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Use of DNA fingerprinting in criminal justice
Role of fingerprint in criminal investigation
Use of DNA in criminal investigations
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Does DNA fingerprinting and modern genetic research encroach on the rights of the dead?
Introduction:
DNA fingerprinting and modern genetics are used to help historians, palaeontologists and archaeologists to research the evolution of mankind. The question that comes to mind is whether or not dead people have any rights when it comes to research.
What is DNA fingerprinting?
DNA fingerprinting is a way of getting a person’s identification. This is shown in Figure 3 on page 4. One can extract DNA from hair, nails, blood, skin or even saliva. It was first used to discover genetic diseases but now is also used to help catch criminals or research the dead in order to unlock the evolution of mankind.
Facts about DNA fingerprinting:
• Sir Alec Jeffrey discovered DNA fingerprinting on accident on September 10th 1984
• DNA fingerprinting doesn't have much to do with actual fingerprints, but it refers to the fingerprint of someone's DNA, which is unique to themself.
• It was made famous when prosecutors used it to accuse O.J. Simpson to a double murder.
• Some people, called chimeras, have different DNA in different cells.
• DNA fingerprinting can be used in paternity testing to find out who the father of a child is. Without this, fathers could leave their children, and not have to pay fees.
• Only one sample is needed for a person's DNA, unless they are chimeras.
• It is possible for the DNA to become contaminated.
• The chances of a mismatch happening was improved from one in fifty million to one in a billion.
Now it is used in maternity tests, personal identification and forensic science. DNA fingerprinting would allow a scientist or any qualified worker to match the DNA of any person. All the worker w...
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...nary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier;http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/DNA+fingerprinting; 5/12/2014
• http://jdutchstevens.tripod.com/id5.html
• http://www.dnalc.org/resources/aboutdnafingerprinting.html
• Facts were found at https://sites.google.com/site/dnafingerptinting/tasks
• The Guinness Encyclopedia New Edition;1995;
Modern genetics:
• The Problems and Possibilities of Modern Genetics: A Paradigm for Social, Ethical, and Political Analysis; July 5, 2011; Eric Cohen and Robert P. George; http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2011/07/05-genetics-cohen-george; 5/12/2014
• wikipedia ;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetics; 5/12/2014
• How is DNA profiling used in conservation and evolutionary studies;https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081111194824AANbIze
• http://knowgenetics.org/dtc-genetics-pros-and-cons/
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is an acclaimed extraordinary discovery that has contributed great benefits in several fields throughout the world. DNA evidence is accounted for in the majority of cases presented in the criminal justice system. It is known as our very own unique genetic fingerprint; “a chromosome molecule which carries genetic coding unique to each person with the only exception of identical twins (that is why it is also called 'DNA fingerprinting ')” (Duhaime, n.d.). DNA is found in the nuclei of cells of nearly all living things.
Galton, David J., and Clare J. Galton. "Francis Galton: And Eugenics Today." Journal of Medical Ethics, 24.2 (1998): 99-101. JSTOR. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.
DNA is the blueprint of life. It stores our genetic information which is what is in charge of how our physical appearance will look like. 99.9% of human DNA is the same in every person yet the remaining .1% is what distinguishes each person (Noble Prize). This small percentage is enough to make each person different and it makes identifying people a lot easier when its necessary. DNA not only serves to test relationships between people it also helps in criminal cases. DNA testing in criminal cases has not been around for many years if fact it was not until the early 1990s when the use of DNA testing for criminal cases was approved and made available. By comparing the DNA of a suspect and that found in the crime scene a person can either be convicted of a crime or they can be exonerated. This method of testing gained more publicity in the 1984 case of Kirk Noble Bloodsworth a man who had been convicted of the rape and first degree murder of a nine year old girl in Maryland. His case was a milestone in the criminal justice system since it involved the use of new technology and it also raised the question of how many people had been wrongly incarcerated for a crime they did not commit.
In the article, DNA Fingerprinting: Cracking Our Genetic “Barcode” by Elaine N. Marieb, she describes the process and uses of DNA fingerprinting. The importance of DNA is very helpful because it makes it easier to identify different individuals through their genetic material. In another interesting article, Interface Facts by Katie L. Burke, she mainly focuses on internet video games that could be an effective method for scientific research for scientists and non-scientists. DNA and Technology have emerged and are a great benefit to humans to help find matches such as long-relatives, a murderer in a case, and personal background information whether alive or deceased. Also DNA and Technology can be useful for public awareness reasons too.
Abstract; This paper explors the effects DNA fingerprinting has had on the trial courts and legal institutions. Judge Joseph Harris states that it is the "single greatest advance in the search for truth since the advent of the cross examination (Gest, 1988)." And I tend to agree with Judge Joseph's assertion, but with the invention and implementation of DNA profiling and technology has come numerous problems. This paper will explore: how DNA evidence was introduced into the trial courts, the effects of DNA evidence on the jury system and the future of DNA evidence in the trial courts.
Savulescu, Julian. “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Human Beings.” Readings in the Philosophy of Technology. Ed. David Kaplan. 2nd ed. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield, 2009. 417-430.
DNA fingerprinting, or sometimes known as DNA typing, is isolating and developing images of sequences of DNA to evaluate the DNA in an individual’s cells. DNA fingerprinting today is used for many different things in many different areas of science. In forensic science, DNA typing can determine which person did which crime by using blood or skin left at a crime scene. In medical science, patients can find out who their siblings, parents, or children are by using DNA fingerprinting (webmd).
DNA in forensic science has been around for a long time. DNA has had help in solving almost every crime committed. There have been a lot of crimes where people are raped or murdered and the person who did it runs free. Scientists can collect the littlest item they see at the scene, such as a cigarette butt or coffee cup and check it for DNA. People have spent years in jail for a crime they didn’t commit till DNA testing came into effect. People are getting out of jail after 20 years for a crime they didn’t commit, cause of the DNA testing. DNA has helped medical researchers develop vaccines for disease causing microbe. DNA has become a standard tool of forensics in many murders and rapes.
DNA plays a significant role in criminal trials, firstly, because of its power to lead to the exoneration of innocent individuals. There are many instances in which wrongfully convicted individuals falsely confessed or made an incriminating
Forensic science solves many hard crimes as they use these methods which today I will talk about fingerprinting one of the most famous methods.
"Eugenics, Genetic Engineering Lite." The Future of Human Evolution. Humans Future, 2010. Web. 14 Feb 2012.
Fingerprint usage dates back to the 1800s. Sir William Herschel used the prints as signatures on civil contracts, before they were found useful towards crimes (History of Fingerprints Timeline, 2012). A British surgeon, Dr. Henry Faulds, wrote about using fingerprints for personal identification. He first looked at prints on clay pottery and studied the ridges and patterns that they had made in the clay. In 1891, Juan Vucetich suggested to start fingerprinting criminals to keep the prints on record. The following year, Vucetich identified a print from a woman who killed her two sons. Investigators found her print and were able to correctly match her identity. Charles Darwin’s cousin, Sir Francis Galton, wrote and published the first book about fingerprints. He wrote about how every individual has a unique print by the certain traits of each fingerprint (History of Fingerprints, 2012). The popularity of fingerprints grew greatly in the United States in the early 1900s. Police departments and the FBI began to use the...
Without DNA testing, an innocent person may go to prison for a crime they did not commit and a bad person walk free. DNA is the main part of an individual’s genetic makeup. DNA can be determined by saliva, blood, bones, and even teeth. DNA technology helps the criminal justice system put the right person in prison in a fair matter with proof.
Next, crime lab investigators can use DNA to identify criminals and help solve crimes. To begin with DNA helps crime lab investigators to get results on a person to compare the DNA and see if theirs a patter. Also in the article it says that it’s useful for investigators because each person has a unique DNA and the analysis
Burley, Justine, ed., pp. 113-117. The Genetic Revolution and Human Rights. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 24 September 2001 <http://emedia.netlibrary.com/ reader/reader.asp?product_id=27508>.