Author AThornton

In a Future Tense piece, Rebecca Wexler examines the advantages of defendants having access to the software code used to convict them, such as the code used in DNA software or forensic devices.

The FBI flagged a common formula used before juries to communicate the likelihood of a DNA match being duplicable for “minor discrepancies.” A study conducted found that the numbers used to determine the likelihood of another match were miscalculated based on population. As a… Continue Reading →

The petitioner, an individual on Ohio’s death row, is challenging an Ohio law “that blocks defendants in capital cases from appealing a trial judge’s decision on post-conviction DNA decisions to an appellate court.” This law does not exist for individuals convicted… Continue Reading →

In California, Proposition 47 was passed in 2014 to reduce many low level, nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors; the law also applies retroactively. Proposition 47 did not address what should happen to DNA samples in these cases, but the 4th Circuit… Continue Reading →

A man known as “the Creeper” is suspected of breaking into over 40 homes in the Greater Miami region. He is known for standing over his victims and watching them sleep, and has become more emboldened to sexually assault some… Continue Reading →

Learn about the process that goes into creating a forensic portrait from morgue photographs.

In 1985, fifteen year-old Kristina Wesselman was raped and murdered. In 2000, investigators submitted DNA from the crime scene to the national database hoping that a hit would come up. In 2015, Michael Jones submitted DNA for a domestic violence… Continue Reading →

The DNA test results of the alleged victim’s undergarments and body show no trace of Patrick Kane’s DNA.

This bill would allow police to collect the DNA during the booking procedure. The District Attorney believes that this bill is crucial in identifying violent offenders and preventing future crime. Thirty states currently have bills in place that allow for the… Continue Reading →

This ID supports the government’s theory that the students, who were engaging in a political protest, were kidnapped by local police, who handed the students over to a criminal gang, who then killed and burned the bodies. Forty-one student remains have… Continue Reading →