DNA testing
In two separate incidents in July of 1984, an assailant broke into an apartment, severed phone lines, sexually assaulted a women, and searched through her belongings, taking money and other items.On August 1, 1984, Ronald Cotton of Burlington, North Carolina was arrested for the rape charges. In January of 1985, Cotton was found guilty of one count of rape and one count of burglary. In November of 1987, Cotton was convicted of both counts of rape and two counts of burglary. An Alamance County Superior Court sentenced Cotton to life plus 54 years. Cotton was found guilty due to both of the victims making photo identifications and the finding of evidence in Cotton's home that resembled that of what was at the crime scene. In 1994, two new lawyers for Cotton took over defense and filed a motion for DNA testing of the evidence of semen that was found at the scene. The samples from one victim were too deteriorated to be conclusive,
There are many reasons why DNA is useful tool for law enforcement. One important feature of DNA relates to the fact that all individuals have unique DNA. Whether it is found in skin cells, hair cells, semen cells, or blood cells the DNA found in one cell is identical to the DNA found in all other cells in the body. Another crucial characteristic of DNA is that everyone has his or her own unique DNA. Since all humans are alike in that we have hair, arms, and legs it is obvious that most DNA is identical. The key though to identifying individuals through DNA is not through the strands of DNA that have a known function, but rather it is the DNA that has no function. In inside these strands of DNA with no function, are called junk DNA. These are different repetitive DNA patterns, which are unique from person to person. This is why DNA can always be traced back to one person (with the exception of identical twins). but the samples from
Some common words found in the essay are:
DNA Deoxyribonucleic, Superior Court, Criminal Investigations, , North Carolina, dna testing, Chromosomes DNA, dna found, dna function, found guilty, strands dna function, unique dna, cotton found, strands dna, technological advances, cotton found guilty,
Approximate Word count = 632
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
