There have been many cases over the years within in the criminal justice system where people have walked free from committing a crime as well as those being put behind bars for being accused of committing a crime they never committed. DNA testing in the criminal justice system can be the decision maker for someone who is either going to walk free from the crime they possibly committed or get put behind bars for a crime they may have not committed. DNA testing has been used to sentence hundreds and convict thousands of people across the country every year. DNA evidence is one of the best examples on how technology has made convicting the criminals who have committed a crime much easier than it has been done in the past. DNA evidence does not necessarily pinpoint the exact criminal on who have may commited the crime, but it does bring it down to a handful of the population who are being questioned for the crime. It is one of the most accurate ways of finding out evidence as long as it is properly done and handled correctly.
Using DNA in Criminal Trials 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
Human DNA is very similar to one another, but only about 0.1% is different from the next person. That 0.1% can tell a person’s eye color, hair color, and other physical features. DNA analyst are able to take a drop of blood, the size of a dime, and duplicate the number DNA found in that drop. With the ability to duplicate DNA, analysts can have a back-up, in the event a human error were to occur. Analyst can tell you exactly where your ancestors came from and the percentage that is still inside your DNA. DNA is a very powerful tool that can identify a murder if the individual left any blood, saliva, skin tissue, hair or semen. The education needed to be able make use of the DNA consists of a great deal of science classes.
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.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid, otherwise known as DNA has played a crucial part in many investigations both past and present. It can be used to identify criminals when there is evidence left behind with incredible accuracy. DNA evidence is taken seriously enough that it can exonerate, or bring about a conviction. In
Perhaps the most critical improvement in criminal examination since the happening to one of a kind finger impression ID is the usage of DNA development to convict punks or get rid of persons as suspects. DNA examinations on spit, skin tissue, blood, hair, and semen can now be reliably used to association guilty parties to wrongdoings. Dynamically recognized in the midst of the past 10 years, DNA development is in the blink of an eye by and large used by police, prosecutors, shield course, and courts in the United
Due to them not being prepared, many potential criminals are encouraged to do so, because just a bit of preparation can get them free. Having a CSI unit, however, would increase the solved crime rate by a lot. Park forest is 18% safer than our city because it has a CSI unit, meaning it would be very beneficial for us to have one as well. DNA and Fingerprint evidence is very important in crime scene investigation, which only a CSI can collect properly. These are types of evidence that, if there is even only two or three pieces of these types of evidence, could convict someone in court. Mainly everything else is circumstantial, meaning that, although they show something happened, they could also be interpreted some other way to mean that something else happened. However, DNA and fingerprints are unique on each person, showing that, at the very least, the person whose fingerprint or DNA was at the scene was there, at one point or
This is however a misconception since DNA can potentially provide more information about a person than a fingerprint and thus can open the door more widely to breaches of privacy. The DNA of a person can be used to tell law enforcement that you have a brother or that you were adopted. It can also identify by ethnicity or sex or reveal whether you predisposed to serious diseases such as cancer and tendencies to violence, substance abuse or mental illness.
DNA is certain characteristics that identifies a person by race, hair color, and their sex. Technology had changed the criminal justice tremendously and DNA is a prime example of how much technology has changed the aspect of the criminal justice system. When the DNA is used in an investigation it is used to help with identifying a suspect for committing a crime. The impact that DNA has had on the criminal justice system is that it has changed the way DNA is handled, collected, and the importance of DNA. DNA has revolutionized the criminal justice system in a major way because cold cases has been solved, people have cleared from murder cases, and it has been a vital source for information in criminal cases. The case of a Florida man by name
Advances in DNA technology has expanded greatly in the world of forensic science. In the past a vast number of crime scene evidence was not considered for analysis is now being tested. Trace DNA is more effective in this century when convicting a criminal than it was 20-30 years ago. Due to the consist improvement of DNA technology forensic scientist are able to put away criminals the correct way.
Though, the chances are small, people have been convicted of crimes who are innocent. DNA databases are used significantly to solve crimes. With solving crimes also comes the chance of putting an innocent person behind bars. Forensics is not always 100% accurate and can be faulty in identifying the wrong person. Sometimes, there are biased forensic analysts that misconstrued evidence and biased police officers in the criminal justice system. An issue with police officers is a cognitive bias called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when someone, such as a police officer receives information on a person, but chooses to throw out the information and rather put their own believes before evidence. If police officers are able to swab DNA when they arrest someone, they could use that DNA to misidentify an individual of a crime. If a DNA database is contaminated with millions of innocent people, the risk of an innocent percent being abused by the system is higher. A big case in the criminal justice system was of the lawyer Brandon Mayfield. His fingerprints were misidentified at a terrorist bombing in Madrid. He had converted to Islam and felt that he was discriminated against, while being held captive for two weeks. He is just one of the many innocent people who have been suspects in criminal cases. In the primary source document The Case Against Expanding Forensic DNA Databases to Innocent
One way of how DNA Evidence affects us is by using it to identify either identified or unidentified suspects. Before DNA evidence was found, only the work of physical evidence was provided to make arrests. For example, there was little physical evidence for the Ted Bundy case. What lead to his arrest and soon to his death in 1989 was the ability to match the bite mark on his victim that lead to his crooked and chipped teeth. According to the Department of Justice, if a suspect is identified, a sample of his or her DNA will be given so that it can be compared to the evidence found. Although, if a suspect has not yet been identified evidence from the crime scene can help connect the offender through the profiles in the DNA Database. This affects
I have learned about the basics of DNA fingerprinting and what its main purposes are. Cloning relates to your DNA and twins to name a few things. You can use genetic engineering for many things including food, medecine, people, and more. Activity 2: Rank the following Resources #1.) Cloning - I ranked
Crime is a major issue worldwide. The types of crimes vary, all differentiating in severity. Teens shoplifting candy at a grocery store, assaulting a person, and serial murders are examples of the different types of crimes. Unfortunately, many crimes that are committed the government cannot address properly because of insufficient
Crimes flourish throughout the world in today's time and age, so why do we not make more ways to catch the crimes? DNA has already started to be used to narrow down suspects and help solve crimes. When anything from skin cells, hair, fingerprints, etc. are left at a crime scene, suspects can be tested to see if the DNA is similar. DNA also can not be used if they don't have suspects because the computer used to store DNA profiles only stores DNA from past suspects and former criminals. There are several problems with this way of catching criminals, such as human rights, abuse of information, and it is not foolproof.