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The Pros And Cons Of Dna Profiling

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Nowadays, our modern life is becoming more comfortable and safe because of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is a genetic code that is made up of four chemical bases namely, adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T). Our body consists of about 3 billion bases and almost everyone has 99 percent of the same bases. Some organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, uses DNA and to help find and convict criminals. It is time-consuming to check and match DNA samples, but this can help the authorities to apprehend the real culprit. In the past, fingerprints, blood and other bodily materials in the scene of an offense were used by detectives in their investigation to catch and put criminals in prison but they were not foolproof methods. Wrongful convictions followed. But DNA …show more content…

Today, arguments for and against the use of DNA have surfaced.
DNA profiling is the technology that uses the individual’s DNA characteristics. Each human has his own DNA, comprising 99.9% of the same DNA but scientists have found the remnant 0.1% difference. One of its benefits is that scientists are using this crucial distinction to find criminals from bodily fluid samples, hair, skin and other parts of the body. (sciencemuseum, 2016)
DNA also has another advantageous application; it is used to find biological family relationships. In a Korean drama, the writer includes in his plot problems surrounding a family conflict. The father or the son gives his DNA sample such as found in his hair or toothbrush to the forensic scientists. Then, they

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DNA has given some innocents their freedom, but others are still being locked up. Jurors are giving guilty verdicts to people who don’t deserve it based on theories and confessions that may have been beaten out of them. It was reported in the studies that exculpatory DNA does sometimes help a defendant that had confessed, but then prosecutors come up with theories and that doesn’t help the defendants, as was the case of Joseph Buffey (Appleby & Kassin, 2016). I didn’t expect for exculpatory DNA not to be taken into consideration when prosecutors told a theory that can explain why DNA of the accused was not at the scene of the crime. It just doesn’t make sense.

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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.

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