Imagine that a convicted child molester is released from jail and that he is now traveling around the country looking for work. One day this criminal returns to his old ways and he attacks a young child whose dead body is found in a deserted field the following day. The only trace of evidence at the crime scene is a semen specimen on the boys clothes.
Now this specimen could be useful if the police tracked down, and arrested the suspect, and then took a blood sample of his that matched the crime scene specimen. But, since no other clues are found this criminal was never arrested and for the next couple years he repeated this act many more times. It is a shame that innocent children had to die because of
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This is why DNA can always, be traced back to one person (with the exception of identical twins).
There are two tests for analyzing DNA for forensic use, Restriction
Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
The RFLP test consists of taking a sample of body tissue which contains
DNA. After locating the DNA thousands of different combinations of DNA repeats called Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) are examined.
These VNTR There are a great number of reasons to have a DNA data bank, but first it is important to accurately describe the requirements for this DNA data bank. Only convicted criminals would be entered into the bank. Also, only Junk DNA would be kept as data, DNA that contains no personal or hereditary information. One advantage to a data bank will be the quick access to information. Prosecutors are going to be able to match the DNA collected at a crime scene with DNA that has already been collected in the bank and this will allow them to apply for a warrant faster. Take the case of Jean Ann Broderick. In 1991 she was found murdered and raped in her Minnesota apartment. There were no witnesses or evidence that led to any one suspect. The only lead at the crime scene was a semen stain on the victim. Minnesota at this time was one of the few states that had and used a DNA data bank of convicted criminals, so
Though there are many arguments against having a DNA database there are also reasons to have a DNA database. DNA is one of the leading factors in putting criminals behind bars. When DNA is evident in a criminal case, it makes that case a lot stronger. With a database of all citizens DNA it can help law enforcement catch criminals to make communities safer. DNA will not only be able to help solve crimes ongoing now and for the future but to help solve past crimes. DNA also allows for scientist to use the valuable information for research to get a better understanding of health and safety for individuals and to help link people who have the same medical condition. With an entire database of all people, it allows for the system to not be discriminatory. Minorities make up the vast majority of the criminal justice system. With every race, gender and ethnicity in the system it opens up the ability for all people to be at risk for being in the system with DNA placing them for a crime and making it harder to get away with one. There is also a possibility that having a DNA database will lower crime rates. People who feel they can get away with crimes now, will have a higher chance of getting caught. Those who fear getting caught because the government and police agencies have their DNA will be less likely to commit crimes. Mark Kleiman a professor who deals with criminal justice stated, “DNA databases reduce crime rates,
A DNA data base is a very helpful but potentially dangerous tool that has been recently considered by the US, but has faced some controversy. In practice a DNA database would contain profiles and potentially samples of every citizen’s DNA. The DNA profile, while not extremely revealing in itself, has been called out as a privacy violation. While it has its benefits the privacy issue will not disappear so we must explore both options before we can make a decision about a DNA database.
This paper explores deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) collection and its relationship to solving crimes. The collection of DNA is one of the most important steps in identifying a suspect in a crime. DNA evidence can either convict or exonerate an individual of a crime. Furthermore, the accuracy of forensic identification of evidence has the possibility of leaving biased effects on a juror (Carrell, Krauss, Liberman, Miethe, 2008). This paper examines Carrells et al’s research along with three other research articles to review how DNA is collected, the effects that is has on a juror and the pros and cons of DNA collection in the Forensic Science and Criminal Justice community.
DNA forensics is a division of forensic science that focuses on the use of genetic material in criminal investigation to answer questions pertaining to legal situations, including criminal and civil cases. Through DNA testing, law enforcement officers are able to identify human remains or the individual responsible for a crime. DNA testing is a highly advanced scientific process that involves replicating the human DNA sequence to create a genetic map of an individual. Because of its reliability, DNA testing has become a significant factor in criminal cases. However, it has also been identified as having the potential to violate privacy and constitutional rights. The DNA identification process consists of five stages. These five stages
From cases such as OJ Simpson to Chandra Levy, DNA profiling also called DNA fingerprinting or DNA typing has played a major role in the criminal justice system. The law enforcement community uses DNA profiling to rule out or identify suspects. Unlike hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, shoe print comparisons, and firearm tool mark analysis, DNA typing has been developed through massive scientific research and has undergone meticulous scientific evaluation (Innocence Project). DNA is a foolproof method of identifying a perpetrator of a crime.
This paper explores the history and some interesting facts about DNA. The last couple centuries have seen an exponential growth in our knowledge of DNA. The history of the DNA can be traced back to multiple devoted scientist. This article attempts to summarize, and review the basic history of DNA while providing some fascinating information about it.
The article that I found discusses how DNA evidence was used to convict a suspect after twenty years under investigation. The homicide case was recently closed on the rape and murder of Ophelia Preston, a 24 year-old female in Milwaukee County. Preston was deaf and mute and also suffered from a cocaine addiction, which led her to meeting Melvin Lee Jones.
Aram, a 16-year-old trainee hairdresser from Keyworth in Nottinghamshire, was abducted, raped and strangled on 30 October 1983 – five years before the careless driver was born. (Her murder was featured in the first ever episode of Crimewatch in 1984.) The police had a few circumstantial leads to go on: a stolen red Ford Fiesta; a handwritten message from the killer saying they'd never catch him; a paper towel recovered from the toilet of a pub, the Generous Briton, where shortly after the murder a man with blood under his fingernails had eaten a ham sandwich, drunk a pint of orange juice and lemonade, and told the landlady an unlikely story about having driven up the M1 to see some friends who weren't in. Twenty thousand people were interviewed in the course of the investigation, but the killer
Former attorney General Janet Reno described our system of justice as a search for the truth.(1) Increasingly, the forensic use of DNA technology is an important ally in that search. DNA fingerprinting, better known in the scientific realm as DNA profiling, has given police and the courts a means of identifying the perpetrators of rapes and murders with a very high degree of confidence. However, nine years after its introduction, forensic DNA typing is still used only selectively. This is due to a variety of factors, including the unavailability of forensic typing to local prosecutors, the time required to perform the typing, and the costs of the tests if private laboratories are utilized. Formerly
DNA collection is a good thing not only can it help catch the person responsible for an illegal crime, but it can also clear up a suspect’s name. In the case of Maryland v. King on April 2009 Alonzo Jay King was charged for first and second degree assault for scarring a crowd of people with a shotgun, he was arrested and as a part of their booking procedure, they swabbed Alonzo Jay King for his DNA. Kings DNA sample later resulted to be a match of a DNA sample in the system “CODIS” of a rape victim by the name of Vonette W.’s Salisbury. Vonnette was raped on September 2003 but had not gotten justice for the crime against her since the only evidence was the DNA sample of the semen that was swabbed. No matches were found in the data base until Alonzo Jay King was arrested. By collecting DNA, it can help lead to an arrest of a suspect and to be able to close cases.
Allowing the annual report of the National DNA Database Strategy Board as of 2012-2013, NDNAD helps the law enforcement in giving worthful information that will lead in determining the suspect and solve crime cases. However, sometimes the crime doesn’t solve and more evidence needs to be collecting to secure a conviction but in dealing with NDNAD it provides the police of its needed information for DNA matches.
What is DNA? Is it these winding strands that look like ladders or is it what gives a person blonde hair and blue eyes? Actually, DNA is both of these things. DNA is a person’s genetic makeup–their hereditary blueprint passed on by their parents. It is a part of almost every cell in the human body. In each cell, a person’s DNA is the same; it stays the same throughout their lifetime. DNA is found in skin tissue, sweat, bone, the root and shaft of hair, earwax, mucus, urine, semen, and vaginal or rectal cells. The DNA found in a person’s saliva is the same as the DNA found in their blood. Parts of the DNA determine our physical characteristics, such as eye and hair color, height, and bone structure, but the
DNA databanks are a highly debated subject in the United States. A DNA databank is a database containing DNA profiles. These profiles can be used to track genealogy, genetic diseases, and criminal history. There are several different types of DNA databanks. Forensic DNA databases keep profiles to compare with DNA samples found at crime scenes. Genetic genealogy databases keep results from genealogical DNA tests. Medical DNA databases keep track of genetic variations for medical purposes. These databases, however, are very controversial and many fear its expansion, particularly that of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the United States national DNA database
Much can be learned from studying an organisms DNA. The first step to doing this is extracting DNA from cells. In this experiment, you will isolate DNA from the cells of fruit. Materials (1) 10 mL Graduated Cylinder(2) 100 mL Beakers15 cm Cheesecloth1 Resealable Bag1 Rubber Band (Large. Contains latex pleasewear gloves when handling if you have a latex allergy).Standing Test TubeWooden Stir StickFresh, Soft Fruit (e.g., Grapes, Strawberries, Banana, etc.) ScissorsDNA Extraction SolutionIce Cold EthanolYou Must ProvideContains sodium chloride, detergent and waterFor ice cold ethanol, store in the freezer 60 minutes before use. Procedure If you have not done so, prepare the ethanol by placing it in a freezer for approximately 60 minutes.