The powerful and contentious study of DNA, the substance that makes up the biological code of most creatures, is one of the many new instruments that science has supplied for the investigation of forensic evidence. It also known as DNA profiling, studies DNA contained in tangible evidence such as saliva, hair, and sperm to see if it can be linked to DNA collected from specific people. In criminal prosecutions, DNA analysis has emerged as a regular kind of evidence. It is frequently used in civil proceedings, notably in matters requiring a determination of parentage or identity.
USAGE OF DNA FOR ANALYSIS -
DNA may be used to spot potential offenders and connect individuals to a crime by showing they were present in a specific location. DNA profiling also improves the criminal justice system’s efficiency. Spectator reports are untrustworthy, especially under high-pressure circumstances such as during a crime’s commission. Memory abnormalities can put fear in eyewitness evidence, according to academics in the study “The Neuroscience of Memory: Implications for the Courtroom.” DNA, on the other hand, is scientifically correct and hence more challenging to deny.
The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is the most used type of DNA analysis (PCR). Investigators have been able to successfully evaluate evidence samples of varying quality and quantity thanks to PCR. Countless copies of extremely little quantities of DNA are produced by the PCR process.
If the DNA sample of an accused’s specimen matches that of the evidential sample, the accused remains a prospective source of the specimen. Because just a subset of STR markers is examined, there is a chance that another person has the same DNA profile. If the genes in the DNA sample are uncommon, the profile may be traced to just a few people in a given community, increasing the possibility that the suspect is indeed the source of the evidence. As a result, the importance of matching profiles must be assessed using well-established statistical principles.
APPLICATION OF DNA IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
While Swiss scientist Friedrich Miescher identified DNA in the 1860s, it was only after 1953 that biologists James Watson and Francis Crick, established that DNA existed as a three-dimensional double helix. Following that, DNA research and applications accelerated. By the 1980s, laboratories started utilising DNA to determine parentage in disputed situations.
In 1986, police requested a young geneticist called Alec Jeffreys, who had created the genetic fingerprint two years ago, to help them solve a murder mystery. In this case, two 15-year-old girls were sexually raped and slaughtered. An adolescent guy with learning difficulties was charged with the offense. In truth, he admitted to only one killing, not both. The police engaged Jeffreys and the crew to show that the adolescent was responsible for both deaths. They couldn’t do it. Instead, they established that the youngster executed neither offences. With no leads in hand, investigators and Jeffreys began creating DNA profiles of individuals in the region. When it was discovered that a local baker called Colin Pitchfork had bragged about submitting a friend’s DNA, authorities apprehended him. Pitchfork’s DNA was successfully matched with that recovered at the crime site by Jeffreys and his colleagues.
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