Dna Cold Case Solved
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Used as Evidence in Solving Criminal Cold Cases
Perry Hawn
Hertzing University
June 16, 2013
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Used as Evidence in Solving Criminal Cold Cases
Imagine it is a beautiful spring morning and you are walking along when suddenly a man wearing a ski mask and gloves jumps out from behind the bushes and your life is forever changed after this man drags you by your hair, behind the bushes, and proceeds to violently assault you. By some miracle you survive the attack and call the police. However, because this man was wearing a mask and gloves the police have no way of immediately identifying the perpetrator. You are taken to the nearest hospital where they take swabs from your vaginal area in hopes to collect enough Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) to create a sample that can be added to the “Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)” (May & McIntyre, 2002, p. v). A few years have passed and you hear a knock on your front door. It is a police detective who has come to your home to tell you that an arrest has been made in your case based on a DNA match made from a mouth swab taken from a man who was arrested a few days earlier for robbery.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an argument in favor of the June ninth United States Supreme Court decision where five of the nine justices sitting agreed that taking DNA samples collected from those who are suspected of having committed a crime does not violate the fourth amendment of the constitution protecting Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures (Kirkland, 2013). The decision opened the door for police and other authorized law enforcement agencies to collect D.N.A. samples from suspects at the time of arrest so that the suspects D.N.A. can be used to possibly solve cold cases (St. Martin, 2013). Additionally, this paper will argue that using D.N.A. as evidence has multiple benefits like it is infallible because each person’s D.N.A. is unique with the exception of
Perry Hawn
Hertzing University
June 16, 2013
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Used as Evidence in Solving Criminal Cold Cases
Imagine it is a beautiful spring morning and you are walking along when suddenly a man wearing a ski mask and gloves jumps out from behind the bushes and your life is forever changed after this man drags you by your hair, behind the bushes, and proceeds to violently assault you. By some miracle you survive the attack and call the police. However, because this man was wearing a mask and gloves the police have no way of immediately identifying the perpetrator. You are taken to the nearest hospital where they take swabs from your vaginal area in hopes to collect enough Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) to create a sample that can be added to the “Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)” (May & McIntyre, 2002, p. v). A few years have passed and you hear a knock on your front door. It is a police detective who has come to your home to tell you that an arrest has been made in your case based on a DNA match made from a mouth swab taken from a man who was arrested a few days earlier for robbery.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an argument in favor of the June ninth United States Supreme Court decision where five of the nine justices sitting agreed that taking DNA samples collected from those who are suspected of having committed a crime does not violate the fourth amendment of the constitution protecting Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures (Kirkland, 2013). The decision opened the door for police and other authorized law enforcement agencies to collect D.N.A. samples from suspects at the time of arrest so that the suspects D.N.A. can be used to possibly solve cold cases (St. Martin, 2013). Additionally, this paper will argue that using D.N.A. as evidence has multiple benefits like it is infallible because each person’s D.N.A. is unique with the exception of
References: Spitzer, E. (2013). Eliot Spitzer Quotes. Retrieved from Brainy Quotes website: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/eliotspitz481648.html State of North Carolina v. Linwood Early Forte, 01 S. Ct. 16 (Supreme Court of North Carolina 2003). Retrieved from http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/.../Briefs/Forte,%20Linwood.doc St. Martin, G. (2013, June 5). 3Qs: SC upholds routine DNA tests by police. Retrieved June 9, 2013, from news@Northeastern website: http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2013/06/3qs-supreme-court-dna-tests/ Temple-Raston, D. (2008, January 28). FBI 's New Technology Revolutionizes DNA Analysis. Retrieved June 13, 2013, from NPR website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18435256 Van der Sijde, M. (2013). DNA for dummies. Retrieved from DNA for dummies website: http://www.dnafordummies.nl/historie_en.php What Every Law officer should know about collecting DNA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2013, from ncjrs.gov website: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/bc000614.pdf