Alexander Rizzo
Current Event #5
Review
Title:
Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence
Areli Escobar, an inmate on death row in the state of Texas, claims in the following article that the Austin police crime lab may have completed “shoddy work” regarding the evidence that put him in jail for crimes including the rape and murder of Bianca Maldonado. DNA evidence on jeans, a shirt, and shoes tied to Escobar will be re-performed in order to prove Escobar guilty. Escobar's lawyers claimed that analysts conducting the DNA tests were, “poorly trained” and were cross-contaminating the samples.
The relevance of this article regarding forensic science is that the experiments regarding the article are DNA tests in order to solve a murder case. This case is extremely important for not only Escobar but also effect Maldonado’s family because if Escobar is telling the truth, then Bianca’s killer may still be free. It is also important because this is a crime that includes the death penalty. If Escobar is proved guilty, then he might be killed. Finally, this case is important because if it is true that the Austin police crime lab is conducting DNA tests that are not accurate, than many other trials may also have to be reviewed.
Some of the strengths of this article include that all of the relevant information is included in the article. What would have made the article better, would be more information regarding the crime and more information on the Austin police crime lab. What I would like to know is if this is the first case in which the legitimacy of the crime lab was being questioned or if this was one of multiple accusations. However, the article was interesting and to the point.
5 comments:
Liam Grealy
October 20, 2017
Current Event #5
Forensics
I like how alex chose an article where DNA was included, I chose a DNA related article when I did my review and have since followed the subject through others current event articles. I like how he gave a concise summary of the article, after reading it myself I feel like he did a great job summarizing it and hitting the key points. I agree with his comment that there should have been more information about the specific crime. I also Like his point of letting the reader know if this is Escobar’s first accusation or if he has other cases or a criminal record as I feel like if he has a history of this type of behavior then it may lead the jury to say he is guilty despite the “shoddy work” in regards to the DNA processing.
I wish he gave more quotes and not the simple 2 word quotes which he included. I wish he gave quotes that helped both his review and help him give a better summary. I also think he should have included some more details about how the charges were dismissed based off of the mistakes of the forensic examiner. Lastly I wish he included something about Escobar’s fate, if the charges were just discarded or if he remains in custody
I found it most interesting how often DNA is quickly dismissed, but how quick the police is to convict someone based off of DNA. I feel as though the last few weeks I have read articles about how people are released after DNA is counted as uncertain and not viable evidence.
Kevin Formato
October 22, 2017
Current Event #6
Forensics
Title: Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence
https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/court-examine-if-austin-crime-lab-botched-death-penalty-evidence
After reading Alex's article, he provided a good summary about Areli Escobar’s claim that the DNA evidence used to put him in jail may not be reliable. Alex raises many good questions in regards to the use and reliance of DNA evidence used in our criminal cases. He brings up the point how forensics science can sometimes be wrong and that it's necessary to go over all the facts that have been given to make sure that they have the case right as someone's life is in the balance and a family wants to have the answers about what happened. Additionally, Alex described how the “DNA evidence on jeans, a shirt, and shoes tied to Escobar will be re-performed in order to prove Escobar guilty”. The Austin Crime lab who analyzed this evidence and has been under scrutiny for their mishandling and their contamination which may affect other cases beyond Escobar.
It makes one question the use of DNA evidence in criminal trials as we often consider having the DNA as the key piece of evidence to convict someone. DNA evidence should be used in connection with all the other pieces of evidence. Additionally, I learned from the article that “there is no deadline for the judge to issue his findings or for the appeals court to act on them” which could impact people wrongly convicted just sitting in jail waiting for a court to hear their case.
The article lacked in information regarding the Austin Crime lab however there was a video of a police briefing about the mishandlings of the Austin Crime lab. Perhaps, Alex could have provided a short summary of video to add to his blog.
Lucy Rizzo
October 25, 2017
Forensic
Current Event #6
Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence
https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/court-examine-if-austin-crime-lab-botched-death-penalty-evidence
I read Alex’s summary on “Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence”. Alex created a well detailed summary of the discovery of new DNA testing development. Alex includes estimates from a death row inmate and elaborates on how these findings will affect new trials and cases. Alex also does a good job on incorporating how these findings will affect the convict and his trial in particular. I think Alex could have incorporated more of his own opinion on the piece. How he felt about the findings, as well as, how he thinks future trials will be affected. He also could have included more outside information regarding the case in particular. Overall I think Alex did a good job informing the reader of his discoveries and concerns in learning about this new type of DNA testing.
Griffin Gelinas Current Event 6
10/25/17
https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/court-examine-if-austin-crime-lab-botched-death-penalty-evidence
Alex's review of “Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence” really made clear how important DNA discoveries are to the development of examination. The review explains thoroughly how an inmates DNA ends up affecting his trial and could change his entire life if used correctly. These discoveries in DNA are so essential in making sure that these trials verdicts are correct and not corrupted. That is where DNA comes in handy the most, in trials. Convictions are made every day based only on DNA evidence. DNA testing is the future of forensic studies since its arrival and this article shows how amazing and controversial it is. These cases will continue to be so controvertial because of how astounding the results are and how shocking they can be.
I would say he did a great job and the DNA testing gets a lot of attention which is good. I would say he could have focussed more on the specific individuals trial. The specifics would be extremely interesting especially after reading this.
Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence
https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/court-examine-if-austin-crime-lab-botched-death-penalty-evidence
After reading Alex's summery of the article "Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence". Alex does a good job summarizing the article by using quotes to help the reader visualize the situation and what happened with the DNA testing. secondly, He did a good job explaining how the DNA testing mishap affected both families, and how Escobar can die if found guilty. I think Alex could have put his own input on the situation, and maybe more outside information on the article or other situations like this article has written about. Maybe some statistics, for how often cases like these occur and who often wins the case. I think Alex did a good job making the reader aware of this new form of DNA testing, and providing the reader with a real life example.
Post a Comment