Forensic Evidence Admissibility For or Against in the Bloodsworth v. State Case

The best-known, if not the best-reasoned fiber case in American legal history involving fiber evidence issues is the Wayne Williams trial growing out of the famous Atlanta murders of twelve African-American males in 1979-1980. The Williams case involved all of the subjects still in controversy as we enter the world of forensic science and forensic evidence in the 21st century (Kiely 142).

The evidence in the car is bigger than the evidence found at the crime scene and inside the tent. The researches of this case were using the amount of blood found in the car against Mrs Chamberlain saying that she put her dead bloody/bleeding baby in the car and buried her somewhere in the desert. I would be concerned too, but the blood was found to be from one or two years before the abduction of Azaria. They also could not figure out the type of blood found in the car because it was all grouped together, but they were guessing it was “Group O

For Iowa Lakes Criminal Justice class Introduction to Corrections I read the book Bloodsworth By Tim Junkin for my book report. The book follows the story of a man named Kirk Bloodsworth. Bloodsworth was convicted and charged for the murder and rape of a nine-year-old girl in 1984. He was sentenced to death for those charges in Maryland and gas chamber was the execution put fourth. During his whole time in prison Kirk Bloodsworth said he was innocent. He researched everyday he could and read law book after law book. He researched about DNA testing something that was very new to the time, and he searched for a lawyer that would take on his case after he had been incarcerated for over nine years. DNA testing would become very beneficial to him.

The brutal murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey on Christmas night in 1996 shocked America to its core. Just as the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder seven decades earlier had seared the nation's consciousness, this murder – of a beautiful and talented child in a wealthy Boulder, Colorado home --renewed every parent's worst nightmare. It has been nearly three years since this violent crime occurred and no one has been brought to justice.

The past 27 years convicted felons and counting have been acquitted of their crimes through DNA evidence. In fact, this is a statical syllogism that provides a strong inductive argument.

Goodwyn, W. (2014, July 25). After Completing A 12-Year Sentence, A Texas Man Is Cleared By DNA. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/07/25/335256488/after-completing-a-12-year-sentence-a-texas-man-is-cleared-by-dna

How has DNA evidence helped to identify innocent people on death row? This topic raises the question of how many people on death row should truly be there and what percent are innocent. Jay D. Aronson works at Carnegie Mellon University as an Assistant Professor of Science, Technology and Society, and Simon A. Cole works at the University of California as an Assistant professor of Criminology, Law and Society. According to Jay Aronson and Simon Cole “both abolitionists and death penalty reformers, who seek to promote a ‘scientific’ death penalty centered on DNA evidence, draw upon a mythologized notion of

When dealing with other types of evidence such as hairs and fibers, tool marks, video footage, or even a weapon used at a crime scene; it can be challenging connecting the evidence to the suspect or even coming up with a suspect. These forms of evidence have been allowed in court in many cases and have also convicted many innocent people. Years later, their cases have been re-opened with new DNA evidence and have set the innocent free. According to the Innocence Project, Randolf Arledge was accused and convicted for murder. This article states that, “in 2011, they secured DNA testing of the physical evidence with the cooperation of the Navarro County District Attorney’s Office. The testing included hair samples from the hairnet and washings from the victim’s pubic hairs.” (Innocence Project , n.d.) With these findings it exonerated Arledge revealing the real perpetrator known as David Sims. Another case that was also exonerated due to later DNA findings occurred in 2003. “A Virginia man was released from prison after a post-conviction. DNA test proved that he did not rape a nursing student in 1981. The man spent two decades in prison after being convicted of breaking into the women’s apartment and raping her. Two juries failed to reach a verdict, but the third jury found him guilty.” (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). The argument at hand is many feel DNA analysis is not most effective, when it has become the one form of evidence that have saved people’s lives.

Analyzing blood spatter at crime scene is a science that has developed significantly over the last 20 years. David Camm was arrested for the murder of his wife and two children in 2000. Several blood spatter specialist would be called to the stand to testify on the blood spatter evidence that was found in the crime scene with varying results. Most notably, Robert Stites, a blood spatter analyst from Portland Oregon credentials and capability would be called into question many times. Experience, knowledge and credibility of the blood spatter analyst as well as the blood evidence found at the scene led to overturning the conviction of David Camm.

The first case of exoneration in the United States was found in the late 1980s. Before this time several hundreds of people were falsely accused of committing a crime. Joseph White was convicted by a jury in 1989 for his alleged role in the crime and sentenced to life without parole (Innocence Project, 2014). He had spent eighteen years in the prison living the life of a murderer when in 2008 he was taken to the court and a DNA test was run on him. This test proved that White was innocent and that the crime was committed by someone else.

The perpetrator’s blood type was a match for Bain’s. James Bain was found guilty at his trial, and was sentenced to life in prison. He spent 35 gruesome years in jail before he was granted an amazing opportunity. A scientist would perform post conviction DNA testing, and would retest the DNA found at the crime scene 35 years before. This new test proved his innocence, but it didn’t prove another’s guilt.

In Opposition of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Historically, we know that a bloodstain pattern analysis dates back to the 1800s, but lately has it been subject to rigorous authentication. “At this time very little is known about this beyond the instincts of knowledgeable instructors and investigators who have observed the reproducibility of bloodstain patterns over many crime scenes and practical sessions in the classroom.” DNA analysis now used to identify who bled at a crime scene, but bloodstain pattern analysis is still a vital tool. For instance, it is common for a suspect to claim that he was stained by a victim’s blood while trying to render aid.

How has DNA evidence helped to identify innocent people on death row? This research topic addresses questions like how many people have been released on death row, where DNA evidence is found, and how the person looking for the DNA finds it. The researcher has to think in a way if obvious evidence isn’t present at a crime scene, where else can they find evidence? This topic of identifying innocent people on death row is important to research because many people are accused of crimes they haven’t committed and automatically put on death row. When researching this topic DNA evidence could be found as helpful to solve crimes and find out what really happened in a situation. Before DNA evidence most people to be put on death row were identified

"Wrongful Convictions Overturned in Death Penalty Cases Due to Advances in DNA Testing." Historic U.S. Events, Gale, 2016. Research in Context, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=MSIC&sw=w&u=leb32560&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CBT2359030480&it=r&asid=4a8dd1f41a5bdd51b4779bbbdcda8293. Accessed 28 Mar.

Another reason why some believe that DNA is a wonderful tool to have is that some feel eyewitness testimony is not as accurate. In 1977 and 1979, the Bird Road Rapist attacked over 25 women. Luis Diaz in 1980 was convicted of eight charges of rape on Bird Road. The identification and testimonies from the victims landed Diaz with multiple life sentences” (Sainvil, 2012). He spent 26 years behind prison walls even though he did not match the description that was given in the beginning of the case. During that time two witnesses also recanted their statement. It was not until 2005 that Diaz was actually exonerated of the charge as a result of DNA testing.