German idealism is a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionary politics of the Enlightenment. The period of German idealism after Kant is also known as post-Kantian idealism or simply post-Kantianism. One scheme divides German idealists into transcendental idealists, associated with Kant and Fichte, and absolute idealists, associated with Schelling and Hegel.
As a philosophical position, idealism claims that the true objects of
knowledge are "ideal," meaning mind-dependent, as opposed to material.
The term stems from Plato's view that the "Ideas,"
the categories or concepts which our mind abstracts from our empirical
experience of particular things, are more real than the particulars
themselves, which depend on the Ideas rather than the Ideas depending on
them. In the context of German idealism, the term is ambiguous because
it was used in different ways by Kant and his successors, chief among
them Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel.
For Kant, our knowledge of external reality must conform to how
our experience of this reality is structured by our own minds in the
very act of receiving information or stimuli from it (e.g., sense data).
When we abstract from the particulars, for example to discover physical
forces underlying them or logical laws without which speech and thought
would be contradictory or impossible, we merely "discover" the
categorial or conceptual scheme which our own mind necessarily supplies
to all our experience. We do not peer into the structure of external
reality itself, as Plato believed. It remains forever inaccessible to
us.
Kant's idealism is therefore "transcendental" or "critical",
in that it examines the categorial (transcendental) structure of
possible knowledge in order to trace all knowledge claims back to their
foundations in the subject's own categorial framework. For example, Kant
argues that teleological interpretations of homeostasis and autopoiesis
in living things, though seemingly observable and thus empirically
provable (or at least probable), are a function of our own subjective
constitution projecting certain of its notions onto organized matter.
Conversely, Kant makes the same critical claim about materialist
reductionism, as it too is a function of certain "regulative" ideals
(such as the drive to reduce our experience of external plurality and
multiplicity to a minimum of fundamental laws, forces, and beings). For
the critical idealist, it is simply not possible to know whether living things are ultimately teleological or mechanical, or something else entirely.
Kant's successors agreed with Kant that the subject in its ordinary state lacks immediate knowledge of external reality (as in naive realism),
and that empirical knowledge based on sense data ultimately tells us
only about the subject's own categorial organization of this data. But
they often interpreted this Kantian limitation on ordinary
knowledge as a challenge, to be met by a more complete theory of
knowledge. Attempts at such a theory often centered on special forms of
intuition which Kant either deemed impossible or denied as appropriate
foundations for knowledge in the strict and systematic sense, for
example in the case of "spiritual" insights that cannot be observed,
shared, and tested reliably and repeatably, and thus cannot form the
basis of abstract laws about regularities in nature.
In developing these claims, philosophers like Fichte, Schelling,
and Hegel further argued that the mind-dependence of all possible
experience entails a form of absolute idealism,
the position that the ultimate nature of reality is ideal or mental, as
in Platonism. They often viewed Kant's transcendental or critical
idealism as a necessary and admirable critique of philosophical
"dogmatism," but as leaving the critique of knowledge unfinished, in an
intolerable state of dualism, agnosticism, and even nihilism. The
post-Kantian German idealists have often been described as monists, emanationists, and nondualists as a result.
Immanuel Kant's work purports to bridge the two dominant philosophical schools in the 18th century: rationalism, which holds that knowledge could be attained by reason alone a priori (prior to experience), and empiricism, which holds that knowledge could be arrived at only through the senses a posteriori (after experience), as expressed by philosopher David Hume, whose skepticism Kant sought to rebut.
Kant's solution was to propose that, while we depend on objects
of experience to know anything about the world, we can investigate a priori the form that our thoughts can take, determining the boundaries of possible experience. Kant calls this approach "critical philosophy". It is less concerned with setting out positive doctrine than with critiquing the limits to the theories we can set out.
According to Immanuel Kant,
the human mind is not capable of directly experiencing the external
world as it is in itself. Instead, our experience of the world is
mediated by the a priori categories and concepts that are inherent in
the human mind. These categories and concepts, which Kant calls
"transcendental" because they are necessary for any experience,
structure and organize our experience of the world, but they do not
provide us with direct access to the thing-in-itself, which is the
ultimate reality.
Kant's transcendental idealism has two main components. The first
is the idea that the human mind is not a passive recipient of sensory
information, but is actively involved in shaping our experience of the
world. The second is the idea that the nature of reality is ultimately
unknowable to us, because our experience of the world is mediated by the
structures of our own minds.
Kant restricted the domain of knowledge to objects of possible
experience. His three most notable successors, however, would react
against such stringent limits.
In 1787, Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi addressed, in his book On Faith, or Idealism and Realism,
Kant's concept of "thing-in-itself". Jacobi agreed that the objective
thing-in-itself cannot be directly known. However, he stated, it must be
taken on belief. A subject must believe that there is a real object in
the external world that is related to its subjective representation.
This belief is a result of revelation or immediately known, but
logically unproved, truth. The real existence of a thing-in-itself is
revealed or disclosed to the observing subject. In this way, the subject
directly knows the ideal, subjective representations that appear in the
mind, and strongly believes in the real, objective thing-in-itself that
exists outside the mind. By presenting the external world as an object
of belief, Jacobi aimed to legitimize belief – or faith – in general.
Reinhold
Karl Leonhard Reinhold published two volumes of Letters Concerning the Kantian Philosophy
in 1790 and 1792. He tried to prove Kant's assertion that humans and
other animals can know only phenomena, never things-in-themselves. In
order to establish his proof, Reinhold stated an axiom that could not possibly be doubted. From this axiom, all knowledge of consciousness
could be deduced. His axiom was: "Representation is distinguished in
consciousness by the subject from the subject and object, and is
referred to both."
He thereby started, not from definitions, but, from a principle
that referred to representations in a conscious mind. In this way, he
analyzed knowledge into (1) the knowing subject, or observer, (2) the
known object, and (3) the image or representation in the subject's mind.
Schulze
Gottlob Ernst Schulze
objected to Kant's critical philosophy as self-contradictory. According
to Kant himself, the law of cause and effect only applies to the
phenomena, not between phenomena and things-in-themselves. Yet, Kant
directly claims that the thing-in-itself is the cause of phenomena.
Fichte
After Schulze had seriously criticized the notion of a thing-in-itself, Johann Gottlieb Fichte
produced a philosophy similar to Kant's, but without a thing-in-itself.
Fichte asserted that our representations are the productions of the
"transcendental ego", that is, the knowing subject. For him, there is no
external thing-in-itself. On the contrary, the subject is the source of
the external thing, object, or non-ego.
Fichte claimed that this truth was apparent by means of
intellectual intuition. That is, the truth can be immediately seen by
the use of reason.
Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
(1775–1854) claimed that the Fichte's "I" needs the Not-I, because
there is no subject without object, and vice versa. So subjective
representations are identical to the extended objects which are external
to the mind. According to Schelling's "absolute identity" or
"indifferentism", there is no difference between the subjective and the
objective, that is, the ideal and the real.
Schleiermacher
Friedrich Schleiermacher
was a theologian who asserted that the ideal and the real are united in
God. He understood the ideal as the subjective mental activities of
thought, intellect, and reason. The real was, for him, the objective
area of nature and physical being. Schleiermacher declared that the
unity of the ideal and the real is manifested in God. The two divisions
do not have a productive or causal effect on each other. Rather, they
are both equally existent in the absolute transcendental entity which is
God.
Maimon
Salomon Maimon
influenced German idealism by criticizing Kant's dichotomies, claiming
that Kant did not explain how opposites such as sensibility and
understanding could relate to each other. As he clearly saw, this
presented a serious skeptical objection to the Kantian project:
By thus pointing out these problematic dualisms, Maimon and the neo-Humean
critics left a foothold open for skepticism within the framework of
Kant’s own philosophy. For now the question arose how two such
heterogeneous realms as the intellectual and the sensible could be known
to correspond with one another. The problem was no longer how we know
that our representations correspond with things in themselves but how we
know that a priori concepts apply to a posteriori intuitions.
Maimon attempted to resolve this problem by introducing the concept
of "infinite mind". For this reason, Maimon can be said to have returned
to pre-Kantian transcendent speculation. In the words of Frederick C. Beiser,
"by reviving metaphysical ideas from within the problematic of the
critical philosophy, he gave them a new legitimacy and opened up the
possibility for a critical resurrection of metaphysics.
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel responded to Kant's philosophy by suggesting that the unsolvable contradictions given by Kant in his Antinomies of Pure Reason
applied more broadly to reality as such. Given that abstract thought is
thus limited, he went on to consider how historical formations give
rise to different philosophies and ways of thinking. In The Phenomenology of Spirit, he went on to trace formations of self-consciousness
through history and the importance of other people in the awakening of
self-consciousness. Thus Hegel introduced two important ideas to
metaphysics and philosophy: the integral importance of history and intersubjectivity.
Hegel also claims to sublate the traditional concept of God with his concept of absolute spirit. Baruch Spinoza,
who changed the anthropomorphic concept of God into that of an
underlying substance, was praised by Hegel whose concept of absolute
knowing fulfilled a similar function. Hegel claimed that "You are either
a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all".
Neo-Kantianism emphasizes the critical dimension of Kant's philosophy
as against the perceived excesses of German Idealism. It was the
dominant philosophy in Germany during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Although there was considerable disagreement among the
neo-Kantians themselves, they shared a commitment to some version of the
"transcendental method".
In England, during the nineteenth century, philosopher Thomas Hill Green embraced German Idealism in order to support Christian monotheism as a basis for morality. His philosophy attempted to account for an eternal consciousness or mind that was similar to Berkeley's concept of God.
John Rodman, in the introduction to his book on Thomas Hill Green's
political theory, wrote: "Green is best seen as an exponent of German
idealism as an answer to the dilemma posed by the discrediting of
Christianity...."
"German idealism was initially introduced to the broader community of American literati through a Vermont intellectual, James Marsh. Studying theology with Moses Stuart at Andover Seminary in the early 1820s, Marsh sought a Christian theology that would 'keep alive the heart in the head.' " Some American theologians and churchmen found value in German Idealism's theological concept of the infinite Absolute Ideal or Geist [Spirit]. It provided a religious alternative to the traditional Christian concept of the Deity. The Absolute Ideal Weltgeist
[World Spirit] was invoked by American ministers as they "turned to
German idealism in the hope of finding comfort against English
positivism and empiricism." German idealism was a substitute for religion after the Civil War when
"Americans were drawn to German idealism because of a 'loss of faith in
traditional cosmic explanations.' " "By the early 1870s, the infiltration of German idealism was so pronounced that Walt Whitman declared in his personal notes that 'Only Hegel is fit for America — is large enough and free enough.' "
Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution.
Some of Egypt's
estimated two hundred thousand to one million street children - both
boys and girls - were exploited in prostitution and forced begging.
Local gangs were, at times, involved in this exploitation. Egyptian
children were recruited for domestic and agricultural labor; some of
these children faced conditions indicative of involuntary servitude,
such as restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and
physical or sexual abuse.
In addition, wealthy men from Persian Gulf region
reportedly traveled to Egypt to purchase "temporary" or "summer
marriages" with Egyptian females, including girls who are under the age
of 18. These arrangements were often facilitated by the females' parents
and marriage brokers and were a form of commercial sexual exploitation
of children. Child sex tourism occurs in Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor.
Egypt was a transit country for women trafficked from Uzbekistan,
Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, and other Eastern European countries to Israel
for commercial sexual exploitation. Organized crime groups are involved
in these movements.
Men and women from South and Southeast Asia may have been subjected to forced labor in Egypt. Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese, Indonesians, Filipino, and possible Sri Lankan
females migrated willingly to Egypt but may have been subjected to
forced domestic work. Some conditions they faced include no time off,
sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, withholding of wages, and
restrictions of movement. Employers may have used the domestic workers'
illegal status and lack of employment contracts as a coercive tool.
Some of the immigrants and refugees who engaged in prostitution
may have been coerced to do so. Young female Sudanese refugees,
including those under 18, may have been coerced into prostitution in
Cairo's nightclubs by family or Sudanese gang members. NGO and media
reports indicated some Egyptians were forced to work in Jordan and
experienced the withholding of passports, forced overtime, non-payment
of wages, and restrictions of movement.
In 2010, the Egyptian government approved new legislation
criminalizing trafficking in persons for labor and sexual exploitation.
In 2009/2010, the government made its first two convictions under the
2008 anti-trafficking amendments to the Child Law and raised awareness
on "summer marriages", which are often used to facilitate commercial
sexual exploitation. According to the U.S. government, the Egyptian
government's lack of formal victim identification procedures and
protection services allowed unidentified victims of trafficking to be
punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being
trafficked.
Seasonal or temporary marriage
There
is a phenomenon in Egypt known as "seasonal" or "temporary" marriages.
This is when young women and girls - particularly from poor families -
are married off to men from Arab states of the Persian Gulf to provide sexual services to non-Egyptian men. Pursuant to a survey that was conducted by the National Council for
Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), 67% of 2,000 of families selected from a
sample in Al Hawamdia, Al Badrashein and Abu Almonros were personally
aware of child marriages. The survey also showed that the purpose of
these marriages is mainly economic.
In some instances, Egyptian girls may return to the husbands home
country and work as a maid. The girls that stay in Egypt are often
shunned from society and struggle to remarry the orthodox way,
especially in cases where the women has given birth to the husband's
child.
Egypt: Law No. 103 of 1976 also known as the New Tourism Marriage
Law was enacted to deter and protect young girls from
seasonal/temporary marriage. The law requires documentation of marriage
contracts, requiring a foreign man to present a certificate from his
country's embassy stating that there are no impediments to the effecting
marriage, a deposit is also made in the girl's name, as security for
her when the women is 25 years or more younger than him.
The minimum age for marriage was also raised to 18. The special rapporteur
Joy Ngozi Ezeilo states that in practice, this law is largely
ineffective as an arbitrary number of seasonal/temporary marriages
between Egyptian women and non-Egyptian men continue to take place.
Institutional framework
The
National Coordinating Committee directs all anti-trafficking efforts at
the national level. The National Coordinating Committee is directed by
the Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and is made up of
relevant representatives of ministries, such as the Ministry of
Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Manpower and
Migration, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Ministry of
Tourism. The committee drafts legislation and a plan on fighting trafficking
persons in Egypt, by combatting illegal migrants groups and identifying
human trafficking activities. There has also been legislation enacted to combat human trafficking and
protect those illegal migrants by diminishing their suffering.
The National Council of Women (NCW), was established in 2000 to
monitor accomplishments and to strengthen women's role in society. In
2007, the Prime Minister launched a coordinating committee to combat
trafficking in humans, namely women and children. This committee aims to
review legislation and policies implemented to prevent trafficking.
NCW also Implemented the Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) This is a specialist unit
which fights against trafficking and carries out follow up studies and
reports on trafficking of girls and women. In April 2009, NCW issued a report on violence against women in Egypt,
which recognized "seasonal" or "temporary" marriage as a possible form
of human trafficking and suggested that decision makers determine
whether it should be considered as human trafficking.
In 2016, the Government implemented a 2016-2021 plan to fight and
prevent trafficking. This was approved by the prime minister however
there were little means and resources allocated towards its
implementation. In 2016 the national anti trafficking committee and the
national committee merged aiming to prevent illegal migration, the
government also launched 90 anti-trafficking campaigns. In June 2016, the government ran conferences about migration,
smuggling, and human trafficking issues affecting Africa and Europe.
Surprise inspections were carried out by the Ministry of Manpower
particularly at work sites for foreign workers, though the ministry did
not report potential trafficking victims.
Prosecution (2010)
Egypt's
parliament has passed legislation criminalizing all forms of human
trafficking and prescribing penalties from three to 15 years'
imprisonment and up to life imprisonment if aggravating circumstances
are present. Fines range from $9,000 to $36,000 for offenses. Amendments
to the Child Law (No. 126 of 2008) include provisions prohibiting the trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. These amendments prescribe sentences of at least five years' imprisonment.
Protection (2010)
According
to the U.S. government, Egyptian officials did not employ formal
procedures to identify victims of trafficking and refer them to
providers of care; as a result, trafficking victims - including many
street children and women arrested for prostitution - were often treated
as criminals rather than victims. Some children may be sent to juvenile
detention centers, which are usually in poor conditions. Others may be
subject to incarceration with adults, despite the Child Law which
prohibits this practice.
Border security personnel in the Sinai continued efforts to
interdict undocumented immigrants, occasionally killing some of them,
while showing no evidence of efforts to identify possible trafficking
victims among this vulnerable population. As of 2009, the Ministry of
Social Solidarity operated 19 drop-in centers for street children,
women, and the disabled that may have provided care to trafficking
victims.
The NCCM operates a 24-hour hotline to respond to complaints of
child abuse. Specialized care for adults or foreign victims was not
provided as of 2009. In prisons or detention centers, law enforcement
officers may have further mistreated these victims through verbal,
physical, and sexual abuse. Foreign victims are not offered legal
alternatives to removal to countries in which they may face hardship or
retribution. The government does not actively encourage victims to
assist in investigations against their traffickers.
Prevention (2010)
The
government made progress in preventing "summer marriages" in the
reporting period, but did not otherwise undertake efforts to prevent
human trafficking. The government was mandated by the newly passed law
to create an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate anti-trafficking
enforcement activities, victim protection, and programs. The government
did not institute any other public campaigns to raise awareness on
trafficking, including any on involuntary domestic servitude.
The government made no efforts to reduce the demand for
commercial sex acts or to raise awareness of sex tourism. The government
has a well-developed birth registration and national identity card
system. There were no reports of Egyptian government's efforts to
provide anti-trafficking training for its troops before deploying them
to international peacekeeping missions.
DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting and genetic fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding.
DNA profiling is a forensic technique in criminal investigations, comparing criminal suspects' profiles to DNA evidence so as to assess the likelihood of their involvement in the crime. It is also used in paternity testing, to establish immigration eligibility, and in genealogical
and medical research. DNA profiling has also been used in the study of
animal and plant populations in the fields of zoology, botany, and
agriculture.
Starting in the mid 1970s, scientific advances allowed the use of DNA
as a material for the identification of an individual. The first patent
covering the direct use of DNA variation for forensics (US5593832A) was issued in 1997, continued from an application first filed by Jeffrey Glassberg in 1983, based upon work he had done while at Rockefeller University in the United States in 1981.
British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys independently developed a process for DNA profiling in 1984 while working in the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester.
Jeffreys discovered that a DNA examiner could establish patterns in
unknown DNA. These patterns were a part of inherited traits that could
be used to advance the field of relationship analysis. These discoveries
led to the first use of DNA profiling in a criminal case.
The process, developed by Jeffreys in conjunction with Peter Gill and Dave Werrett of the Forensic Science Service (FSS), was first used forensically in the solving of the murder of two teenagers who had been raped and murdered in Narborough, Leicestershire
in 1983 and 1986. In the murder inquiry, led by Detective David Baker,
the DNA contained within blood samples obtained voluntarily from around
5,000 local men who willingly assisted Leicestershire Constabulary
with the investigation, resulted in the exoneration of Richard
Buckland, an initial suspect who had confessed to one of the crimes, and
the subsequent conviction of Colin Pitchfork
on January 2, 1988. Pitchfork, a local bakery employee, had coerced his
coworker Ian Kelly to stand in for him when providing a blood
sample—Kelly then used a forged passport to impersonate Pitchfork.
Another coworker reported the deception to the police. Pitchfork was
arrested, and his blood was sent to Jeffreys' lab for processing and
profile development. Pitchfork's profile matched that of DNA left by the
murderer which confirmed Pitchfork's presence at both crime scenes; he
pleaded guilty to both murders. After some years, a chemical company named Imperial Chemical Industries
(ICI) introduced the first ever commercially available kit to the
world. Despite being a relatively recent field, it had a significant
global influence on both criminal justice system and society.
Variations of VNTR allele lengths in 6 individuals
Although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every person,
enough of the DNA is different that it is possible to distinguish one
individual from another, unless they are monozygotic (identical) twins. DNA profiling uses repetitive sequences that are highly variable, called variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs), in particular short tandem repeats (STRs), also known as microsatellites, and minisatellites. VNTR loci
are similar between closely related individuals, but are so variable
that unrelated individuals are unlikely to have the same VNTRs.
Before VNTRs and STRs, people like Jeffreys used a process called restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).
This process regularly used large portions of DNA to analyze the
differences between two DNA samples. RFLP was among the first
technologies used in DNA profiling and analysis. However, as technology
has evolved, new technologies, like STR, emerged and took the place of
older technology like RFLP.
The admissibility of DNA evidence in courts was disputed in the
United States in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since become more
universally accepted due to improved techniques.
When a sample such as blood or saliva is obtained, the DNA is only a small part of what is present in the sample. Before the DNA can be analyzed, it must be extracted
from the cells and purified. There are many ways this can be
accomplished, but all methods follow the same basic procedure. The cell
and nuclear membranes need to be broken up to allow the DNA to be free
in solution. Once the DNA is free, it can be separated from all other
cellular components. After the DNA has been separated in solution, the
remaining cellular debris can then be removed from the solution and
discarded, leaving only DNA. The most common methods of DNA extraction
include organic extraction (also called phenol–chloroform extraction), Chelex extraction, and solid-phase extraction. Differential extraction
is a modified version of extraction in which DNA from two different
types of cells can be separated from each other before being purified
from the solution. Each method of extraction works well in the
laboratory, but analysts typically select their preferred method based
on factors such as the cost, the time involved, the quantity of DNA
yielded, and the quality of DNA yielded.
RFLP analysis
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
RFLP stands for restriction fragment length polymorphism and, in terms
of DNA analysis, describes a DNA testing method which utilizes
restriction enzymes
to "cut" the DNA at short and specific sequences throughout the sample.
To start off processing in the laboratory, the sample has to first go
through an extraction protocol, which may vary depending on the sample
type or laboratory SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). Once the DNA
has been "extracted" from the cells within the sample and separated away
from extraneous cellular materials and any nucleases that would degrade
the DNA, the sample can then be introduced to the desired restriction
enzymes to be cut up into discernable fragments. Following the enzyme
digestion, a Southern Blot is performed. Southern Blots
are a size-based separation method that are performed on a gel with
either radioactive or chemiluminescent probes. RFLP could be conducted
with single-locus or multi-locus probes (probes which target either one
location on the DNA or multiple locations on the DNA). Incorporating the
multi-locus probes allowed for higher discrimination power for the
analysis, however completion of this process could take several days to a
week for one sample due to the extreme amount of time required by each
step required for visualization of the probes.
This
technique was developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis. PCR is now a common and
important technique used in medical and biological research labs for a
variety of applications.
PCR, or Polymerase Chain Reaction, is a widely used molecular biology technique to amplify a specific DNA sequence.
Steps of polymerase chain reaction
Amplification is achieved by a series of three steps:
1- Denaturation : In this step, the DNA is heated to 95 °C to dissociate the hydrogen bonds between the complementary base pairs of the double-stranded DNA.
2-Annealing : During this stage the reaction is cooled to 50-65 °C . This enables the primers to attach to a specific location on the single -stranded template DNA by way of hydrogen bonding.
3-Extension : A thermostable DNA polymerase which is Taq polymerase is commonly used at this step. This is done at a temperature of 72 °C . DNA polymerase adds nucleotides in the 5'-3' direction and synthesizes the complementary strand of the DNA template .
Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis on a simplified model: First, a DNA sample undergoes polymerase chain reaction with primers targeting certain STRs (which vary in lengths between individuals and their alleles). The resultant fragments are separated by size (such as electrophoresis).
The system of DNA profiling used today is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and uses simple sequences.
From country to country, different STR-based DNA-profiling systems are in use. In North America, systems that amplify the CODIS 20 core loci are almost universal, whereas in the United Kingdom the DNA-17 loci system is in use, and Australia uses 18 core markers.
The true power of STR analysis is in its statistical power of discrimination. Because the 20 loci that are currently used for discrimination in CODIS are independently assorted
(having a certain number of repeats at one locus does not change the
likelihood of having any number of repeats at any other locus), the product rule for probabilities
can be applied. This means that, if someone has the DNA type of ABC,
where the three loci were independent, then the probability of that
individual having that DNA type is the probability of having type A
times the probability of having type B times the probability of having
type C. This has resulted in the ability to generate match probabilities
of 1 in a quintillion (1x1018) or more. However, DNA database searches showed much more frequent than expected false DNA profile matches.
Y-chromosome analysis
Due
to the paternal inheritance, Y-haplotypes provide information about the
genetic ancestry of the male population. To investigate this population
history, and to provide estimates for haplotype frequencies in criminal
casework, the "Y haplotype reference database (YHRD)" has been created
in 2000 as an online resource. It currently comprises more than 300,000
minimal (8 locus) haplotypes from world-wide populations.
mtDNA can be obtained from such material as hair shafts and old bones/teeth. Control mechanism based on interaction point with data. This can be determined by tooled placement in sample.
Issues with forensic DNA samples
When people think of DNA analysis, they often think about television shows like NCIS or CSI,
which portray DNA samples coming into a lab and being instantly
analyzed, followed by the pulling up of a picture of the suspect within
minutes. However, the reality is quite different, and perfect DNA
samples are often not collected from the scene of a crime. Homicide
victims are frequently left exposed to harsh conditions before they are
found, and objects that are used to commit crimes have often been
handled by more than one person. The two most prevalent issues that
forensic scientists encounter when analyzing DNA samples are degraded
samples and DNA mixtures.
Degraded DNA
Before
modern PCR methods existed, it was almost impossible to analyze
degraded DNA samples. Methods like restriction fragment length
polymorphism (RFLP), which was the first technique used for DNA analysis
in forensic science, required high molecular weight DNA in the sample
in order to get reliable data. High molecular weight DNA, however, is
lacking in degraded samples, as the DNA is too fragmented to carry out
RFLP accurately. It was only when polymerase chain reaction techniques
were invented that analysis of degraded DNA samples were able to be
carried out. Multiplex PCR in particular made it possible to isolate and
to amplify the small fragments of DNA that are still left in degraded
samples. When multiplex PCR methods are compared to the older methods
like RFLP, a vast difference can be seen. Multiplex PCR can
theoretically amplify less than 1 ng of DNA, but RFLP had to have a
least 100 ng of DNA in order to carry out an analysis.
Low-template DNA
Low-template DNA can happen when there is less than 0.1 ng()
of DNA in a sample. This can lead to more stochastic effects (random
events) such as allelic dropout or allelic drop-in which can alter the
interpretation of a DNA profile. These stochastic effects can lead to
the unequal amplification of the 2 alleles that come from a heterozygous
individual. It is especially important to take low-template DNA into
account when dealing with a mixture of DNA sample. This is because for
one (or more) of the contributors in the mixture, they are more likely
to have less than the optimal amount of DNA for the PCR reaction to work
properly. Therefore, stochastic thresholds are developed for DNA profile
interpretation. The stochastic threshold is the minimum peak height (RFU
value), seen in an electropherogram where dropout occurs. If the peak
height value is above this threshold, then it is reasonable to assume
that allelic dropout has not occurred. For example, if only 1 peak is
seen for a particular locus in the electropherogram but its peak height
is above the stochastic threshold, then we can reasonably assume that
this individual is homozygous and is not missing its heterozygous
partner allele that otherwise would have dropped out due to having
low-template DNA. Allelic dropout can occur when there is low-template
DNA because there is such little DNA to start with that at this locus
the contributor to the DNA sample (or mixture) is a true heterozygote
but the other allele is not amplified and so it would be lost. Allelic
drop-in can also occur when there is low-template DNA because sometimes the
stutter peak can be amplified. The stutter is an artifact of PCR. During
the PCR reaction, DNA Polymerase will come in and add nucleotides off
of the primer, but this whole process is very dynamic, meaning that the
DNA Polymerase is constantly binding, popping off and then rebinding.
Therefore, sometimes DNA Polymerase will rejoin at the short tandem
repeat ahead of it, leading to a short tandem repeat that is 1 repeat
less than the template. During PCR, if DNA Polymerase happens to bind to
a locus in stutter and starts to amplify it to make lots of copies,
then this stutter product will appear randomly in the electropherogram,
leading to allelic drop-in.
MiniSTR analysis
In
instances in which DNA samples are degraded, like if there are intense
fires or all that remains are bone fragments, standard STR testing on
those samples can be inadequate. When standard STR testing is done on
highly degraded samples, the larger STR loci often drop out, and only
partial DNA profiles are obtained. Partial DNA profiles can be a
powerful tool, but the probability of a random match is larger than if a
full profile was obtained. One method that has been developed to
analyse degraded DNA samples is to use miniSTR technology. In the new
approach, primers are specially designed to bind closer to the STR
region.
In normal STR testing, the primers bind to longer sequences that
contain the STR region within the segment. MiniSTR analysis, however,
targets only the STR location, which results in a DNA product that is
much smaller.
By placing the primers closer to the actual STR regions, there is
a higher chance that successful amplification of this region will
occur. Successful amplification of those STR regions can now occur, and
more complete DNA profiles can be obtained. The success that smaller
PCR products produce a higher success rate with highly degraded samples
was first reported in 1995, when miniSTR technology was used to identify
victims of the Waco fire.
DNA mixtures
Mixtures
are another common issue faced by forensic scientists when they are
analyzing unknown or questionable DNA samples. A mixture is defined as a
DNA sample that contains two or more individual contributors. That can often occur when a DNA sample is swabbed from an item that is
handled by more than one person or when a sample contains both the
victim's and the assailant's DNA. The presence of more than one
individual in a DNA sample can make it challenging to detect individual
profiles, and interpretation of mixtures should be performed only by
highly trained individuals. Mixtures that contain two or three
individuals can be interpreted with difficulty. Mixtures that contain
four or more individuals are much too convoluted to get individual
profiles. One common scenario in which a mixture is often obtained is in
the case of sexual assault. A sample may be collected that contains
material from the victim, the victim's consensual sexual partners, and
the perpetrator(s).
Mixtures can generally be sorted into three categories: Type A, Type B, and Type C. Type A mixtures have alleles with similar peak-heights all around, so
the contributors cannot be distinguished from each other. Type B
mixtures can be deconvoluted by comparing peak-height ratios to
determine which alleles were donated together. Type C mixtures cannot be
safely interpreted with current technology because the samples were
affected by DNA degradation or having too small a quantity of DNA
present.
When looking at an electropherogram, it is possible to determine
the number of contributors in less complex mixtures based on the number
of peaks located in each locus. In comparison to a single source
profile, which will only have one or two peaks at each locus, a mixture
is when there are three or more peaks at two or more loci. If there are three peaks at only a single locus, then it is possible to
have a single contributor who is tri-allelic at that locus. Two person mixtures will have between two and four peaks at each locus,
and three person mixtures will have between three and six peaks at each
locus. Mixtures become increasingly difficult to deconvolute as the
number of contributors increases.
As detection methods in DNA profiling advance, forensic
scientists are seeing more DNA samples that contain mixtures, as even
the smallest contributor can now be detected by modern tests. The ease
in which forensic scientists have in interpenetrating DNA mixtures
largely depends on the ratio of DNA present from each individual, the
genotype combinations, and the total amount of DNA amplified. The DNA ratio is often the most important aspect to look at in
determining whether a mixture can be interpreted. For example, if a DNA
sample had two contributors, it would be easy to interpret individual
profiles if the ratio of DNA contributed by one person was much higher
than the second person. When a sample has three or more contributors, it
becomes extremely difficult to determine individual profiles.
Fortunately, advancements in probabilistic genotyping may make that sort
of determination possible in the future. Probabilistic genotyping
uses complex computer software to run through thousands of mathematical
computations to produce statistical likelihoods of individual genotypes
found in a mixture.
DNA profiling in plant:
Plant DNA profiling (fingerprinting) is a method for identifying
cultivars that uses molecular marker techniques. This method is gaining
attention due to Trade Related Intellectual property rights (TRIPs) and
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Advantages of Plant DNA profiling:
Identification, authentication, specific distinction, detecting
adulteration and identifying phytoconstituents are all possible with DNA
fingerprinting in medical plants.
DNA based markers are critical for these applications, determining the future of scientific study in pharmacognosy.
It also helps with determining the traits (such as seed size and leaf color) are likely to improve the offspring or not.
An early application of a DNA database was the compilation of a Mitochondrial DNA Concordance, prepared by Kevin W. P. Miller and John L. Dawson at the University of Cambridge from 1996 to 1999 from data collected as part of Miller's PhD thesis. There are now several DNA databases in existence around the world. Some are private, but most of the largest databases are government-controlled. The United States maintains the largest DNA database, with the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) holding over 13 million records as of May 2018. The United Kingdom maintains the National DNA Database
(NDNAD), which is of similar size, despite the UK's smaller population.
The size of this database, and its rate of growth, are giving concern
to civil liberties groups in the UK, where police have wide-ranging powers to take samples and retain them even in the event of acquittal. The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition partially addressed these concerns with part 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012,
under which DNA samples must be deleted if suspects are acquitted or
not charged, except in relation to certain (mostly serious or sexual)
offenses. Public discourse around the introduction of advanced forensic
techniques (such as genetic genealogy using public genealogy databases
and DNA phenotyping approaches) has been limited, disjointed, unfocused,
and raises issues of privacy and consent that may warrant the
establishment of additional legal protections.
The U.S. Patriot Act
of the United States provides a means for the U.S. government to get
DNA samples from suspected terrorists. DNA information from crimes is
collected and deposited into the CODIS database, which is maintained by the FBI.
CODIS enables law enforcement officials to test DNA samples from crimes
for matches within the database, providing a means of finding specific
biological profiles associated with collected DNA evidence.
When a match is made from a national DNA databank to link a crime
scene to an offender having provided a DNA sample to a database, that
link is often referred to as a cold hit. A cold hit is of value
in referring the police agency to a specific suspect but is of less
evidential value than a DNA match made from outside the DNA Databank.
FBI agents cannot legally store DNA of a person not convicted of a
crime. DNA collected from a suspect not later convicted must be
disposed of and not entered into the database. In 1998, a man residing
in the UK was arrested on accusation of burglary. His DNA was taken and
tested, and he was later released. Nine months later, this man's DNA was
accidentally and illegally entered in the DNA database. New DNA is
automatically compared to the DNA found at cold cases and, in this case,
this man was found to be a match to DNA found at a rape and assault
case one year earlier. The government then prosecuted him for these
crimes. During the trial the DNA match was requested to be removed from
the evidence because it had been illegally entered into the database.
The request was carried out. The DNA of the perpetrator, collected from victims of rape, can be
stored for years until a match is found. In 2014, to address this
problem, Congress extended a bill that helps states deal with "a
backlog" of evidence.
DNA profiling databases in Plants:
PIDS:
PIDS(Plant international DNA-fingerprinting system) is an open
source web server and free software based plant international DNA
fingerprinting system.
It manages huge amount of microsatellite DNA fingerprint data,
performs genetic studies, and automates collection, storage and
maintenance while decreasing human error and increasing efficiency.
The system may be tailored to specific laboratory needs, making
it a valuable tool for plant breeders, forensic science, and human
fingerprint recognition.
It keeps track of experiments, standardizes data and promotes inter-database communication.
It also helps with the regulation of variety quality, the
preservation of variety rights and the use of molecular markers in
breeding by providing location statistics, merging, comparison and
genetic analysis function.
Considerations in evaluating DNA evidence
When using RFLP,
the theoretical risk of a coincidental match is 1 in 100 billion
(100,000,000,000) although the practical risk is actually 1 in 1,000
because monozygotic twins are 0.2% of the human population. Moreover, the rate of laboratory error is almost certainly higher than
that and actual laboratory procedures often do not reflect the theory
under which the coincidence probabilities were computed. For example,
coincidence probabilities may be calculated based on the probabilities
that markers in two samples have bands in precisely the same
location, but a laboratory worker may conclude that similar but not
precisely-identical band patterns result from identical genetic samples
with some imperfection in the agarose gel. However, in that case, the
laboratory worker increases the coincidence risk by expanding the
criteria for declaring a match. Studies conducted in the 2000s quoted
relatively-high error rates, which may be cause for concern. In the early days of genetic fingerprinting, the necessary population
data to compute a match probability accurately was sometimes
unavailable. Between 1992 and 1996, arbitrary-low ceilings were
controversially put on match probabilities used in RFLP analysis, rather
than the higher theoretically computed ones.
Evidence of genetic relationship
It
is possible to use DNA profiling as evidence of genetic relationship
although such evidence varies in strength from weak to positive. Testing
that shows no relationship is absolutely certain. Further, while almost
all individuals have a single and distinct set of genes, ultra-rare
individuals, known as "chimeras",
have at least two different sets of genes. There have been two cases of
DNA profiling that falsely suggested that a mother was unrelated to her
children.
Fake DNA evidence
The functional analysis of genes and their coding sequences (open reading frames
[ORFs]) typically requires that each ORF be expressed, the encoded
protein purified, antibodies produced, phenotypes examined,
intracellular localization determined, and interactions with other
proteins sought. In a study conducted by the life science company Nucleix and published in the journal Forensic Science International, scientists found that an in vitro synthesized sample of DNA matching any desired genetic profile can be constructed using standard molecular biology techniques without obtaining any actual tissue from that person.
DNA evidence in criminal trials
Familial DNA searching
Familial
DNA searching (sometimes referred to as "familial DNA" or "familial DNA
database searching") is the practice of creating new investigative
leads in cases where DNA evidence found at the scene of a crime
(forensic profile) strongly resembles that of an existing DNA profile
(offender profile) in a state DNA database but there is not an exact
match. After all other leads have been exhausted, investigators may use
specially developed software to compare the forensic profile to all
profiles taken from a state's DNA database to generate a list of those
offenders already in the database who are most likely to be a very close
relative of the individual whose DNA is in the forensic profile.
Familial DNA database searching was first used in an investigation leading to the conviction of Jeffrey Gafoor of the murder of Lynette White
in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2003. DNA evidence was matched to
Gafoor's nephew, who at 14 years old had not been born at the time of
the murder in 1988. It was used again in 2004 to find a man who threw a brick from a motorway bridge and hit a lorry
driver, killing him. DNA found on the brick matched that found at the
scene of a car theft earlier in the day, but there were no good matches
on the national DNA database. A wider search found a partial match to an
individual; on being questioned, this man revealed he had a brother,
Craig Harman, who lived very close to the original crime scene. Harman
voluntarily submitted a DNA sample, and confessed when it matched the
sample from the brick. As of 2011, familial DNA database searching is not conducted on a
national level in the United States, where states determine how and when
to conduct familial searches. The first familial DNA search with a
subsequent conviction in the United States was conducted in Denver, Colorado, in 2008, using software developed under the leadership of Denver District AttorneyMitch Morrissey and Denver Police Department Crime Lab Director Gregg LaBerge. California was the first state to implement a policy for familial searching under then-Attorney General Jerry Brown, who later became Governor. In his role as consultant to the Familial Search Working Group of the California Department of Justice, former Alameda County
Prosecutor Rock Harmon is widely considered to have been the catalyst
in the adoption of familial search technology in California. The
technique was used to catch the Los Angeles serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper" in 2010. It was not a witness or informant that tipped off law enforcement to
the identity of the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, who had eluded police
for more than two decades, but DNA from the suspect's own son. The
suspect's son had been arrested and convicted in a felony weapons charge
and swabbed for DNA the year before. When his DNA was entered into the
database of convicted felons, detectives were alerted to a partial match
to evidence found at the "Grim Sleeper" crime scenes. David Franklin
Jr., also known as the Grim Sleeper, was charged with ten counts of
murder and one count of attempted murder. More recently, familial DNA led to the arrest of 21-year-old Elvis
Garcia on charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment of a woman in
Santa Cruz in 2008. In March 2011 Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced that Virginia would begin using familial DNA searches.
At a press conference in Virginia on 7 March 2011, regarding the East Coast Rapist,
Prince William County prosecutor Paul Ebert and Fairfax County Police
Detective John Kelly said the case would have been solved years ago if
Virginia had used familial DNA searching. Aaron Thomas, the suspected
East Coast Rapist, was arrested in connection with the rape of 17 women
from Virginia to Rhode Island, but familial DNA was not used in the
case.
Critics of familial DNA database searches argue that the technique is an invasion of an individual's 4th Amendment rights. Privacy advocates are petitioning for DNA database restrictions,
arguing that the only fair way to search for possible DNA matches to
relatives of offenders or arrestees would be to have a population-wide
DNA database.ome scholars have pointed out that the privacy concerns surrounding
familial searching are similar in some respects to other police search
techniques, and most have concluded that the practice is constitutional. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Pool
(vacated as moot) suggested that this practice is somewhat analogous to
a witness looking at a photograph of one person and stating that it
looked like the perpetrator, which leads law enforcement to show the
witness photos of similar looking individuals, one of whom is identified
as the perpetrator.
Critics also state that racial profiling could occur on account
of familial DNA testing. In the United States, the conviction rates of
racial minorities are much higher than that of the overall population.
It is unclear whether this is due to discrimination from police officers
and the courts, as opposed to a simple higher rate of offence among
minorities. Arrest-based databases, which are found in the majority of
the United States, lead to an even greater level of racial
discrimination. An arrest, as opposed to conviction, relies much more
heavily on police discretion.
For instance, investigators with Denver District Attorney's
Office successfully identified a suspect in a property theft case using a
familial DNA search. In this example, the suspect's blood left at the
scene of the crime strongly resembled that of a current Colorado Department of Corrections prisoner.
Partial matches
Partial
DNA matches are the result of moderate stringency CODIS searches that
produce a potential match that shares at least one allele at every locus. Partial matching does not involve the use of familial search software,
such as those used in the United Kingdom and the United States, or
additional Y-STR
analysis and therefore often misses sibling relationships. Partial
matching has been used to identify suspects in several cases in both
countries and has also been used as a tool to exonerate the falsely accused. Darryl Hunt was wrongly convicted in connection with the rape and the murder of a young woman in 1984 in North Carolina.
Surreptitious DNA collecting
Police
forces may collect DNA samples without a suspect's knowledge, and use
it as evidence. The legality of the practice has been questioned in Australia.
In the United States, where it has been accepted, courts often rule that there is no expectation of privacy and cite California v. Greenwood (1988), in which the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home.
Critics of this practice underline that this analogy ignores that "most
people have no idea that they risk surrendering their genetic identity
to the police by, for instance, failing to destroy a used coffee cup.
Moreover, even if they do realize it, there is no way to avoid
abandoning one's DNA in public."
The United States Supreme Court ruled in Maryland v. King (2013) that DNA sampling of prisoners arrested for serious crimes is constitutional.
In the United Kingdom, the Human Tissue Act 2004
prohibits private individuals from covertly collecting biological
samples (hair, fingernails, etc.) for DNA analysis but exempts medical
and criminal investigations from the prohibition.
England and Wales
Evidence
from an expert who has compared DNA samples must be accompanied by
evidence as to the sources of the samples and the procedures for
obtaining the DNA profiles. The judge must ensure that the jury must understand the significance of
DNA matches and mismatches in the profiles. The judge must also ensure
that the jury does not confuse the match probability (the probability
that a person that is chosen at random has a matching DNA profile to the
sample from the scene) with the probability that a person with matching
DNA committed the crime. In 1996 R v. Doheny
Juries should weigh up conflicting and corroborative evidence,
using their own common sense and not by using mathematical formulae,
such as Bayes' theorem, so as to avoid "confusion, misunderstanding and misjudgment".
Presentation and evaluation of evidence of partial or incomplete DNA profiles
In R v Bates, Moore-Bick LJ said:
We can see no reason why partial
profile DNA evidence should not be admissible provided that the jury are
made aware of its inherent limitations and are given a sufficient
explanation to enable them to evaluate it. There may be cases where the
match probability in relation to all the samples tested is so great that
the judge would consider its probative value to be minimal and decide
to exclude the evidence in the exercise of his discretion, but this
gives rise to no new question of principle and can be left for decision
on a case by case basis. However, the fact that there exists in the case
of all partial profile evidence the possibility that a "missing" allele
might exculpate the accused altogether does not provide sufficient
grounds for rejecting such evidence. In many there is a possibility (at
least in theory) that evidence that would assist the accused and perhaps
even exculpate him altogether exists, but that does not provide grounds
for excluding relevant evidence that is available and otherwise
admissible, though it does make it important to ensure that the jury are
given sufficient information to enable them to evaluate that evidence
properly.
DNA testing in the United States
CBP chemist reads a DNA profile to determine the origin of a commodity.
In August 2009, scientists in Israel
raised serious doubts concerning the use of DNA by law enforcement as
the ultimate method of identification. In a paper published in the
journal Forensic Science International: Genetics, the Israeli
researchers demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture DNA in a
laboratory, thus falsifying DNA evidence. The scientists fabricated
saliva and blood samples, which originally contained DNA from a person
other than the supposed donor of the blood and saliva.
The researchers also showed that, using a DNA database, it is
possible to take information from a profile and manufacture DNA to match
it, and that this can be done without access to any actual DNA from the
person whose DNA they are duplicating. The synthetic DNA oligos required for the procedure are common in molecular laboratories.
The New York Times
quoted the lead author, Daniel Frumkin, saying, "You can just engineer a
crime scene ... any biology undergraduate could perform this". Frumkin perfected a test that can differentiate real DNA samples from fake ones. His test detects epigenetic modifications, in particular, DNA methylation. Seventy percent of the DNA in any human genome is methylated, meaning it contains methyl group modifications within a CpG dinucleotide context. Methylation at the promoter region is associated with gene silencing. The synthetic DNA lacks this epigenetic modification, which allows the test to distinguish manufactured DNA from genuine DNA.
It is unknown how many police departments, if any, currently use
the test. No police lab has publicly announced that it is using the new
test to verify DNA results.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo integrated an artificial
DNA replication scheme with a rebuilt gene expression system and
micro-compartmentalization utilizing cell-free materials alone for the
first time. Multiple cycles of serial dilution were performed on a
system contained in microscale water-in-oil droplets.
Chances of making DNA change on purpose
Overall, this study's artificial genomic DNA, which kept copying
itself using self-encoded proteins and made its sequence better on its
own, is a good starting point for making more complex artificial cells.
By adding the genes needed for transcription and translation to
artificial genomic DNA, it may be possible in the future to make
artificial cells that can grow on their own when fed small molecules
like amino acids and nucleotides. Using living organisms to make useful
things, like drugs and food, would be more stable and easier to control
in these artificial cells.
On July 7, 2008, the American chemical society reported that
Japanese chemists have created the world's first DNA molecule comprised
nearly completely of synthetic components.
A nano-particle based artificial transcription factor for gene regulation:
Nano Script is a nanoparticle-based artificial transcription
factor that is supposed to replicate the structure and function of TFs.
On gold nanoparticles, functional peptides and tiny molecules referred
to as synthetic transcription factors, which imitate the various TF
domains, were attached to create Nano Script. We show that Nano Script
localizes to the nucleus and begins transcription of a reporter plasmid
by an amount more than 15-fold. Moreover, Nano Script can successfully
transcribe targeted genes onto endogenous DNA in a nonviral manner.
Three different fluorophores—red, green, and blue—were carefully
fixed on the DNA rod surface to provide spatial information and create a
nanoscale barcode. Epifluorescence and total internal reflection
fluorescence microscopy reliably deciphered spatial information between
fluorophores. By moving the three fluorophores on the DNA rod, this
nanoscale barcode created 216 fluorescence patterns.
Cases
In 1986, Richard Buckland was exonerated, despite having admitted to the rape and murder of a teenager near Leicester,
the city where DNA profiling was first developed. This was the first
use of DNA fingerprinting in a criminal investigation, and the first to
prove a suspect's innocence. The following year Colin Pitchfork
was identified as the perpetrator of the same murder, in addition to
another, using the same techniques that had cleared Buckland.
In 1987, genetic fingerprinting was used in a US criminal court for the first time in the trial of a man accused of unlawful intercourse with a mentally disabled 14-year-old female who gave birth to a baby.
In 1987, Florida
rapist Tommie Lee Andrews was the first person in the United States to
be convicted as a result of DNA evidence, for raping a woman during a burglary; he was convicted on 6 November 1987, and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
In 1990, a violent murder of a young student in Brno was the first criminal case in Czechoslovakia solved by DNA evidence, with the murderer sentenced to 23 years in prison.
In 1992, DNA from a palo verde tree
was used to convict Mark Alan Bogan of murder. DNA from seed pods of a
tree at the crime scene was found to match that of seed pods found in
Bogan's truck. This is the first instance of plant DNA admitted in a
criminal case.
In 1994, the claim that Anna Anderson was Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was tested after her death using samples of her tissue that had been stored at a Charlottesville
hospital following a medical procedure. The tissue was tested using DNA
fingerprinting, and showed that she bore no relation to the Romanovs.
In 1994, Earl Washington, Jr.,
of Virginia had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment a week
before his scheduled execution date based on DNA evidence. He received a
full pardon in 2000 based on more advanced testing.
In 1999, Raymond Easton, a disabled man from Swindon,
England, was arrested and detained for seven hours in connection with a
burglary. He was released due to an inaccurate DNA match. His DNA had
been retained on file after an unrelated domestic incident some time
previously.
In 2000 Frank Lee Smith was proved innocent by DNA profiling of the
murder of an eight-year-old girl after spending 14 years on death row in
Florida, USA. However he had died of cancer just before his innocence was proven. In view of this the Florida state governor ordered that in future any
death row inmate claiming innocence should have DNA testing.
In May 2000 Gordon Graham murdered Paul Gault at his home in Lisburn,
Northern Ireland. Graham was convicted of the murder when his DNA was
found on a sports bag left in the house as part of an elaborate ploy to
suggest the murder occurred after a burglary had gone wrong. Graham was
having an affair with the victim's wife at the time of the murder. It
was the first time Low Copy Number DNA was used in Northern Ireland.
In 2001, Wayne Butler was convicted for the murder of Celia Douty. It was the first murder in Australia to be solved using DNA profiling.
In 2002, the body of James Hanratty,
hanged in 1962 for the "A6 murder", was exhumed and DNA samples from
the body and members of his family were analysed. The results convinced
Court of Appeal judges that Hanratty's guilt, which had been strenuously disputed by campaigners, was proved "beyond doubt". Paul Foot and some other campaigners continued to believe in Hanratty's
innocence and argued that the DNA evidence could have been
contaminated, noting that the small DNA samples from items of clothing,
kept in a police laboratory for over 40 years "in conditions that do not
satisfy modern evidential standards", had had to be subjected to very
new amplification techniques in order to yield any genetic profile. However, no DNA other than Hanratty's was found on the evidence tested,
contrary to what would have been expected had the evidence indeed been
contaminated.
In August 2002, Annalisa Vicentini was shot dead in Tuscany. Bartender Peter Hamkin, 23, was arrested, in Merseyside in March 2003 on an extradition warrant heard at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London to establish whether he should be taken to Italy to face a murder charge. DNA "proved" he shot her, but he was cleared on other evidence.
In 2003, Welshman Jeffrey Gafoor was convicted of the 1988 murder of Lynette White, when crime scene evidence collected 12 years earlier was re-examined using STR techniques, resulting in a match with his nephew.
In June 2003, because of new DNA evidence, Dennis Halstead, John
Kogut and John Restivo won a re-trial on their murder conviction, their
convictions were struck down and they were released.
In 2004, DNA testing shed new light into the mysterious 1912 disappearance of Bobby Dunbar,
a four-year-old boy who vanished during a fishing trip. He was
allegedly found alive eight months later in the custody of William
Cantwell Walters, but another woman claimed that the boy was her son,
Bruce Anderson, whom she had entrusted in Walters' custody. The courts
disbelieved her claim and convicted Walters for the kidnapping.
The boy was raised and known as Bobby Dunbar throughout the rest of his
life. However, DNA tests on Dunbar's son and nephew revealed the two
were not related, thus establishing that the boy found in 1912 was not
Bobby Dunbar, whose real fate remains unknown.
In 2005, Gary Leiterman was convicted of the 1969 murder of Jane Mixer, a law student at the University of Michigan, after DNA found on Mixer's pantyhose
was matched to Leiterman. DNA in a drop of blood on Mixer's hand was
matched to John Ruelas, who was only four years old in 1969 and was
never successfully connected to the case in any other way. Leiterman's
defense unsuccessfully argued that the unexplained match of the blood
spot to Ruelas pointed to cross-contamination and raised doubts about
the reliability of the lab's identification of Leiterman.
In November 2008, Anthony Curcio
was arrested for masterminding one of the most elaborately planned
armored car heists in history. DNA evidence linked Curcio to the crime.
In March 2009, Sean Hodgson—convicted of 1979 killing of Teresa De Simone, 22, in her car in Southampton—was
released after tests proved DNA from the scene was not his. It was
later matched to DNA retrieved from the exhumed body of David Lace. Lace
had previously confessed to the crime but was not believed by the detectives. He served time in prison for other crimes committed at the same time as the murder and then committed suicide in 1988.
In 2012, a case of babies being switched, many decades earlier, was
discovered by accident. After undertaking DNA testing for other
purposes, Alice Collins Plebuch was advised that her ancestry appeared
to include a significant Ashkenazi Jewish component, despite a belief in her family that they were of predominantly Irish descent. Profiling of Plebuch's genome suggested that it included distinct and unexpected components associated with Ashkenazi, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European
populations. This led Plebuch to conduct an extensive investigation,
after which she concluded that her father had been switched (possibly
accidentally) with another baby soon after birth. Plebuch was also able
to identify the biological ancestors of her father.
In 2016 Anthea Ring, abandoned as a baby, was able to use a DNA
sample and DNA matching database to discover her deceased mother's
identity and roots in County Mayo,
Ireland. A recently developed forensic test was subsequently used to
capture DNA from saliva left on old stamps and envelopes by her
suspected father, uncovered through painstaking genealogy research. The
DNA in the first three samples was too degraded to use. However, on the
fourth, more than enough DNA was found. The test, which has a degree of
accuracy acceptable in UK courts, proved that a man named Patrick Coyne
was her biological father.
In 2018 the Buckskin girl (a body found in 1981 in Ohio) was identified as Marcia King from Arkansas using DNA genealogical techniques
In 2018, with the use of Next Generation Identification System's enhanced biometric capabilities, the FBI matched the fingerprint of a suspect named Timothy David Nelson and arrested him 20 years after the alleged sexual assault.
DNA evidence as evidence to prove rights of succession to British titles
DNA testing has been used to establish the right of succession to British titles.
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