Thursday, December 15, 2005

DNA Testing

I am of two minds on this. I feel that DNA testing is useful and should be mandatory at some point, but where? I have issues with DNA testing at random or for screening a group of people for a crime, but it is necessary somewhere in the process to avoid convicting innocent people.
DNA Tests Exonerate 2 Former Prisoners: "Although the Virginia men were not eligible for the death penalty for their convictions, their cases could help those who say greater use of DNA testing will detect the presence of possibly innocent inmates awaiting execution across the country.

'This is a 7 percent innocence rate -- among people who never even asked for testing -- that should give pause to people who think mistakes in our criminal justice system are flukes,' said Peter Neufeld, co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project. 'This should be a beacon for other governors across the country to implement post-conviction DNA testing.'

The new testing conclusively proved that Virginia should not have jailed the Norfolk and Alexandria men and produced a 'cold hit' linking someone else to the Alexandria rape. Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney S. Randolph Sengel said prosecutors would do 'everything humanly possible' to bring the real criminal to trial."
Better late than never. How do these guys get their life back? How do you make up for 10 or 20 years behind bars? Especially for something they didn't do.

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