Forensic Paper

Due to the uniqueness of DNA it has become a powerful tool in criminal investigations

DNA forensics can also narrow down suspect pools, exonerate innocent suspects, and link crimes together if the same DNA is found at both scenes. However, without existing suspects, a DNA profile cannot direct an investigation because current knowledge of genotype-phenotype relation is too vague for DNA phenotyping. For example, a profile from a first time offender that has no match in any database may give the information that the criminal is a left handed male of medium stature with red hair and freckles. It would be impossible to interview every man who fits that description. However, with available suspects, DNA forensics has many advantages over other forms of evidence. One is the longevity of DNA. Although it will deteriorate if exposed to sunlight, it can remain intact for centuries under proper conditions (Sachs, 2004). Because DNA is so durable, investigators can reopen old cases to reexamine evidence.

With the number of DNA exonerations growing in the recent years, wrongful convictions reveal disturbing trends and fissures in the justice system. It shows how broken the system is, and why it needs urgent fixing. According to Huff (1996), over ten thousand people are convicted wrongfully for serious crimes each year. This study established that factors leading to wrongful convictions are false eyewitnesses, a prejudiced jury, incompetent prosecutors, and suspects’ ignorance. Where DNA evidence clears a suspect, array of reasons emerge; misconduct, mistakes, to race and class factors. It is important to make DNA data available to attorneys in order to enable them mount a strong

DNA evidence is extremely helpful in criminal trials not only because it can determine the guilt of a suspect, but also because it can keep innocent people from going to jail. The suspect must leave a sample of their DNA at the crime scene in order for testing to occur, but DNA can be found in the form of many things such as semen, blood, hair, saliva, or skin scrapings. According to Newsweek, "thousands of people have been convicted by DNA's nearly miraculous ability to search out suspects across space and time… hundreds of innocent people have also been freed, often after years behind bars, sometimes just short of the death chamber" (Adler ). Though some may think it is a waste of time to go

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.

The first case that used DNA analysis was in “1987 in the Florida v. Andrews case, involving a sexual assault. Police in Orlando, Florida, suspected that one man was involved in over twenty cases of breaking and entering, prowling and attempted sexual assault”. By the use of DNA analysis justice was able to bring this perpetrator to a conviction in a court of law for the sexual crimes that he committed. This case was the first of its kind in the U.S. to bring a suspect to a conviction only on DNA profiling. (4)

The article I chose is titled, DNA in the Criminal Justice System: The DNA Success Story in Perspective which described the importance of DNA testing in a criminal investigation. This falls under the category of “confirming the guilty and protecting the innocence” in the NIJ report. According to Mapes et al. (2015), DNA testing is one of the most important aspects of criminal investigation as the DNA found in crime scenes can be used against a criminal or protect an innocent victim by resolving the crime. In the article, Mapes et al. (2015) describes the study that was conducted in order to ensure the effectiveness of DNA testing. Amongst many case files, 243 cases were selected to use in the study. These cases contained DNA evidences which

DNA almost immediately transformed the American Criminal Justice System. Law Enforcement, District Attorneys, Defense Attorneys, Criminal Court and Family Court all work

The use of forensic DNA can be a valuable tool in the investigative field. The use of DNA profiling has only been around for 20 years in criminal investigations. The first famous DNA forensic analysis took place in 1986 when the British police used DNA fingerprinting to solve a case involving the rape and murder of two girls. Today, police departments work with the Combined DNA Index System of the FBI, which has computerized records of the DNA of individuals who have been convicted in the past. Recently, federal laws have been passed to include preconviction DNA in their databases. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Maryland v. King that the collection and testing of DNA can be done without a warrant.

Long again before DNA was founded detectives relied on their own instincts, witnesses, and suspect confession to solve a crime. “The past decade has seen great advances in a powerful criminal justice tool: deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA can be used to identify criminals with incredible accuracy when biological evidence exists. By the same token, DNA can be used to clear suspects and exonerate persons mistakenly accused or convicted of crimes. In all, DNA technology is increasingly vital to ensuring accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system”(justice.gov,2014). In today’s world of crimes nothing has been founded more reliable in court than a DNA evidence. Evidence can include weapons, tape recorder, photographs,

The advancement of DNA profiling in the recent decades has globally revolutionized the justice system and significantly changed the course of criminal cases along with it. The application of DNA technology in the identification of biological material has changed forensic biology since it allows for stronger conclusions in identities be made. It essentially creates a link between a suspect and the physical evidence that was retrieved from a crime scene. DNA sampling is considered convenient technology because very little DNA is needed in identifying an individual, and all the while the results

DNA testing like many other tools in forensics to identify suspects has been through various evaluations to uncover its validity. These evaluations are necessary because the results of DNA testing can help to exclude, include, and can even be used to convict suspects. The weight of DNA testing is heavy in that can be used to alter a person’s life forever,hence, the legal movements for it to be validated. Some believed that the admissibility of DNA testing into the courts would violate privacy rights or could alert criminals to the evidence that could be left behind when they commit a crime. The arguments that

In this book, Sheldon and Simoncelli list out concerns for DNA testing. They give background on how DNA databanks were first used for violent criminals and sex offenders, and how it has now changed into holding DNA of people who have not even been convicted. They explain how doing this can infringe on people’s rights. Sheldon and Simoncelli write negatively towards how much time and human resources it takes to re-investigate a case for post-conviction DNA testing. This book is full of information about what is wrong with DNA testing. This should be helpful to argue against post-conviction DNA

Forensics science has had a huge impact on today's legal system making it much easier to identify and put away criminals. Before being able to identify people by their DNA the court heavily relied on eyewitness accounts. This was not always the best option seeing that these accounts were not always accurate. Now however forensics are able to find out someone's identity through something as simple as a hair follicle. With this new technology not only is it easier prove someone's guilt, it is also easier to prove one's innocence. For example, Kirk Bloodsworth was sentenced two life sentences in prison for murder and sexual assault, and after spending 9 years in prison was exonerated by DNA found at the crime scene proving his innocence. DNA

The forensic scientists usually use a variety analytical methods to collect evidence from crime scene, then to determine exactly what happened in there and who may participate in criminal activities. DNA identification is one of the most reliable and powerful tools for forensic investigation to find out criminal. This is because DNA shows the uniqueness of the individual, even “monozygotic twins are genetically not absolutely identical.” (Elmar S. et al, 2013).