There’s no doubt that ever since the law enforcement authorities have started to use DNA testing, the procedure has helped a lot of innocent people and delivered justice to the real criminals. The first DNA testing was performed back in 1986. Since then, nearly three hundred innocent individuals have been exonerated. It is also worth mentioning that nearly 20 of those individuals were sentenced to death row before the testing took place.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid is actually the most important building block of life, and is a part of every single cell in every single living thing. Francis Crick and James Watson were credited for decoding the DNA and received their Nobel Prize in psychology/medicine back in 1962. DNA is also referred to as the Double Helix. Furthermore, scientists consider decoding the DNA to be the most essential biological achievement of the last century. DNA is what makes embryonic cells turn into actual living organisms.
DNA is essentially a cellular fingerprint of sorts. Its most important property is its uniqueness. Even though animal and human DNA are quite similar, it is still one of a kind for every individual. The only exceptions are identical twins as well as recipients of bone marrow transplant. The DNA of every individual remains unaltered throughout their entire life and represents the most trustworthy identifier that can be located in every single cell.
DNA testing could be performed using any type of biological specimen, including blood, saliva, hair, semen and even skin. Hence, if this biological evidence is obtained and stored effectively and then analyzed properly, it may well turn into evidence that will exonerate innocent individuals. In this way, DNA testing is a whole lot more precise than usual fingerprinting.
When it comes to the US criminal justice system, the jury is asked to render a guilty verdict only in case there is no reasonable doubt in the matter whatsoever. However, at times, proper DNA testing demonstrates that there was in fact the element of reasonable doubt. And because of the jury’s decision an innocent person was sentenced to death row or had to rot for years in prison. Should the jurors be legally penalized for being irresponsible? One way or the other, odds are, living with the knowledge that you condemned an innocent to die or rot in a cell is on its own punishment enough.
However, the positive tendencies continue to grow – more and more people are being exonerated thanks to proper DNA testing. The most common cause for wrongful conviction is misidentification of the perpetrators, comprising more than 70% of all cases. Furthermore, among those cases of misidentification, about 40% occur due to the simple fact that people have trouble trying to recognize individuals of other races.
The second leading cause for wrongful conviction is making mistakes in forensic science. Despite the fact that DNA testing has proven to be 100% accurate, it is hard to say the same about other types of forensic investigations, such as bite mark comparisons, microscopy, comparison of shoe prints as well as the firearm mark tool analysis.
Third place in the leading causes for wrongful convictions is false accusations as well as false and incriminating confessions. Then follows the wrongful testimony from the informants. After all, the vast majority of informants have a certain incentive – they are promised milder penalties or, in some cases, that the charges will be dropped altogether. Of course, when faced with such a pleasant perspective, the informants will always be more than happy to talk and to point out the criminals, even if those people were innocent to begin with.
One way or the other, if you or perhaps your loved ones were wrongfully convicted or perhaps falsely accused of a crime that you never committed, you will want the case and all the evidence to be reexamined. DNA testing may also be required and you will surely need a qualified as well as genuinely experienced legal representative by your side in order to ensure that everything is done by the book and that there are no mistakes in the forensic process.
If you were arrested or under investigation for a sex crime, call our law offices at (877) 781-1570 or use contact form to request free face-to-face consultation.
Law Offices of Los Angeles Criminal Defense Specialists
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