Forensic scientists play a critical role in our criminal justice system. The stakes aren’t just missing a deadline, rather, it comes down to life and death. The takeaways from these described cases highlight critical lessons on the accuracy of forensic DNA analysis.
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A criminal defense lawyer claims that officials have withheld information that could reveal “systemic failures” at the state police forensic lab and has filed a lawsuit against Maine for the release of those documents.
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Lori Nesson, an honors student at Columbus’ Eastmoor High School, was found deceased on Sept. 28, 1974, on the west side of Reynoldsburg. She had last been seen after a school football game the night before. Constrained by the technology available at the time, the case grew cold.
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Experts working for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office have identified a woman whose body was found in the Mahoning River this past summer, and authorities are asking for the public’s help in determining what happened to her.
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After a successful appeal by the defendant, state attorneys have filed a motion to reconsider the use and evaluation of probabilistic genotyping software TrueAllele in the case of Corey Pickett, a man charged with murder in New Jersey.
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This week, the New South Wales Police Force launched a DNA collection pilot program in the hopes of finding answers to the 769 long-term missing persons cases plaguing the region. According to the agency, NSW has approximately 330 unidentified bodies or human remains cases.
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The potential of genetics is perhaps unprecedented, but members of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) warn in a new article that the technology may never get that far if we don’t take action now against the compulsory collection of DNA performed by multiple countries, including the United States.
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Fewer sexual assault evidence kits were submitted to the state for testing last year, according to an annual report from the Idaho State Police.
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On June 26, 1984, the Fort Myers Police Department responded to a call of shots being fired in the area of Palm Ave and Lincoln Blvd. Upon arrival, officers located Claretha Gibbs, who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
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A crime lab in California has found unknown male DNA on the knife Pervis Payne is accused of using to murder Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, and non-fatally stab her 4-year-old son.
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