Bethany Lee
Mr. Ippolito
Forensics//EF Odd
October 3, 2021
Lucchesi, Emilie Le Beau. “How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and
Overturning Wrongful Convictions.” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 15 Sept. 2021, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is-challenging-forensics-and-overturning-wrongful.
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi’s September 15, 2021 article titled” How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and Overturning Wrongful Convictions” discusses recent findings that are very important to ensure that justice is brought to a crime’s victim(s) and perpetrator(s). The article outlines indirect/secondary DNA transfer, which occurs when an individual’s DNA spreads to objects and places via other human carriers. Depending on the material where it settles, it can be indirectly transferred as many as six times, according to Cynthia Cal, an independent forensic consultant who specializes in secondary DNA transfer. The author goes on to discuss the 2012 wrongful arrest of Lukis Anderson, a 25-year-old homeless man in San Jose, California who was accused of murdering a wealthy investor who lived more than 10 miles away. At the center of this case was the revelation that DNA evidence and secondary transfer had misled the police and prosecutors at the time of Anderson’s arrest.
The case involved three intruders who broke into the investor’s home and then bound him and his wife. As a result, the investor died from asphyxiation while gagged. Police found two perpetrators’ DNA at the crime scene and then Anderson’s DNA on the victim’s fingernail. Santa Clara County public defender Kelley Kulick was assigned to the case. Her office’s investigator found that Anderson had been detoxing in the hospital the entire time the crime was committed; he was held in the hospital on 15-minute bed checks all night, so there was no way he could committed the homicide. Through further investigation, her team traced Anderson through the night of the crime: he had been publicly intoxicated and a store owner called the paramedics. It was discovered that the same ambulance that brought Anderson to the hospital picked up the homicide victim just hours later, the same paramedics who treated Anderson later responded to the homicide victim, and their equipment, including the finger pulsometer, was used in both cases. Consequently, Anderson was cleared of the crime, and three men were later convicted in the investor’s murder. This made it clear to the world that yes, indeed secondary DNA transfer is possible. Prior to this case, there was much speculation over whether DNA could actually attach to an object from a secondary, not a primary transfer. The case against Anderson was unique because the shared ambulance provided a timeline and Kulick was able to convince prosecutors to drop charges against her client. Nevertheless, because there is no precise timeline yet determined, it is likely that prosecutors will not be persuaded, and defense attorneys will have to try to educate and convince a jury for the foreseeable future.
Overall, Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi did a great job of outlining what the discovery that secondary DNA transfer does occur will have on generations to come. As a burgeoning idea that is coming into the radar of more and more police and forensic scientists, any wrongful convictions will soon be overturned. As Americans, it is of utmost importance that each and every individual be granted due process under the law and that people are convicted on the basis of substantiated, corroborating evidence. As we move forward, we strive as a nation to seek justice wherever there is a lack of it. Some weaknesses of Le Beau Lucchesi’s article are that she did not provide enough detail about any other factors that may have led to the conviction of Lukis Anderson. It would also have been interesting to learn how those two men who were later convicted in the investor’s were found and prosecuted years after the fact.
3 comments:
Elizabeth Burnell
Mr. Ippolito
Forensics (EF Odd) // Current Events 4
October 13, 2021
Lucchesi, Emilie Le Beau. “How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and
Overturning Wrongful Convictions.” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 15 Sept. 2021, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is-challenging-forensics-and-overturning-wrongful.
Bethany Lee’s Current Event: https://bhscsi.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is.html
On October 3, 2021, Bethany Lee brought a fresh perspective to the world of DNA analysis in her review of Emelie Le Beau Lucchesi’s article from Discover Magazine entitled “How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and Overturning Wrongful Convictions.” Lee exhibits many strengths within her writing, most notably in her explanation of indirect/secondary DNA transfer, which she does clearly and concisely to better inform her readers. Additionally, I appreciated how Lee added a specific, real-life example of indirect DNA transfer to better put the topic into context for her audience. Lastly, I really enjoyed how Lee’s chosen topic very closely relates to topics we are discussing in class.
While Lee has composed an insightful piece about her chosen article, I believe there are a few areas to be improved within her writing. Firstly, I think her paper would have benefited from a quote or two from the original article, so as to better expose her readers to her source material. Moreover, I noticed some very minor grammatical errors that could be fixed to improve the flow of her writing.
The most intriguing part of Lee’s review was certainly her discussion of how this DNA analysis could be crucial in overturning wrongful convictions. Our justice system is in no way perfect, and it is crucial that we are able to critique and try to fix the failures of its past.
Brody Pealman
Lucchesi, Emilie Le Beau. “How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and
Overturning Wrongful Convictions.” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 15 Sept. 2021, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is-challenging-forensics-and-overturning-wrongful. https://bhscsi.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is.html
One aspect that was done well by Bethany was the explanation on why the Anderson case was unique and what sparked the article. This was due to the fact that a timeline which was previously not found in an ambulance log was found, which showed the detail that was put into her review. Another thing that was done well was her explanation of the concept of indirect DNA transfer, which helped in the beginning of the review to set a mental picture for the reader. Finally, she had a strong conclusion that argued on the important of being extremely detailed in investigations to check for secondary transfers to help with innocent convictions
One aspect that Bethany could have improved on was a lack of explanation on how the three men’s DNA was found to be belonging to these men later on, as this could have shown the difference in a primary versus a secondary transfer of DNA. In addition, I had wished that Bethany would have explained how secondary transfers don’t ruin the concept of forensic investigations using DNA but rather simply limit the accuracy, but this still allows much more guilty parties to be found using DNA in primary transfers to put the article in a different context.
After reading the review, I have realized that secondary transfers are dangerous to the forensic science community as it can place false blame on suspects. This had made an impression on me because now many suspects that have been convicted in the past using DNA that maintained their innocence could actually be innocent, which seems very daunting.
Sofia Flower
Mr Ippolio
Current Event
Lucchesi, Emilie Le Beau. “How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and
Overturning Wrongful Convictions.” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 15 Sept. 2021, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is-challenging-forensics-and-overturning-wrongful.
Ippolito, Charles. “How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and Overturning Wrongful Convictions.” How Indirect DNA Transfer Is Challenging Forensics and Overturning Wrongful Convictions., 1 Jan. 1970, https://bhscsi.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-indirect-dna-transfer-is.html.
Bethany covered the findings of indirect and secondary DNA transfer, which is when an individual’s DNA spreads to objects and places via other human carriers. She went on to explain that, “Depending on the material where it settles, it can be indirectly transferred as many as six times, according to Cynthia Cal, an independent forensic consultant who specializes in secondary DNA transfer.” (Lee). That it depends on what material the DNA transfers on is dependent on how many times it may be indirectly transferred. She explained one arrest where Lukis Anderson, a 25-year old homeless man in 2012, was accused of murdering a wealthy investor more than 10 miles away. Resulting in, “At the center of this case was the revelation that DNA evidence and secondary transfer had misled the police and prosecutors at the time of Anderson’s arrest. “. There was a lot of speculation over whether DNA could attach to an object from a secondary, not a primary transfer.
Bethany could further improve on citing more sources and comparing more of various sources in the future. She could include quoting more scientists in her first paragraph when explaining the Lukis Anderson wrongful arrest story. As well as comparing a wider variety of sources apart from just the one case she explained and giving the audience more evidence to identify and learn from.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this current event. It taught me a lot about DNA transfer when an individual’s DNA spreads to objects and places via other human carriers. I chose this article because I thought it connected a lot with what we talked about in class, Locard’s laws. I would recommend a peer to read this review because it was so clear and straightforward to Bethany’s audience.
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