DOVER, Del. (AP) - Markell administration officials are proposing a reorganization of the Delaware medical examiner's office amid an evidence tampering scandal in the state drug-testing lab.
Officials proposed Wednesday that the ME's office be moved from the Department of Health and Social Services to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
The proposal was presented to a joint legislative committee as it resumed a hearing regarding problems at the drug-testing lab, which is part of the medical examiner's office and is the subject of a criminal investigation.
Authorities have discovered more than 60 cases in which drug evidence has apparently been tampered with or is missing, resulting in several criminal cases being delayed, dismissed or plea bargained.
The public defender's office also is seeking to have hundreds of drug convictions dismissed.
