DNA

The emergence of DNA testing has resulted in the exoneration of many people convicted of crimes. The ACLU (2011) has stated that 17 people on death row were exonerated as of September, 2011. A project in Virginia found 33 individuals convicted of sexual assaults who between 1973-1987 who were still incarcerated in 2012 and whose innocence was demonstrated by DNA testing (Michaels, 2012). DNA testing has proven effective at uncovering since instances of justice gone unserved, because of the unique nature of DNA testing.

Each person's DNA is unique, as a genetic fingerprint. This is the main value that DNA testing has in forensics. Often, before DNA testing was introduced, convictions could be made on the basis of anything from fabricated evidence to weak witnesses. There has always been a certain percentage of instances where innocent people were convicted, even in capital cases. DNA testing, however, has been used...
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