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Please see our “Did You Know?” section toward the end of this issue. As states continue to work on DNA backlog reduction, there is still a struggle due to the ongoing increase of evidence submission and the overall popularity of DNA analysis in solving criminal cases. In Los Angeles, the Police Department is currently facing a backlog of approximately 7,000 cases.
In South Carolina, “a bill that would use DNA results to help exonerate some inmates and assist police in catching suspects” has become law. “The bill allows police to sample DNA from any suspect of a crime carrying a sentence of at least five years, which will then be placed in the state's DNA databank.”
And based on a case from Alaska, one of 6 states that do not give inmates the right to obtain testing of old DNA evidence, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether prison inmates have a constitutional right to obtain the testing.
In addition to these stories you will find brief summaries of new and ongoing cases involving the use of DNA analysis. Every story is followed by a link to its original source, which you can follow for more details. In The NewsDNA backlog stalling many criminal cases
Local and state law enforcement agencies have made uneven progress in reducing a backlog of cases awaiting DNA analysis in the United States over the last four years, according to reports filed by more than 100 agencies with the National Institute of Justice.
The patchy results came despite stepped-up efforts by the federal government, including nearly $500 million in grants since 2004, to help crime laboratories reduce the backlog.
Victims' rights groups and some law enforcement officials say the untested evidence, much of it stemming from sexual assault crimes, leaves open the possibility that thousands of criminal offenders have gone unpunished or are on the loose and committing new crimes.
"That's always a concern," said Sharon Papa, an assistant chief in the Los Angeles Police Department, "because, unfortunately, oftentimes rape is a serial crime."
The problem seems most severe here in Los Angeles, where the Police Department has the largest known backlog, about 7,000 cases, including many with rape kits.
The backlog comprises a mix of open cases and solved cases awaiting analysis and entry of DNA into state and national databases.
Source: www.iht.com
House vote makes DNA bill law
The Senate voted to override the veto Monday.
But implementation of the bill, legislators said, will be delayed because the state lacks the needed funding.
The bill allows police to sample DNA from any suspect of a crime carrying a sentence of at least five years, which will then be placed in the state's DNA databank. Police can get such samples now but must go to a judge and demonstrate probable cause, legislators said.
The bill also provides procedures to follow for those who say they were wrongly convicted in a crime and want to prove their innocence through DNA evidence.
Source: www.greenvilleonline.com
Supreme Court will rule on rights to DNA testingThe Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether prison inmates have a constitutional right to obtain the testing of old DNA evidence that might set them free.
In the last decade, DNA evidence has convicted many defendants and freed many others. California and 43 other states, along with the District of Columbia, have adopted laws that give prisoners a right to seek the testing of DNA evidence in the government's files.
The court voted to take up a case from Alaska, one of six states that do not give inmates this right. Along with a second man, William G. Osborne was convicted of kidnapping, rape and assault in a 1993 attack on a prostitute outside Anchorage. His lawyer did not seek the testing of a condom found near the scene. After his conviction, Osborne sued to obtain testing of the condom. State lawyers opposed the motion, but in April, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Osborne had a right to have the material tested because it might prove his innocence.
The case, District Attorney's Office vs. Osborne, will be heard early next year. The justices will decide whether the constitution empowers inmates to obtain testing of old evidence that might free them. The case is from Alaska, one of six states that do not give that right.
Source: www.latimes.com
New and Ongoing Stories Involving the Use of DNA EvidenceUtah - A state scientist told jurors Thursday there's just a one in 1.7 trillion chance that blood on a $1 bill doesn't belong to Glenn Howard Griffin, who is on trial for a 1984 killing in Brigham City.
Chief forensic scientist Pilar Shortsleeve, of Utah's Bureau of Forensic Services, said she analyzed the nuclear DNA from the bill in 2005 at the state's Salt Lake City crime lab, where the bill has been stored since the murder. "The blood sample from the $1 bill matched and could have originated from the same donor [Griffin]," Shortsleeve said. Griffin, 51, faces the death penalty if convicted of capital murder in the killing of 22-year-old Bradley Newell Perry. Source: www.sltrib.com
Florida - The Panama City Police Department announces the arrest of a local resident on five counts of Burglary. David Lee Atkinson was located and arrested after this agency received a confirmation hit on DNA samples that were sent to FDLE for analysis. The matches linked Atkinson to five separate Burglaries that occurred over the last several months. Source: www.wtvynews4.com
Texas - On March 9, 1971, Randell Lee Harvey left his home in the Heights for the last time to ride his bike to work at a Fina gas station in the Oak Forest area about three miles away.
Two and a half years later, his skeletal remains turned up in a southwest Houston boat shed, among the many victims of notorious serial killer Dean Corll — the man who went on a sadistic sexual rampage targeting teenage boys from 1970 until 1973. Last week, Harvey was officially identified — after 35 years of anonymity in the morgue at the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office. DNA tests, skeletal analysis and circumstantial evidence helped lead to Harvey's official identification. Source: www.chron.com
Nevada - Skeletal remains found in 1984 near the Mustang Ranch brothel have been identified as those of a Reno man killed in 1982, Storey County sheriff's officials said Wednesday. Lt. Kenneth Quirk said the remains found in the foothills near the brothel were of Theadore "Ted" Allen, 32, identified last week through DNA. Source: www.rgj.com
New York - A Hempstead Village suspect who escaped after committing a violent home invasion and the robbery of a Chinese food deliveryman was caught after Nassau police detectives found traces of his DNA at both crime scenes, police said. Out on parole for armed robbery, Steven Johnson, 26, of 100 Terrace Ave., Hempstead Village, was charged in both crimes. His DNA was in a law enforcement DNA database due to his prior conviction. Source: www.newsday.com
Arkansas - A Fort Smith man in prison for a sexual assault has been linked to a rape case from February 2004 by DNA, according to authorities. Source: www.swtimes.com
Michigan - Oakland County Sheriff's detectives said Friday they've cracked a 1985 slaying of a township motel clerk with the aid of DNA evidence left at the scene 23 years ago. Mitrochondrial DNA, in the form of hair samples found at the scene, were recently linked to Walter Hardeman, 42, who is related to Kenneth Holyfield, 49, who was working as a hotel security guard at the time, said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. The man's DNA was in a federal file because he has been in and out of jail on various charges since 1985. Source: www.detnews.com
InternationalUK - A “full, pure” DNA profile matching that of a murder suspect was found on the blood-stained clothing of the elderly neighbour he is accused of killing, a jury has heard.
William James Stevenson (44) is standing trial at Belfast Crown Court for the murder 20 years ago of his neighbour Elizabeth Smyth.
Giving evidence was forensic scientist Stephen Green. He revealed he tested items including Ms Smyth’s underwear and a jacket belonging to Stevenson.
He also secured DNA profiles from both the deceased and the accused from fingernail clippings before conducting analysis on clothes linked to the murder. Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Did You Know?
A Discussion of Automation for the Forensic DNA Laboratory
Although laboratory automation holds the promise of increasing sample throughput, in practice this does not alleviate the burden on laboratory staff. Rather it shifts the focus of the analyst’s efforts from sample preparation to sample analysis.
Automation is commonly viewed by the forensics community as a way of increasing the efficiency and throughput of DNA extraction as well as other processes in laboratory workflow (such as qPCR setup, Normalization, STR setup, etc.). Initially considered as a way of decreasing the backlogs of database samples that plagued many labs, automation is now being adopted as a way of keeping pace with the increasing number of casework samples submitted to laboratories for analysis.
There are several important questions to ask when making a decision to purchase an automated system for the laboratory.
For more on this discussion, please go to:
Source: www.forensicmag.com
The DNA Informant is a free bi-weekly email newsletter, published by DNA Labs International. DNA Labs International is a private, ISO 17025 Accredited, Forensic Serology and DNA Identity Testing Laboratory, founded in 2004 by a Board Certified Fellow in Molecular Biology with over two decades of experience in Forensic Serology and DNA Analysis in United States Crime Labs. Our primary mission is to help our clients identify criminals within their jurisdiction by providing timely, accurate and cost effective DNA testing results. To do this we created an organization based on industry best practices from over 20 State Crime Labs around the United States. We are located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, just minutes from the Fort Lauderdale airport. DNA Labs International’s services are now available for individual cases and outsourcing contracts. Please keep us in mind as you start to consider your outsourcing needs, regular and rush cases and DNA case review. Editor: Karen Daurie |
