34 ms·

You think the cold case sample will have somehow been contaminated by the prisoner’s DNA?

• bsder 3y ago
  This isn't going to be like a rape kit where you will have an active case to attach the evidence to. You're not going to hold a biological sample which requires storage and possibly refrigeration indefinitely from everyone who gets arrested. You're going to take the swab, run it through PCR, and database the markers. PCR easily picks up unrelated people: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/04/19/framed-for-murder-by-his-own-dna https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/04/19/framed-for-mur... Contamination is hard to avoid under good circumstances. Taking swabs from everyone arrested is not going to be done under "good" circumstances most of the time.
  • ummonk 3y ago
    If you get a positive match then you can run a better analysis on the convicted prisoner's DNA. Also, at least the states in the linked article only do it for those who're convicted of certain crimes, not merely those who are arrested.
    • bsder 3y ago
      And what if the same contamination matches? I will have to pay for a lawyer to dispute the evidence. Will the public defender routinely use an independent lab? Also, Alabama applies it to arrestees for felonies--effectively any drug charge. That means "Arresting officer smelled weed" gets your DNA scooped even if you are later found innocent.
• lazide 3y ago
  [https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_of_Heilbronn https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_of_Heilbronn]