attorneys in 185 criminal cases, including 53 murders or capital murders, to advise that a DNA lab technician in the Houston police crime lab has resigned.

Records released Thursday show that seven of those murder cases led to a conviction. One of them was a capital case that ended in a life sentence.

Prosecutors say the office attorneys are examining all of the technician's cases and retesting anything for which there is doubt.