Pros And Cons Of Backlogged Rape Monks

In McClure, Weisburd and Wilson (2008) summary article arguing that in addition to bench science, field experimentation involving forensic methods is key to assess the utility of various methods to solve crimes. The study reflected that there is a need for more research into many aspects of forensic science, criticizing the strength of scientific evidence that’s collected at a crime scene and interpretations of most forensic methods while omitting DNA testing. McClure et al’s (2008) explains that in sexual cases and homicides, the presence of DNA evidence actually increased the likelihood of prosecution and a conviction. According to the article “…the case of convictions, the odds-ratio for the presence of DNA evidence was 33.1 for sexual offenses and 23.1 for homicides” (McClure et al., 2008). Subsequently, the research shows that there was a consistent gradual decline in the national homicide rates that began in the 1900s and continued through into the 21st century. The decline of homicides in the US has dropped by from more than 90% in the 1960s to 62% in 2003. Even though this significant drop has occurred during the introduction of the new DNA testing

DNA testing has overthrown the way police collect evidence in a number of criminal cases, especially rape and murder and consequently had a large impact on many past cases. However there are many disadvantages to DNA testing, such as a challenge of accuracy, the costs of DNA testing and the possible misuse of DNA. The prospect of a national DNA database in Australia has been heavily criticised with complaints of invasion of privacy and stigma against those with terminal diseases.

Although most of today’s society has not worked hard enough to put a stop to backlogs of rape kits, one organization has kept on testing them “To me, the backlog is one of the clearest and most shocking demonstrations of how we regard these crimes in our society. Testing rape kits send a fundamental and crucial message to victims of sexual violence: You matter. What happened to you matters. Your case matters-Mariska Hargitay”(What Is the Rape Kit Backlog?). Backlogging of rape kits has been going on for years, which results in no crimes being solved because none of the kits are even being tested for DNA. Sexual assault will happen every 98 seconds; therefore, rape kits pile up in crime lab storage facilities. For thousands of rape kits just

DNA testing was first used in criminal prosecutions in 1985 and is now admissible in all states. (Hails, 184) Scientific and legal communities seem to universally accept the use of DNA as “good” evidence. Questions could arise regarding testing procedures. There are several testing methods that have been proven reliable and easily pass general acceptance and scientific validity tests. This is causes number of Daubert cases questioning DNA to decline. “In most cases, the tests that are used are well established and do not require a separate hearing” (Hails, 160)

There exists national backlog of untested rape kits. This is an outrage with disastrous consequences for sexual assault victims. Currently, around 400,000 rape kits sit unexamined in laboratories and in police storage across the country—each one of them containing the potential to solve a crime, incarcerate a rapist and provide a victim with the justice they deserve.

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

Testing all backlogged rape kits (also known as sexual assault kits) places colossal burden on government employees. Analyzing all untested rape kits stresses forensic laboratories. Ritter states that, “the demand for DNA testing continues to outstrip the capacity” (40). This information portrays that forensic laboratories that test DNA found in rape kits cannot handle any more kits, since the laboratories already have too much genetic information to test. Because the labs already have a tremendous amount of DNA to test, adding to that amount will only stress workers. Since the

DNA testing should be awarded to all who claim innocence. It is too expensive to carry out DNA testing for every person who is suspected of a crime. It should be done for those who truly believe they are innocent and have evidence in favor of their claim. According to the Innocence Project, the Justice for All Act was established into federal law in 2004. This law awards federal inmates that claim innocence DNA testing. It also grants funding to the states that give the DNA

After reading a number of articles, and attending the “Picking Cotton” lecture. I have come to the conclusion that, without the breakthrough of DNA extraction technology. Many people would still be convicted of a crime they never committed.

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

Because there are many different types of crimes, it is often difficult to find enough physical evidence to convict a person. For example, in rape cases there is usually only a small amount of physical evidence, so cases are based on word alone. Because of DNA testing we can now take samples from the victim and attempt to match the results with those of the suspect. Therefore, DNA is sometimes the only real way of determining the guilt or innocence of a suspect without having any witnesses. Since many rape cases are left unsolved, DNA testing is believed to be the most accurate way of keeping sex offenders off the street. Because of the growing trend of using DNA in rape cases especially, a company in Brooklyn now advertises a small flashlight-like device intended to be used to jab at attackers in order to collect a sample of his skin for later use (Adler). According to a study by Joseph Peterson, with the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois, DNA evidence does not have a major impact on the decision to either convict or acquit

The Innocence Project was established in the wake of a landmark study by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Senate with help from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Schneider, 2013). This study found that there were numerous reasons why people are wrongfully convicted including, but not limited to eye witness identification, perjured testimony, improper forensic science techniques, and government misconduct (Roberts & Weathered, 2009) The original Innocence Project was founded twenty two (22) years ago as a part of the Cardoza School of Law of Yeshiva University in New York City, New York (Davis, 2012). The Innocence Projects primary goal is to exonerate those whom have been convicted of a crime when there is DNA evidence available to be tested or re-tested (Mitchell, 2011). DNA testing has been possible in five (5) percent to ten (10) percent of cases since 1992 (Risinger, 2007). On the other side, other members of the Innocence Project help to exonerate those have been convicted of a crime where there is no DNA evidence to test. A goal of the Innocence Project is to conduct research on the reasons for wrongful convictions, how to fix the criminal justice system, as well as advocate for those who have been wrongfully convicted (Steiker & Steiker, 2005). The members of this organization strive to teach the world about the dangers of wrongful convictions. To date, this non-profit legal organization, has freed three hundred eighteen (318)

Over 60 people were actively investigated for the murder-rape until 1976. Then it went cold. Forty-one years later, investigators had two suspects (Thompson). After so many years, the key to finally deducing the crime lay in what the two men left behind, DNA. In a world of flawed justice systems and abundant lies, the truth can only come out in fact; the facts of science's introduction to the criminal justice system, known as forensic science.

There are often mistakes made that falsely determine an individual’s sentence. Sloppy police work and loss of documents are examples of careless errors. There is also some room for error with determining the results of a DNA sample that do not fall under the human error category. Many times there may not be ample DNA samples at a crime scene. Only a fraction of crimes reveal DNA. Drive-by shootings and bombings often do not provide DNA for investigation purposes. “There is a public perception that DNA is the cure-all for these kinds of mistakes. DNA is not the whole answer.” (Dieter, Richard) Eye witnesses cannot solely and accurately determine a person’s fate 100 percent of the time. There are numerous amounts of cases in which those found guilty were indeed later found innocent. Many times, these individuals have already served time in jail. Many argue that the time inmates spend in

With this rape kit DNA samples can be taken and if the suspects name and DNA are in the database all they have to do is go find him. This is a great way to get rapists off the street.