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Importance of forensic science in investigation
DNA and crime investigation
Forensic techniques that use chemistry
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There are many techniques in the Criminal Justice field that are used to solve cases. DNA testing is one of the best ways to solve cases. Each individual has there own unique DNA profile. Also, in this case DNA testing proved that an innocent person did not do the crimes. Furthermore, I feel that Colin Pitchfork deserves life in prison without a chance of parole. DNA testing is one of forensic sciences core techniques. Everyone has there own individual DNA profile, even identical twins. DNA is in every cell of our body. In the 1980s, a British scientist named Sir Alec Jeffery's, developed DNA profiling. Our DNA can be separated from human cells found at a Crime Scene, with perspiration, blood, skin, the roots of hair, semen, mucus, and saliva. The Colin Pitchfork case was the first murder conviction established on DNA profiling evidence. A fifteen year old girl named Lynda Mann was raped and murdered, after going missing on the grounds of Carlton Hayes psychiatric hospital in Narborough, Leicestershire, in November 1983. A semen sample was taken and showed it was a type only in ten percent of men. Also, the sample was from someone with type A blood. Although, a suspect was not able to be found. Three years later, another fifteen year old girl, Dawn Ashworth, was similarly sexually assaulted and strangled. This occurred in a nearby village of Enderby. Semen samples were taken and showed the same blood type. A seventeen year old named Richard Buckland, with learning disabilities who worked at Carlton Hayes psychiatric hospital, was spotted near Dawn Ashworth's crime scene and new unreleased information about the body. In 1986, Buckland confessed to Ashworth's murder but not Mann's. Scientists used Sir Alec Jeffery's new techniq... ... middle of paper ... ...ide evidence to a jury. The jury discusses the evidence that was provided and make a decision, which all have to agree on. The evidence has to be beyond a reasonable doubt. I just can not believe that people can get convicted of a crime if their DNA is not present at a crime. With that being said, I feel that DNA profiling is a great technique to use to convict a guilty person for the crime they committed or to exonerate an innocent person for the crime they did not commit. In conclusion, I feel that my opinion is justified because I can not believe that our society would falsely convict innocent people. Every human being is unique and does not have DNA like any other person. Forensic scientists use DNA profiling to help find criminals. If no two people have DNA alike, I feel that this is one of the most accurate ways to convict a criminal beyond a reasonable doubt.
As we learned this week, DNA databases are used by various governmental agencies for several different purposes. We all have seen new magazine shows such as, 20/20 or Dateline, that show the collection of DNA samples from suspects in a case that is compared to those collected at the scene of the crime. But what happens when the sample is an incomplete match, compromised, or contaminated? The answer is the wrongful conviction of innocent citizens. The case that I have decided to highlight, is the wrongful conviction of Herman Atkins. In 1986, Atkins was convicted of two counts of forcible rape, two counts of oral copulation, and robbery in the state of California. It was alleged that Herman entered a shoe store, and raped, beat, and robbed a
This case started on July 25, 1984, with the death of a nine year old girl by the name of Dawn Hamilton. The story plays out as follows: Dawn approached two boys and an adult male that were fishing at a pond in a wooded area near Golden Ring Mall in eastern Baltimore, Maryland. Dawn asked the boys to help her find her cousin, they declined the adult male however agreed to help her look. This was the last time anyone saw Hamilton alive. Hamilton’s body was found to have been raped, strangled and beaten with a rock. The police collected a boot print at the scene and DNA that was found in Hamilton’s underwear. The police also relied on the witness testimonies and line-ups, which in this case was the photo array. With the five eye witness testimonies and a tip the believed to be suspect was found. Kirk Noble Bloodsworth a prior U.S. Marine with no prior criminal record was taken into custody and charged with intentional first degree murder, sexual assault and rape. Bloodsworth was basically convicted on the eye witness testimonies. The state requested the death penalty. Bloodsworth was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. (BLOODSWORTH v. STATE, 1988)
In today's society no crime is a perfect crime, with the use of DNA testing and modern advancements in health and forensics even the smallest piece of someone's genome can be cultured and used to identify even the most devious of criminals. The use of DNA testing was able to help change the life of Gene Bibbins for the better and further proved how DNA testing is able to be used to help clarify who the culprit actually is. Gene Bibbins life was forever changed the night that he was unjustifiably arrested for aggravated rape which resulted in his being sentenced to life in prison, only for his case to eventually be reevaluated sixteen years after his conviction, leading to his exoneration.
I personally feel that this is a much more reliable and accurate than relying on the testimony of witnesses. I believe through the use of science we as a society can now make sure that the guilty are caught and punished while the innocent are protected from wrongful prosecution. However the eyewitness should not be completely left out of the case against the possible offender. After it is determined through scientific evidence, in this case DNA, that the physically involved in the crime then witnesses can be brought in to give testimony that the offender was present at the crime scene or the victim can be sure that the accused was truly the one involved in the actual crime.
After 11 years of being in prison, Cotton heard of DNA testing. As a final attempt to end his sentencing in jail, he applied and was accepted for DNA testing. The testing proved Cotton was not the rapist, and in fact Bobby Poole was (Picking Cotton). In total, DNA testing has helped 273 people prove innocence as of September, 2011. Also, all of the 34 death penalty states give inmates the right to have access to DNA testing. Not only has the testing been able to prove innocence, but also guilt. “Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide,” which is true for Thompson in this case (DNA Testing and..).
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.
... any of the DNA provided by the Vaninced victim support one report showed a piece of genetic material the penis of Steven branch but could not be linked to any victim.The penis of Steven branch that could not be linked to any victim or any defendant in the meantime our investigators were obtain DNA samples in the air cigarette butts world swabs from people who had some connection to the events is included samples from several people including Steven branches stepfather Terry Hobbs.The result of that analysis in May 2007 show that rope used to tie up Michael Moore could be associated with very hot provided a result the prosecution right after learning of it much more recent analysis by Mr. Fedora show that hair found on a tree root through Tree Stump at the crime scene could be associated with the DNA samples provided by Terry Hobbs.
Nowadays, DNA is a crucial component of a crime scene investigation, used to both to identify perpetrators from crime scenes and to determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence (Butler, 2005). The method of constructing a distinctive “fingerprint” from an individual’s DNA was first described by Alec Jeffreys in 1985. He discovered regions of repetitions of nucleotides inherent in DNA strands that differed from person to person (now known as variable number of tandem repeats, or VNTRs), and developed a technique to adjust the length variation into a definitive identity marker (Butler, 2005). Since then, DNA fingerprinting has been refined to be an indispensible source of evidence, expanded into multiple methods befitting different types of DNA samples. One of the more controversial practices of DNA forensics is familial DNA searching, which takes partial, rather than exact, matches between crime scene DNA and DNA stored in a public database as possible leads for further examination and information about the suspect. Using familial DNA searching for investigative purposes is a reliable and advantageous method to convict criminals.
Crime is a common public issue for people living in the inner city, but is not limited to only urban or highly populated cities as it can undoubtedly happen in small community and rural areas as well. In The Real CSI, the documentary exemplified many way in which experts used forensic science as evidence in trial cases to argue and to prove whether a person is innocent or guilty. In this paper, I explained the difference in fingerprinting technology depicted between television shows and in reality, how DNA technology change the way forensics evidence is used in the court proceedings, and how forensic evidence can be misused in the United States adversarial legal system.
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.
“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same”.(Albert Einstein).Many people have different points of view of what is justice of what happens in the courtroom. Opinions have been heard of whether or not DNA evidence should be admissible in murder trials. Not only have people try to introduce this kind of evidence in their case, but some have been trying to avoid of DNA evidence in their case. Like any important matter they all have their own pros and cons to conclude whether or not it’s worth presenting to a courtroom full of juries. It takes hard workers to give background information
the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial. National Institute of Justice, 10, 15. Retrieved from, https://www.ncjrs.gov/
The collection of DNA in an investigation is used most often to determine who the perpetrator(s) might be in a crime. There has been a rapid growth since its inception and legal and ethical issues have arisen. In the Double –Helix Double-Edged ...
"Using DNA to Solve Crimes." U.S. Department of Justice: National Institute of Justice. (September 9, 2014). Web. 29 May 2015.
Singer, Julie A. "The Impact Of Dna And Other Technology On The Criminal Justice System: Improvements And Complications."Albany Law Journal Of Science & Technology 17.(2007): 87. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.