The FBI needs to let these scientists go into CODIS to find such problems. It is very understandable that the FBI does not want any genetic information out there for any other individual to see. However, these individuals are scientists who will like to prevent future wrong convictions. I would certainly be very devastated if I was convicted of a crime I didn’t commit. People, who are wrongly accused just because DNA matches are found, will have to have a really good alibi. LOL! The one thing about CODIS is that it only has the DNA profiles of people who are convicts or even people who are in the military, but another option to solve the issue of preventing wrong convictions is to have every persons DNA profile in the CODIS. I realize it will be kind of tough since there are a lot of illegal immigrants; but having all of the U.S. citizens DNA profiles will be a good start. We can do it while people go get their ID’s or driver’s license along with fingerprints.
After reading the article, I believe that while CODIS is a reliable way to utilize DNA to catch suspected criminals, it is also very susceptible to error. Who would've guessed that unrelated people in the CODIS database can have almost identical DNA? This major mess up with the coding of the DNA can put an innocent person away for years. The FBI is denying scientists accesibility to the CODIS system but we need to correct the errors in the CODIS system so that wrong convictions won't occur. I don't believe that having the millions or billions of people's DNA in the United States be placed into CODIS regardless of having priors or not, but there must be a way to relook at the DNA in the CODIS system and correct the coding errors.
When I first begin reading I thought about the innocent people that may have been unjustly convicted due to this system, but as I read on I realized that this is just the opposite as well; the guilty people that are running loose because their actual DNA is not being imputed correctly. To err is human, but I would just hate to be the person that the human errs on. I really think the FBI CODIS DNA databank is dangerous because of the amount of errors rather than helpful, as it had intended on being.
I do not understand the whole genetics and DNA process that well. I know that humans DNA is very similar to animals and even vegetables. I can see that just using DNA alone could be a problem. If close relatives did have similar DNA, and one of the relatives was a criminal, but the other family member had just recently got into trouble, they could possibly link the first crime to the family member that did not have anything to do with it. Can you imagine someone is inputting each persons DNA codes, and is expected to not make mistakes. How many mistakes could one person make, now distribute that between how every many people are inputting this information. Does someone proof read each one? I can see having a data base that held DNA of criminals or people who have come through the jail system, but I do not see the need for others to have their DNA taken and stored somewhere.
I think the scientist should have access to CODIS. DNA evidence is used in two ways: to link a known suspect to a crime or to find new suspects known as a "cold hit" by searching for a match in a DNA database of known criminals. By allowing the scientist access to CODIS they can reveal if incorrect RMPs are prompting jurors and judges to attach undue weight to DNA evidence, possibly leading to miscarriages of justice. Even if these fears are not borne out, independent checks on the DNA held in large databases like CODIS are vital to maintaining confidence in DNA evidence presented in courts all over the world, access would also allow the number of errors in CODIS to be measured according to the scientist. If this is true then the scientist should have access because it could possibly help solve a lot of cases that haven't been solved. This in turn could put more criminals away and bring the innocent out. It could also bring comfort to victim’s families.
It seemed that when DNA evidence first began being used to convict individuals of crimes that it was a fool proof method. However, just like with any other method, it has problems and is not fool proof. While I believe that even with some of these problems it is still one of the better ways to try to prove that someone committed a crime without a reasonable doubt, there could potentially be many people who go to prison for a crime they did not commit. Just like hundreds of people have been set free due to DNA testing that was not available at the time of their trial, many others will eventually be set free due to mistakes made in the CODIS system. Like others have said I do believe that the FBI should allow scientists to make further investigations into the errors, they are scientists and will probably follow all required procedures to make sure the information does not get out to just anyone.
Is CODIS dangerous it can be. I think that CODIS is a great tool for the criminal justice system. But it is not perfect and I think that CODIS can have some flaws. That is why scientist need to examine it and make sure that it is as accurate. I think that CODIS should only be used to try to find criminal. It is a scary thought to think that the FBI can have our DNA and do who knows what with it.
DNA identification can be very reliable, because each person has a unique DNA sequence. The problem occurs when DNA is mishandled or misused. Several inmates have who were imprisoned during the 60's and the Civil Rights movement have be exonerated due to DNA evidence as provided by the Innocence Project of Texas. IPOT goes to police stations, collects old evidence, and then runs DNA tests on it. But they also encounter many obstacles with DNA. Often times, the DNA has been tampered with by unknown forces while under the care of police officers. This shines a poor light on the police force and raises doubts about how reliable cops are and how much we can really trust those assigned to protect us.
CODIS is a database program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. It is the main database in DNA. CODIS allows matches to be made between the Forensic Index and the Offender Index. This is great because CODIS can link crime scenes together. It is also possible to identify serial offenders. CODIS brings confidence to investigators because it provides them with the identity of the perpetrators. I think CODIS is great but there are always disadvantages in everything. The process is very time-consuming, and large amounts of samples are required to perform the test(s). We live in a society of impatience. So this system can be disliked by many, especially the criminals. But at least we all know that CODIS can do the job to link DNA with offenders.
I believe that the actual idea of CODIS isn't a bad one, but there should probably be more than one institution doing this. I think that the distrubution of information through different organizations reduces the chance of error. This could be a private business that can code your DNA so if it is ever used against you, there is a smaler chance of being wrongly tried by computer error. CODIS is a good thing to have in our criminal justice system but people should have the oppurtunity to know what there DNA codes are from more than one source. This would definitely increase the reliabilty of using DNA in cases that can solve a crime.
While I think that CODIS is a very good way to make use of DNA, we have to remember that it is only as good as the people who are inputting the information. It is very frightening to me to think that my DNA could mistakenly link me to a crime that I was not involved with. It also shows that we cannot rely on any one particular aspect of forensics. All aspects collectively must build a case to convict someone. For example, what about those scientists in Israel who have found a way to replicate DNA? With possibilities like this around, we cannot rely on DNA alone to prove guilt or innocence. DNA is not the holy grail of justice that many people believe that it is.
I think that every system has it flaws. We should not allow outsiders the access to the FBI systems, because it does not need someone from the outside to look at it to have it fixed. They raised the concern and a good one at that, but now they need to let them look into it and fix it. Fixing it could take some time but in the meantime it does not mean that people were wrongly convicted. I would hope that the justice system would not put all their eggs in one basket.
I don't agree that scientist should be able to have access to the CODIS system, because that is clearly a job of the FBI. The FBI could do some more extensive training that will only allow them to make so many errors after that then they should be replaced. Then FBI will be more accurate in their input of information. You can't take away from our criminal justice careers, we need more. I agree that all systems have flaws especially if it deals with technology, but we must work with what we have. Scientists need to stick to science.
Nothing is perfect! I do agree with Nicholas, “the problem occurs when DNA is mishandled and misused”. Regardless of its flaws, it does more good than bad. CODIS is intended to link criminals to crimes, but unfortunately it isn’t as bullet proof as they once thought it was. Granted it does severe as a very important tool to help police officials and FBI. Along with DNA being important, it is not solely what makes or breaks a criminal. I do feel for those wrongly convicted due to these “mess Ups” with the system.
The FBI needs to let these scientists go into CODIS to find such problems. It is very understandable that the FBI does not want any genetic information out there for any other individual to see. However, these individuals are scientists who will like to prevent future wrong convictions. I would certainly be very devastated if I was convicted of a crime I didn’t commit. People, who are wrongly accused just because DNA matches are found, will have to have a really good alibi. LOL!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing about CODIS is that it only has the DNA profiles of people who are convicts or even people who are in the military, but another option to solve the issue of preventing wrong convictions is to have every persons DNA profile in the CODIS. I realize it will be kind of tough since there are a lot of illegal immigrants; but having all of the U.S. citizens DNA profiles will be a good start. We can do it while people go get their ID’s or driver’s license along with fingerprints.
After reading the article, I believe that while CODIS is a reliable way to utilize DNA to catch suspected criminals, it is also very susceptible to error. Who would've guessed that unrelated people in the CODIS database can have almost identical DNA? This major mess up with the coding of the DNA can put an innocent person away for years. The FBI is denying scientists accesibility to the CODIS system but we need to correct the errors in the CODIS system so that wrong convictions won't occur. I don't believe that having the millions or billions of people's DNA in the United States be placed into CODIS regardless of having priors or not, but there must be a way to relook at the DNA in the CODIS system and correct the coding errors.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first begin reading I thought about the innocent people that may have been unjustly convicted due to this system, but as I read on I realized that this is just the opposite as well; the guilty people that are running loose because their actual DNA is not being imputed correctly. To err is human, but I would just hate to be the person that the human errs on. I really think the FBI CODIS DNA databank is dangerous because of the amount of errors rather than helpful, as it had intended on being.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand the whole genetics and DNA process that well. I know that humans DNA is very similar to animals and even vegetables. I can see that just using DNA alone could be a problem. If close relatives did have similar DNA, and one of the relatives was a criminal, but the other family member had just recently got into trouble, they could possibly link the first crime to the family member that did not have anything to do with it. Can you imagine someone is inputting each persons DNA codes, and is expected to not make mistakes. How many mistakes could one person make, now distribute that between how every many people are inputting this information. Does someone proof read each one? I can see having a data base that held DNA of criminals or people who have come through the jail system, but I do not see the need for others to have their DNA taken and stored somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI think the scientist should have access to CODIS. DNA evidence is used in two ways: to link a known suspect to a crime or to find new suspects known as a "cold hit" by searching for a match in a DNA database of known criminals. By allowing the scientist access to CODIS they can reveal if incorrect RMPs are prompting jurors and judges to attach undue weight to DNA evidence, possibly leading to miscarriages of justice. Even if these fears are not borne out, independent checks on the DNA held in large databases like CODIS are vital to maintaining confidence in DNA evidence presented in courts all over the world, access would also allow the number of errors in CODIS to be measured according to the scientist. If this is true then the scientist should have access because it could possibly help solve a lot of cases that haven't been solved. This in turn could put more criminals away and bring the innocent out. It could also bring comfort to victim’s families.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed that when DNA evidence first began being used to convict individuals of crimes that it was a fool proof method. However, just like with any other method, it has problems and is not fool proof. While I believe that even with some of these problems it is still one of the better ways to try to prove that someone committed a crime without a reasonable doubt, there could potentially be many people who go to prison for a crime they did not commit. Just like hundreds of people have been set free due to DNA testing that was not available at the time of their trial, many others will eventually be set free due to mistakes made in the CODIS system. Like others have said I do believe that the FBI should allow scientists to make further investigations into the errors, they are scientists and will probably follow all required procedures to make sure the information does not get out to just anyone.
ReplyDeleteIs CODIS dangerous it can be. I think that CODIS is a great tool for the criminal justice system. But it is not perfect and I think that CODIS can have some flaws. That is why scientist need to examine it and make sure that it is as accurate. I think that CODIS should only be used to try to find criminal. It is a scary thought to think that the FBI can have our DNA and do who knows what with it.
ReplyDeleteDNA identification can be very reliable, because each person has a unique DNA sequence. The problem occurs when DNA is mishandled or misused. Several inmates have who were imprisoned during the 60's and the Civil Rights movement have be exonerated due to DNA evidence as provided by the Innocence Project of Texas. IPOT goes to police stations, collects old evidence, and then runs DNA tests on it. But they also encounter many obstacles with DNA. Often times, the DNA has been tampered with by unknown forces while under the care of police officers. This shines a poor light on the police force and raises doubts about how reliable cops are and how much we can really trust those assigned to protect us.
ReplyDeleteCODIS is a database program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. It is the main database in DNA. CODIS allows matches to be made between the Forensic Index and the Offender Index. This is great because CODIS can link crime scenes together. It is also possible to identify serial offenders. CODIS brings confidence to investigators because it provides them with the identity of the perpetrators. I think CODIS is great but there are always disadvantages in everything. The process is very time-consuming, and large amounts of samples are required to perform the test(s). We live in a society of impatience. So this system can be disliked by many, especially the criminals. But at least we all know that CODIS can do the job to link DNA with offenders.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the actual idea of CODIS isn't a bad one, but there should probably be more than one institution doing this. I think that the distrubution of information through different organizations reduces the chance of error. This could be a private business that can code your DNA so if it is ever used against you, there is a smaler chance of being wrongly tried by computer error. CODIS is a good thing to have in our criminal justice system but people should have the oppurtunity to know what there DNA codes are from more than one source. This would definitely increase the reliabilty of using DNA in cases that can solve a crime.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think that CODIS is a very good way to make use of DNA, we have to remember that it is only as good as the people who are inputting the information. It is very frightening to me to think that my DNA could mistakenly link me to a crime that I was not involved with. It also shows that we cannot rely on any one particular aspect of forensics. All aspects collectively must build a case to convict someone. For example, what about those scientists in Israel who have found a way to replicate DNA? With possibilities like this around, we cannot rely on DNA alone to prove guilt or innocence. DNA is not the holy grail of justice that many people believe that it is.
ReplyDeleteI think that every system has it flaws. We should not allow outsiders the access to the FBI systems, because it does not need someone from the outside to look at it to have it fixed. They raised the concern and a good one at that, but now they need to let them look into it and fix it. Fixing it could take some time but in the meantime it does not mean that people were wrongly convicted. I would hope that the justice system would not put all their eggs in one basket.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that scientist should be able to have access to the CODIS system, because that is clearly a job of the FBI. The FBI could do some more extensive training that will only allow them to make so many errors after that then they should be replaced. Then FBI will be more accurate in their input of information. You can't take away from our criminal justice careers, we need more. I agree that all systems have flaws especially if it deals with technology, but we must work with what we have. Scientists need to stick to science.
ReplyDeleteNothing is perfect! I do agree with Nicholas, “the problem occurs when DNA is mishandled and misused”. Regardless of its flaws, it does more good than bad. CODIS is intended to link criminals to crimes, but unfortunately it isn’t as bullet proof as they once thought it was. Granted it does severe as a very important tool to help police officials and FBI. Along with DNA being important, it is not solely what makes or breaks a criminal. I do feel for those wrongly convicted due to these “mess Ups” with the system.
ReplyDelete