When DNA comes up in a criminal investigation, people listen. DNA is “the gold standard” of forensic science, nearly beyond question when it comes to a criminal conviction or exoneration. Ma... Read more
GOVERNMENT is moving towards creating a proper deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) database with law enforcement officers first in line and mandated under law to provide tissue samples as the State... Read more
A woman’s body is found in London. DNA turns up a hit, yet the suspect apparently died weeks before the alleged victim. Here, forensic scientist Dr Mike Silverman tells the story of on... Read more
For 19 years, Gerard Richardson sat in prison in New Jersey wondering how forensics experts had got his case so wrong. His conviction for a 1994 murder was based on a bite mark on the victim... Read more
2013 was a record-breaking year for exonerations in the United States, according to statistics compiled by the National Registry of Exonerations. At least 87 people were set free for crimes... Read more
Potential for the contamination of forensic DNA evidence has been highlighted by the Meredith Kercher murder trial. But just how much of a problem is it and what lessons should be drawn? The... Read more
A judge ruled Tuesday that DNA evidence that led to accused Grim Sleeper serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr. was lawfully obtained from a pizza slice, cups and napkins seized by a police offic... Read more
The crime lab technician mislabeled samples, using “the victim’s name instead of suspect’s name,” her evaluation said. Her supervisors disqualified her from testifying in court becaus... Read more
Genetic material is the smoking gun of the modern crime scene. Juries in criminal trials are often encouraged to think of DNA profiling as an exact science, in which telltale traces of skin,... Read more
Rape cases are notoriously hard to prosecute in Pakistan. Under current law, victims must produce four witnesses — all male, adult, and pious — to bring rape allegations to trial... Read more