Dna in Criminal Investigation Essays

Dna in Criminal Investigation Essays Dna in Criminal Investigation Essay Dna in Criminal Investigation Essay Since its discovery in the 1980’s, the application of DNA has been utilized in many ways. When Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA is examined, a precise decoding of genetic information is revealed. With the exception of identical twins, every person’s genetic code (commonly referred to as a Genetic Fingerprint) is inherited and unique. From Maury advising men everyday on TV â€Å"You ARE the Father! † or â€Å"You are NOT the Father! † to learning the descendents of former slaves are related to President Thomas Jefferson, we have come to rely upon and expect the accuracy of DNA. DNA almost immediately transformed the American Criminal Justice System. Law Enforcement, District Attorneys, Defense Attorneys, Criminal Court and Family Court all work with DNA on a daily basis. DNA that can be utilized in a criminal investigation may be collected from a crime scene in many different forms: skin tissue, hair, blood, semen, saliva, vaginal fluid, anything that may be collected from a human that may contain cells can be utilized and tested for DNA. DNA testing is the most accurate form of scientific evidence available. Results and accuracy are measured within millionths of a percent. The accuracy of fingerprints, the method for forensic identification that has been utilized for over one hundred years cannot match DNA. The process for utilizing DNA in criminal investigation requires the match of two samples, one from the suspect and one collected from the crime scene. Once these two DNA samples are collected they are sent off to a lab. The samples are extracted, studied and compared. If there is a match it becomes irrefutable evidence that the suspect was at the scene where the evidence was collected. One of the most compelling stories of the use of DNA in criminal investigation is the case known as The Bike Path Rapist. There had been many unsolved rapes committed in a Buffalo, New York park dating back from 1981. Anthony Capozzi, a man who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and lived in the area became a suspect after he was noticed acting strangely in the area. He was charged with three rapes. The rape victims told police their attacker was about 160 pounds; Anthony Capozzi weighed over 200 pounds. Capozzi has a prominent three inch scar on his face, but none of the rape victims reported their attacker had a scar. Despite this all three victims identified Anthony Capozzi as the man who raped them. His case went to trial and he was convicted of two of the three rapes and sentenced to 35 years in prison. The only identification evidence introduced at trial was that of the victims. After he was convicted, Capozzi’s attorney is quoted in the Washington Post as saying, â€Å"Please don’t take comfort in the fact that Anthony Capozzi has been convicted of these two crimes, because he didn’t do them. Don’t feel that you can go running without company in Delaware Park. † Capozzi struggled with mental illness and served 15 years of his prison sentence in Central New York Psychiatric Center. Capozzi maintained his innocence, and for the 22 years while he was incarcerated his family never gave up hope. After Capozzi was incarcerated the rapes continued, and the Bike Path Rapist became the Bike Path Killer. In addition to a continuing series of rapes in the area, two University of Buffalo students and the wife of a University of Buffalo professor were all murdered. A combination of old fashioned detective work and the science of DNA helped to solve a case that has spanned over two decades and involved over twenty five victims. On September 29, 2006, the sixteenth anniversary of another murder, the body of Joan Diver was found unclothed, beaten and strangled to death on a bike path. In this case DNA of her assailant was left in the form of a single bead of sweat left on the steering wheel of her car. Finally a sample of DNA evidence! The DNA of the unknown assailant matched the DNA from numerous other rape victims. The detectives looked backed upon the old unsolved cases. In 1981, one rape victim saw a man she believed to be her attacker. She wrote down his license plate number and gave it to the police. The owner of the vehicle had provided a solid alibi for the rape to the police. The victim reported she was able to recognize the vehicle, not the owner of the vehicle. Twenty five years later, the police again visited the owner of the car with the alibi. He finally admitted to the police that his nephew, Altemio Sanchez, had borrowed his vehicle on the day in question. If the DNA of Altemio Sanchez was a match of the DNA taken from Joan Diver’s vehicle and the other victims, the Bike Path Rapist/Killer would finally be identified. The police followed Sanchez for about ten days. Unaware he was under surveillance, Sanchez and his wife stopped in to a restaurant to eat while three undercover detectives were at the bar watching them enjoy their meal. After Sanchez left the restaurant, the police left the restaurant with the water glass and silverware Sanchez had used. The police now had DNA samples from the suspect and numerous crime scenes. The samples were an exact match, and Sanchez was arrested for three murders. Although he was identified as the assailant on many of the rapes, Sanchez was not charged; the statute of limitations had passed. The arrest of Sanchez had not gone unnoticed to Capozzi’s family and attorney. Additionally, the Innocence Project worked with Capozzi. The Detectives on the Sanchez case had also seen the similarities in the cases. Sanchez and Capozzi closely resembled each other at the time the crimes were committed. They began to wonder if Capozzi was an innocent man in prison, but they could find no evidence to clear his name. One of the detectives questioned whether the hospital retained the rape kit evidence of Capozzi’s alleged victims from over twenty years ago. The vital evidence had been quietly stored in a drawer at the Erie County Medical Center. Evidence collected from both the victims in 1985 matched Sanchez, not Capozzi. After serving 22 years in prison, DNA evidence earlier proved Capozzi was innocent of the rapes. DNA evidence linked Sanchez to over 25 sexual assaults dating back to 1975. On April 2, 2007, Anthony Capozzi was exonerated and released from prison. On August 15, 2007, Altemio Sanchez was sentenced to 75 years in prison with no chance of parole. He is currently in Clinton Correctional facility. According to the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Website, since January 1, 1996, the law in New York State has required offenders convicted of certain felonies to submit biological samples (formerly blood and more recently buccal samples swabbed from the inside of the cheek) for DNA profiling through laboratory analysis. These DNA profiles are organized and kept in a Data Bank, and can be used in an attempt to match any unidentified DNA found at a crime scene. The New York State Department of Criminal Justice (DCJS) Website goes on to state: When matched against samples of forensic DNA gathered from crime scenes, these reference DNA profiles from the Offender Index can identify- or eliminate- suspects in criminal investigations. Forensic DNA analysis has been shown to be a highly efficient technique that assures a greater likelihood of detection than traditional forensic methods. The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 to assist prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing. Since its inception, the Innocence Project has helped to exonerate over 240 people including 17 people who have been sentenced to death.