The book can run a little long with its description of science and legal codes, but the moments where concepts are illustrated with actual examples of people wronged through faulty DNA evidence are very effective.
In that sense, this book is a necessary reality check, showing how flawed DNA can be as evidence through bias, human error and outright fraud. (makes bad pun, puts on sunglasses) YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!! (classic rock song plays)".
The book can run a little long with its description of science and legal codes, but the moments where We readers of course associate forensic DNA analysis with awful crime procedural TV shows and think of it as an infallible sort of wizardry. We readers of course associate forensic DNA analysis with awful crime procedural TV shows and think of it as an infallible sort of wizardry.
Inside the Cell exposes the truth about forensic DNA, and shows us what it will take to harness the power of genetic identification in service of accuracy and fairness.more Erin Murphy exposes the dark side of forensic DNA testing: crime labs that receive little oversight and produce inconsistent results prosecutors who push to test smaller and poorer-quality samples, inviting error and bias law-enforcement officers who compile massive, unregulated, and racially skewed DNA databases and industry lobbyists who push policies of "stop and spit."ĭNA testing is rightly seen as a transformative technological breakthrough, but we should be wary of placing such a powerful weapon in the hands of the same broken criminal justice system that has produced mass incarceration, privileged government interests over personal privacy, and all too often enforced the law in a biased or unjust manner. But when the science goes rogue, it can lead to a gross miscarriage of justice. We think of DNA forensics as an infallible science that catches the bad guys and exonerates the innocent. But there was just one problem - Sutton was innocent. His case looked like many others - arrest, swab, match, conviction.
He was five inches shorter and 65 pounds lighter than the suspect described by the victim, but at trial a lab analyst testified that his DNA was found at the crime scene. We think of DNA forensics as an infallible Josiah Sutton was convicted of rape. Inside the Cell exposes the truth about forensic DNA, and shows us what it will take to harness the power of genetic identification in service of accuracy and fairness.Josiah Sutton was convicted of rape.