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Dna at a crime scene research paper
Dna crime investigation
Importance of dna in forensic science
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Dna at a crime scene research paper
Dna crime investigation
Importance of dna in forensic science
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Department of Justice says, "States began passing laws requiring offenders convicted of certain offenses to provide DNA samples. " That DNA evidence can help convict someone of a crime and it helps to uncover more things about the crime itself. Investigators have been using forensic science to help them solve cases since before the 90 's, mostly fingerprints that were found at the crime scenes and on the victims (O 'Brien). DNA evidence has solved countless cases including ones that happened over a prolonged period of time because of the technological advancements there is
Before the advancements in science and DNA discovery, there have been many men and woman executed for a crime he/ she did not commite. After DNA was discovered there have been cases where DNA has exonerated date row inmates. If DNA wasn't discovered many men and women would have been executed and if DNA testing was available earlier it would have easily proven that Cameron Todd Willingham, Corsicana, Texas was innocent.
It is a great technological innovation that can help bring evidences and fact faster. In the article The DNA Wars Are Over, “Forensic use of DNA technology in criminal cases began in 1986… In one of the first uses of DNA in a criminal case in the United States, in November 1987.” Sadly in 1985, DNA testing was not popular in the U.S. investigation and was not available in Cole’s case. I believe the U.S. court system is improving and yes there are a lot mistrials and wrongful conviction cases, but you cannot avoid the fact that DNA testing can bring better truth than just relying on statements of both
The leader of this group, named Deirdre, said that scanning extra objects for DNA is important, ”When I talked to DNA experts that they were saying, ‘Yeah, I mean, if you swab that and get some skin cells or saliva and it’s just random, you get no hit on anybody, well then it neither here nor there.’ But they were saying, ‘but if put it in and you get a hit on a serial killer… well now you got enough to charge and convict somebody.’ So what you call relevant and irrelevant you can only do once you have a test result” (111). Deirdre likes to test anything that could possibly lead them to another suspect in the crime. Not everyone in the detective business is, however, not like her.
Today, the FBI has DNA records of more than 5 million convicted offenders in the database CODIS, or Combined DNA Index System. However, DNA fingerprinting has limitations: it is limited to directly connecting crimes to felons already in CODIS, has high risk of contamination, does not look at familial records, and only analyzes short pieces of DNA. With the advent of more affordable and high resolution genetic technologies after The Human Genome Project, over 35 million people have submitted their DNA to the largest direct-to-consumer genetic companies. Two companies, FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch, also allow law enforcement access to their databases. Thus, beginning investigative genetic genealogy, a new method of forensic investigation not only with higher resolution DNA information than DNA fingerprinting but also the capability of finding a suspect from distant relatives.
I feel that DNA is the only reliable forensic tool because its principles are example of real science. Mentioned in the video, forensic science was developed by law enforcement, but DNA analysis was developed by medical science. A much more reliable source. There may be certain situations where DNA isn’t the best tool to go off of. Like for example if there isn’t an enough quantity of it at the scene of a crime or if it has been mixed with someone else’s (Kaye and Sensabaugh, 2000).
In the lab report three students are tested along with one suspect. Student number two’s DNA matched the suspects DNA. The student’s DNA’s are cut with five different enzymes as well as the suspects DNA. Student two’s DNA matched exactly with the suspects DNA; the other two student’s DNA did not resemble the suspects DNA at all. (Choi, et al, 2008) DNA fingerprinting is used a lot in determining who committed a crime.
In King, Justice Kennedy referred to the invention of DNA technology as “one of the most significant scientific advancements of our era.” This statement has been criticized, but the impact of DNA technology has been significant. Currently, forensic analysts can use “junk” DNA to identify a person with near certainty. Law enforcement can collect a person’s DNA through saliva. The sample is then uploaded to CODIS, a national network of DNA databases.
Murders that are left unsolved leaves family members puzzled and wondering. It is important that we solve murders so we can stop the victim from doing it again. I already know a bit about DNA evidence from my KWL chart crime research, but I would need to learn more about its specific application in cold cases. In my preliminary research, I learned that DNA has helped solve many cold cases over the years. There have been cases where decades-old evidence was retested with updated technology and resulted in identifying the victimizer.
Science has come a long way over the years. It has helped countless every day struggles and cure diseases most commonly found. What you don’t hear about however is the advancement of forensic science. Forensic science has helped solve countless cases of murder, rape, and sexual assault. In the case of John Joubert, it helped solve the murders of three young boys with one small piece of evidence that linked him directly to the crime.
Therefore, the DNA evidence is accepted as well and can be used as evidence to prove the guilt of the offender especially the serious case such as murder or rape. In common law,
● It can be used to determine if a person is guilty or not. The evidence from forensic can be enough to put a person into prison. ● It can be used to solve old unsolved cases if there is still DNA available from that case. ● Help identify victims in big disasters where the body of the person can not physically be easily
Forensic imaging, particularly MRI technology is crucial in determining the cause of death in forensic pathology. There are a few main techniques for forensic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT), and conventional radiography. The PMCT is generally used for gunshot wounds, detection of gas embolism, trauma cases, and changes in the skeletal system. Some advantages of this technique are that it is fast, easy to handle, good three-dimensional reconstruction, excellent visuals of the skeletal system and gases in the body. However, it is not without disadvantages like how it uses radiation, meaning companies must protect their employees, it has limited data storage, limited visualization of soft tissue and employees must go through extensive training to be authorized to operate it.
The following section will consider advantages and limitation of the first two mentioned types of digital forensics: Traditional (dead) and Live computer forensics. TRADITIONAL (DEAD) VS LIVE DIGITAL FORENSICS Traditional (Dead) Forensics In order forensic acquisition to be more reliable it must be performed on computers that have been powered off. This type of forensics is known as ‘traditional’ or 'dead ' forensic acquisition. The whole process of dead acquisition, including search and seizure flowchart and acquisition of digital evidence flowchart is shown on Figure 2 and Figure 3 respectively.
DNA in forensic science The majority of cells making up the human body are diploid cells carrying identical DNA, with the exception of haploid gametes and red blood cells. Several types of biological evidence such as blood and hair are commonly used in forensic science, which is the scientific study of evidence for crime scene investigations and other legal matters. Forensic science is used for the purpose of DNA analysis, this is the analysis of DNA samples to determine if it came from a particular individual. DNA analysis is done by obtaining DNA samples from an individual; next, a large sample of DNA is produced from amplified selected sequences from the DNA collected.