Category Archives: DNA

Book’em Danno . . . and Get DNA

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DNA from Arrestees

 

The FBI’s national DNA database, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Program, stores DNA profiles. Leads from DNA evidence can be generated from CODIS’ Convicted Offender Index and the Forensic Index. CODIS also contains an Arrestee Index of DNA profiles of people arrested in states where local law allows the collection of samples.

Despite continuing debates about collecting DNA from arrestees, the U.S. federal government and 28 states have laws that authorize arrestee DNA collection. In their June 2012 NIJ Journal article, “Collecting DNA from Arrestees: Implementation Lessons,” Julie Samuels, Elizabeth Davies, Dwight Pope, and Ashleigh Holand explore the history and scope of this controversial practice. A copy of the article is available from the National Institute of Justice website.

By the way, the FBI imposes a requirement that states must meet before arrestee DNA profiles can be uploaded into CODIS: The FBI must approve the state’s system for expunging a DNA profile if a charge is dismissed or results in acquittal. In most states, the arrestee bears the burden for starting an expungement procedure.

Correcting Injustices with DNA

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DNA can be key to exoneration

 

The Innocence Project at Yeshiva University and other programs use DNA evidence to exonerate people wrongfully convicted of crimes. According to the Innocence Project website, the common causes of wrongful convictions include eyewitness misidentification, improper forensic science, false confessions, government misconduct, unreliable informants or snitches, and bad lawyering. Details about these causes and a geographic distribution for each cause within the United States can also be found on the website.

If DNA exoneration is a key point in your plot, you may want to peruse the U.S. Department of Justice’s report, “Post-Conviction DNA Testing and Wrongful Conviction.” It was published in June 2012, and it’s available from the National Institute of Justice website.

Dealing with DNA Evidence

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DNA in a bottle

Source: U.S. Department of Energy Genomic Science program.

In his book, The Blooding (1989), Joseph Wambaugh described the first use of DNA testing in a criminal investigation. As it turned out, the new type of forensic analysis unveiled a rapist-killer in an unusual way. The police collected blood samples for DNA testing from every male between the ages of 16 and 34, living in the vicinity of the crime scenes. To dodge the test, a cake decorator named Colin Pitchfork paid a coworker to donate blood for Pitchfork. After the police learned about the ruse, they arrested Pitchfork, who confessed to the crimes.

Since then, DNA testing has become routine in both criminal and civil cases. Readers of mystery and crime fiction expect DNA analysis to play some role in a story set in modern times. One good source for basic information on DNA testing is the U.S. Department of Justice’s DNA for the Defense Bar. As the title indicates, the guide is particularly useful if your main character is a defense attorney who must confront damaging DNA evidence. The book is available at the National Institute of Justice website.