Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, has become one of the most significant discoveries known to humans. The DNA of an individual is located in the nucleus of the cell and it is the same in every cell. DNA is the genetic makeup of an individual and it is unique to them, meaning, no one has the same genetic code of adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Every person and living thing have a unique genetic code and sequence of the four chemical bases. DNA has been evolving since the beginning of time and tools have been created to identify who the DNA belongs to. Being able to identify DNA and the individual who it belongs to has helped many criminal investigations progress and detain the criminal who is responsible. The discovery of DNA began
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Since DNA can be used to identify specific things about a person, law enforcement has been able to use DNA fingerprinting in a criminal investigation. DNA fingerprinting is a process that allows law enforcement and prosecutors to establish a link between the evidence and suspect. If a suspect leaves behind some type of genetic evidence, like blood, a strand of hair, or saliva, they can be identified if they are registered from a previous crime or on a different database. With DNA fingerprinting, testing they can also compare the DNA found at the crime scene with the DNA of …show more content…
An old case has recently, been overturned due to DNA fingerprinting. Cathy Woods, a mentally ill individual, from Reno, Nevada, confessed to killing Michelle Mitchell, a student of the University of Nevada (Possley, 2016). The only evidence the police had was her confession and her knowledge of details about the crime that had also been released to the public (Possley, 2016). In 1980, Woods was convicted of first-degree murder (Possley, 2016). In 1985, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed her conviction and gave her a new trial but within a few months, she was convicted for the second time for life without parole (Possley, 2016). In 2013, she sought help from the Rocky Mountain Innocence Project, asking them to file a petition for DNA testing of the cigarette butt that was found near the victim's body (Possley, 2016). When the DNA was tested, it was revealed that the DNA belonged to a male but there were not able to identify the individual (Possley, 2016). On July 2014, the DNA was matched to Rodney Halbower who was also connected to 4 other murders (Possley, 2016). Cathy Woods was released in 2014 and all charges were dismissed in 2015 (Possley, 2016). They were able to re-investigate this case after the discovery of DNA
Since DNA can be used to identify specific things about a person, law enforcement has been able to use DNA fingerprinting in a criminal investigation. DNA fingerprinting is a process that allows law enforcement and prosecutors to establish a link between the evidence and suspect. If a suspect leaves behind some type of genetic evidence, like blood, a strand of hair, or saliva, they can be identified if they are registered from a previous crime or on a different database. With DNA fingerprinting, testing they can also compare the DNA found at the crime scene with the DNA of …show more content…
An old case has recently, been overturned due to DNA fingerprinting. Cathy Woods, a mentally ill individual, from Reno, Nevada, confessed to killing Michelle Mitchell, a student of the University of Nevada (Possley, 2016). The only evidence the police had was her confession and her knowledge of details about the crime that had also been released to the public (Possley, 2016). In 1980, Woods was convicted of first-degree murder (Possley, 2016). In 1985, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed her conviction and gave her a new trial but within a few months, she was convicted for the second time for life without parole (Possley, 2016). In 2013, she sought help from the Rocky Mountain Innocence Project, asking them to file a petition for DNA testing of the cigarette butt that was found near the victim's body (Possley, 2016). When the DNA was tested, it was revealed that the DNA belonged to a male but there were not able to identify the individual (Possley, 2016). On July 2014, the DNA was matched to Rodney Halbower who was also connected to 4 other murders (Possley, 2016). Cathy Woods was released in 2014 and all charges were dismissed in 2015 (Possley, 2016). They were able to re-investigate this case after the discovery of DNA