Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> Lawbeat

Legal News

: Lawbeat

Questioning the DNA backlog

By Mark Obbie

Barely a day goes by when someone, somewhere, isn't charged in a cold case or cleared of a wrongful conviction based on old biological evidence that's just now been run through a DNA database. Rarely do criminal justice journalists examine in general what governs the timing of matching or clearing DNA samples, and whether that system works efficiently. The Denver Post's Tom McGhee tackled at least some of those questions, and did so clearly and authoritatively, in a followup to the announcement in Boulder last week that a 10-year-old murder had been solved with a newly discovered DNA match. McGhee used national experts and stats well as he explained the logistical barriers facing police labs nationwide. His story clearly makes the point that violent criminals are left to roam the streets for years while a backlog in DNA samples grows. His story could have been more complete by also mentioning the flip side: wrongfully convicted people waiting too long for exoneration. (Via How Appealing.)

Full post as published by Lawbeat on February 04, 2008 (boomark / email).