Dna And The Criminal Justice System

DNA is the genetic material that makes up the characteristics of all living organisms. While all human DNA is very similar in nature, there is just enough differences in

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the development of DNA analysis technology has revolutionised the field of forensic science within the criminal justice system. As the refinement of procedures and technology continues, even minute samples of biological material (including blood, saliva, semen and skin cells) are able to be analysed and used to link or acquit perpetrators of crimes. (Whitney, R n.d.)

DNA testing is a critical and accurate tool in linking accused and even convicted criminals for crimes, and should be widely used to assess guilt or innocence before jail sentences are imposed. It was started up by scientists Francis C. Crick and James D, Watson in 1953 as they had described the uses, structures and purpose of the DNA “deoxyribonucleic acid” genetic fingerprint that contains organism information about an individual (testing

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

There have been many incidents where cases have needed a solid prosecution in order to convict the defendant in a murder or rape case. This is where DNA Testing comes in to help. By taking a DNA test, a person can be found guilty or not guilty. If a person claims they have been raped there can be a sperm sample taken from the suspect in order to prove that he is guilty or not. In addition, in a murder case there can be blood taken from the suspect so they can tell of his innocence. There are several ways to determine whether a person is guilty or not by this method. Many cases have begun to use this method saying that it is foolproof. People say this is the method of the future of crime

Before the 1980s, courts relied on testimony and eyewitness accounts as a main source of evidence. Notoriously unreliable, these techniques have since faded away to the stunning reliability of DNA forensics. In 1984, British geneticist Alec Jeffreys of the University of Leicester discovered an interesting new marker in the human genome. Most DNA information is the same in every human, but the junk code between genes is unique to every person. Junk DNA used for investigative purposes can be found in blood, saliva, perspiration, sexual fluid, skin tissue, bone marrow, dental pulp, and hair follicles (Butler, 2011). By analyzing this junk code, Jeffreys found certain sequences of 10 to 100 base pairs repeated multiple times. These tandem

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has been used to analyze and prove innocence or guilt of suspects of crimes with great accuracy. DNA is part of everyday life. It is the heredity material in humans and almost all other organisms. While being part of an investigation. DNA has helped to solve crimes. There is a couple ways that DNA left behind can be tested to solve a crime. Either if the suspect has been caught and or had his or her DNA tested, or if he or she has left behind any biological evidence. Which then needs to be tested to see if it matches the DNA found in the crime scene to his or hers DNA. The result to this comparison may help establish if the suspect committed the crime.

This paper examines Carrell et al’s research along with three other scholarly research articles to better understand the effects that the DNA recovered from a crime scene has on a particular case and the forensic science community.

DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, which is found in almost all living things. DNA serves as a code for the creation and maintenance of new cells within an organism. Within humans, it is found in almost every cell. Although most of our DNA is found within the nucleus of our cells as nuclear DNA, a very small amount of our DNA is also found within the mitochondria as mitochondrial DNA. Because mitochondrial DNA is generally not used for solving crimes, for the purpose of this paper it will be disregarded.

Every State in the Nation has a DNA database that allows for the collection of DNA profiles from offenders convicted of particular crimes. CODIS software enables State, local, and national law enforcement crime laboratories to compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking serial crimes to each other and identifying suspects by matching DNA profiles from crime scenes with profiles from convicted offenders. The success of CODIS is demonstrated by the thousands of matches that have linked serial cases to each other and cases that have been solved by matching crime scene evidence to known convicted offenders.

All over the world crime affects every nation whether developed or under developed. Crime is an infectious disease that if left untreated it would be like an epidemic, raging as a wildfire. The use of forensic science in crime scene investigations has catapulted the way forward to equip all law enforcement agencies with the essential tools to fight crime. Forensic science is a combination of broad scientific fields and is used to answer questions revolving around crime scenes and legal matters. The vaccine or medication that will reduce the harm is forensic science which contributes to solving crime using investigative techniques to determine the cause of death, identify suspects, find missing persons and profiling criminals.

DNA or to be exact deoxyribonucleic acid is the fundamental of every living organisms genetics. It is a code that not more than one person shares. DNA is unique to every human and not one human have the same DNA code. This scientific discovery was a tremendous leap of success in the criminal justice system. In the early 1900's the United States Criminal justice system was not as precise as it is now. Many were convicted wrongly and it was very hard to pin point who committed a crime because there was no valid evidence tying a person onto a crime. At this time scientists and chemist where on the verge of a ground breaking discovery. Chemist James Watson and Francis Crick determined the double-helical structure of DNA, DNA itself was identified

Can be utilized to recognize the casualty yet this is ordinarily just utilized when no different types of distinguishing proof, for example, dental work, blood work and fingerprints are not accessible. Trying to identify a murder victim want be easy, but it is up to the different specialist to do their job and make the identity of the person for the closer for the

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA as it is most commonly known, is a strand of molecules found within the cell nucleus of all living things. It is called a “genetic fingerprint” because each is different to the other and everyone, apart from identical twins, have

DNA is an acronym, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. Every cell in an individual’s body, with the exception of red blood cells and eggs or sperm, contains the full genetic program for that individual in its DNA. The human genome, which consists of about 3 billion base pairs, harbours genetically relevant information that is essential for the characterization of each individual. [1] By continuous researches it has been seen that every person has a unique DNA i.e. no two persons have the same set of DNA sequence. For a long time only