Forensic Nightmare: The Perils of Touch DNA

By Ammoland

By Michelle Malkin

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Have you heard of “touch DNA?”

This mundane, yet menacing phenomenon exposes the double-edged sword of forensic science. With just an innocent handshake, an indirect transfer of epithelial cells, you could find yourself suspected of heinous crimes, charged with rape or convicted of murder.

This year, I’ll be using my syndicated column and new investigative show on CRTV.com to shed light on the use and abuse of touch DNA in the criminal justice system. Detection methods involving tinier and tinier DNA samples have advanced rapidly during the last three decades.

But the mere presence of DNA does not prove a crime happened. It does not tell you how or when the material got to its discovered location. Contrary to Hollywood crime show oversimplifications, DNA is not a synonym for “guilty.”

You may be familiar with a few high-profile cases where touch DNA led investigators astray.

Trace amounts of DNA on a knife and bra clasp in 2007 were key to American student Amanda Knox’s prosecution and conviction on charges of murdering her roommate in Italy. But when American forensic expert …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand