Forensics: New tool predicts eye, hair and skin color from a DNA sample of an unidentified individual

“Forensics: New Tool Predicts Eye, Hair and Skin Color from a DNA Sample of an Unidentified Individual.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 14 May 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180514083926.htm.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180514083926.htm

I read an article about the international team which, is led by scientists from the School of Science at IUPUI and Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has developed a novel tool to accurately predict eye, hair and skin color from human biological material -- even a small DNA sample -- left, for example, at a crime scene or obtained from archeological remains. This all-in-one pigmentation profile tool provides a physical description of the person in a way that has not previously been possible by generating all three pigment traits together using a freely available webtool.

The tool is designed to be used when standard forensic DNA profiling is not helpful because no reference DNA exists against which to compare the evidence sample.The HIrisPlex-S DNA test system is capable of simultaneously predicting eye, hair and skin color phenotypes from DNA. Users, such as law enforcement officials or anthropologists, can enter relevant data using a laboratory DNA analysis tool, and the webtool will predict the pigment profile of the DNA donor.

I chose to use this article for my current event because I am very interested in DNA technology.  In addition, I find most of our articles to be about murder innvestigations. During this difficult time I thought it might be nice to read something on a mor positive note.

Sarah Whitney
Forensics Current Event 20
Mr. Ippolito
3-30-2020

Lu, Donna. “A Fingerprint Can Show If Someone Has Taken Cocaine or Just Touched It.” New Scientist, 6 Feb. 2020, www.newscientist.com/article/2232622-a-fingerprint-can-show-if-someone-has-taken-cocaine-or-just-touched-it/.

A new test can now distinguish whether someone touched cocaine or ingested it, taking less than 2 minutes which is far faster than a blood test. This can now be used in future forensic investigations or drug testing. "As well as cocaine, the test picks up on a molecule called benzoylecgonine, which is excreted through the skin after a person has ingested cocaine. The chemical is also preset as an impurity in some street samples of cocaine. "Benzoylecgonine in street cocaine actually washes off the fingers," says Bailey." Although it is washable, this molecule is still excreted through the sweat of the individual who ingested cocaine.

This was tested by a team where some touched samples of cocaine 99% purity as well as street samples that were less pure. They also had people from a drug rehabilitation clinic who had ingested cocaine within the past 24 hours. From their fingerprints which were pressed for 10 seconds onto a specialized paper, the technique proved to be 95% accurate. Although this test may need further validation before being used as a forensic tool, it definitely has promising results.

This topic is extremely relevant because if at a crime scene, there are only fingerprints present, this test could be used if drugs and whether or not they were ingested is a question at hand. The article also mentions using this test for people operating public transportation to ensure the safety of citizens, especially because the test is so fast.

This author did a great job explaining the study and the information surrounding what it is. However, I wish they would have expanded a bit more on the background of the topic such as how they came to find that benzoylecgonine is excreted through sweat after someone has ingested cocaine as well as if this test could be used for other drugs.

Headless Body in Cave Is Identified as 1916 Ax Murder Suspect

Lorelei Heath

Mr. Ippolito 

Current Event 20

March 30, 2020

Murphy, Heather. “Headless Body in Cave Is Identified as 1916 Ax Murder Suspect.”

The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/us/idaho-outlaw-remains-found.html.

This story begins in 1916, about a man named, Joseph Henry Loveless. He was known for his stunts and landed himself in jail. A few months later he arrives home and his wife answers in awe. He tells her that he escaped. Police records show that he used a saw, and hid it in his boot. When he came home to his wife he killed her in cold blood. The children were scared and in mourning. Loveless had many aliases and went by Walt Cairns. That name was printed on a “Wanted for Murder” poster. This poster had described what he was wearing and the features of his face. After Agnes’ funeral, he was arrested for murder, but escaped, using the hidden saw in his boot, for the second time. A year later, in 1917, Idaho authorities tried to identify a torso found stuffed in a burlap sack inside of a cave. After testing they found it belonged to Loveless. Many years later, in 1991, an 11-year-old girl explored the cave tunnels and discovered a preserved hand. After excavating the caves system the investigators found an arm and two legs. The head of Loveless, however, was never found. 

Just 3 months ago, the first week of January 2020, his dismembered body was found. After research and help from the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit organization, made to identify the undetermined deceased using forensic genealogy, found a piece of the tibia and a long leg bone. “The DNA was high quality - unusual for such an old sample, according to Justin Loe... the temperature of the cave sand - around 37 Fahrenheit - might have contributed to the fact that the mummified remains retained an odor of decomposition, which was rare after so many years. Also, his sock was almost perfectly preserved... The clothes he was wearing when he escaped - a light-colored hat, brown coat, red sweater, blue overalls over black trousers - were an exact match for the clothes found on”. The DNA Doe Project also contributed to making a replica of Joseph Henry Loveless’s face using old photos of his relatives and his description.  Dr. Blatt’s theory of why Loveless was dismembered and buried in the cave was as simple as revenge. She believed when Agnes’ side of the family visited for her remains they “might have dismembered him as payback”. 

This article was the most interesting one I’ve read. I was engrossed and wanted to learn so much more about cases similar to Joseph’s. I do believe there could have been a more detailed explanation of the process. They only explained that they used old relative’s photos and did other tests. 

Betty Pat Gatliff, 89, Whose Forensic Art Solved Crimes, Dies.

Jordan Hoang

Mr. Ippolito

Forensics C Odd 

3/29/20

Sandomir, Richard. “Betty Pat Gatliff, 89, Whose Forensic Art Solved Crimes, Dies.” The New 

York Times, The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2020,  

www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/science/betty-pat-gatliff-dead.html. 

Betty Pat Gatliff, who recently passed away from a stroke at the ripe age of 89, was one of the most influential forensic scientists in the field. Gatliff began her career with a degree in both art and science. Her keen interest in sculpting however, eventually led her to help forensic scientists reconstruct faces for crimes. Before beginning her reconstruction, she would gather information from investigators about the skull- such as the age, race, and body type of the person. Then, she would make “plastic markers” to identify how deep she believed the facial tissue to be. Finally, she would smooth over the entire face with clay and shave it down to make it look more realistic. Her work mainly focused on reconstructing the “skulls of people whose faces had decomposed or been rendered unrecognizable by acts of violence.” 

Gatliff's work was extremely influential to the field of forensics. Throughout her years of work, she was able to build 300 different faces and produce identification for over 70% of them. Her focus however, was not only identifying and reconstructing faces, but teaching others how to do the same. When showing her technique to other aspiring sculptures and forensic scientists, she noted “I guarantee after these four days you won’t look at a person’s face the same way again.” Although she was mostly reconstructing the faces of victims rather than perpetrators, her skills ultimately helped many forensic scientists gather significant information about the events of a crime. Gatliff noted, “That’s the reason I do it, is to help solve a crime.”

There were many positives about this article. I liked how the author gave details about the life of Gatliff along with insightful information about her work as well. The only minor critique I would give is that there wasn’t a lot of visuals. I think it would have been interesting for readers to see more of the faces that Gatliff reconstructed throughout the years. Overall however, the article was very enlightening. It showed me just how significant Gatliff’s work was to the field of forensics. 

AP. “Prosecutor: New DNA Tests Solve 1991 NJ Rape, Murder Case.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 2 Feb. 2020, apnews.com/2028a133af1cc5008c2a7f46fcb5f04b.

    Thanks to recent technological and scientific advances in the field of forensic DNA investigation, a 1991 New Jersey Rape and Murder Case has been solved. After a private laboratory, making use of the aforementioned technological advancements, obtained the permission to exhume the body of the main suspect, the identity of the rapist-killer could finally be confirmed. The recent advancements allowed the private laboratory to test DNA from the victim’s dress, stockings and body, which remained unknown as they were previously un-testable. The eventual confirmed killer initially came to the attention of law enforcement because he lived 300 yards away from the location where the victim’s body was discovered and a block away from the hotel she was staying in at the time. What remains an issue in this case is confirming the identity of the victim. She is believed to be Christa Engel, but her identity cannot be confirmed because there are no known relative samples available to investigators for comparison. This is due to the fact that Mrs. Engel was born in West Germany, and had no contact with her family. 

    This news story presents another compelling example of how advances in technology can help bring justice, even to cases that have gone cold for multiple decades. Although the timing of this discovery is rather unfortunate, given that the perpetrator passed away 4 months prior to the discovery of his wrongdoings, the revolutionary new testing capabilities available to forensic investigators can continue to shed light on likely thousands of cases across the country. This also provides another compelling example on which to rest the case that investment in further research and development in this field in a larger context should be supported, as there are clearly demonstrable examples of success in this regard. 

    One of the main positive aspects of this article was that it was written coherently and in a very concise manner. The author conveyed the information effectively and painted an impressively context-rich image of the crime and the people involved. One of the major shortcomings was that the article failed to ever describe in detail the advances in DNA testing technology that made the discovery possible. The fact that this entire story essentially rests on this exact detail makes it a rather questionable choice on the part of the article’s author to exclude this from the text. The biggest way the article could be improved would be to discuss the exact technological development further and to include the technical details of this advancement as well. This would help to clear up the obvious gap in the article that exists otherwise.

Masha Popovic

Forensics

D Odd / Current Event 19

3/21/20

Levenson, Michael. “'Pillowcase Rapist,' Who Terrorized Florida in the 1980s, Has Been Caught, Officials Say.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/us/pillowcase-rapist-robert-koehler.html?auth=login-google

The New York TImes describes a horrendous story of Robert

 Eugene Koehler, a 60 year old man who has been linked 

to over two dozen sexual assaults since the 80’s. He targeted 

South Florida, as he snuck into women's homes and attacked 

them. He had a gresoume signature when it came to his attacks

 which involved covering his victims faces with his hands or a 

pillow. This gave him the name, “Pillowcase Rapist”. 50 investigators

 were assigned to the case and after chasing over 1000 leads, he still couldn't 

be captured. However, on   the thursday of january this year, he was finally

arrested as a sex offender. He was charged with, in accordance to the article, 

 “two counts of sexual attery with a deadly weapon stemming from a rape 

of a 25 year old woman.” Investigators used DNA sample taken from Mr.

 Koehler  and linked him to over 24 other sexual assaults from last year. 

They also found a dungeon in under Mr. Koehler home and many feared

 that, if not caught, he would have gone on with other plans far worse than 

what has been seen from him so far. 

This article has shown that advances in forensic science have been

 extremely useful in important cases such as the one described above. More

 specifically, advancements in DNA sampling to link suspects to perpetrators,

 has become more efficient and reliable. Rape and sexual assult is something 

that must be taken serously in this cultre and challenge the social norms/stereotypes. 

This article gave insight into a very interesting story, however

 there was one critique I can make. I feel that there was a 

need for more outside information/sources to backup the story behind

 Koehler sentencing and backstory. Apart from that, I thought the article 

was very well written and the author did a great job of creating

 concise/easy to follow information. 

Angie Pearson

Mr. Ippolito

Forensics D Odd 

Current Event 19

Eaton, Emilie. “Behind the Scenes: How Bexar County Will Test the Difference between Hemp and Pot.” ExpressNews.com, Express-News, 25 Feb. 2020, www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Bexar-County-may-be-the-first-in-Texas-to-15084427.php

Texas recently legalized hemp, which made it difficult to press charges in certain marijuana-related drug crimes. Bexar County’s crime lab will possibly become the first in Texas to test the difference between hemp and marijuana. However, in order to tell the two apart, more technically advanced testing equipment has to be used, which was not readily available until now. For now, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced that there would be no pressed charges for the possession of small amounts of marijuana until the testing problem was solved. Previously, In order to tell whether a sample had any THC, labs used to do a chemical test that only took minutes to look for cannabinoids and characteristic hairs that are present on hemp and marijuana plants. But due to the new hemp law, labs now must extract THC from the sample and determine the exact amount of the present, which will require new testing procedures. Previously, to determine the concentration of a substance, a machine would expose the drugs to a high level of heat. However, with cannabis plants, this does not work. THCA is the raw substance that does not cause a high, which is the substance found in hemp. But, THCA converts to THC when it is dried and heated, making the old test useless due to the new hemp law. Bexar County invested in a machine that sets a specific temperature that would not change the THCA into THC. The new equipment can test for all kinds of marijuana, such as oils, wax, and edibles.

This could be beneficial for not only the new laws but also farmers who can now make a profit off of hemp. With the new procedures and machines, fewer people will be charged with drug crimes, which they could have been wrongfully accused of before, especially when the old procedures of using high heat changed THCA to THC.

I enjoyed reading this article. It was quite informative and summarized the topic well. I especially liked how the article explained how the old procedures would simply not work with the new hemp law. However, one weakness was that it did not include how the new machines and procedures worked, which could have strengthened the article. 

Eve Balseiro

Forensics Current Event 19

3/22/2020

Lu, Donna. “A Fingerprint Can Show If Someone Has Taken Cocaine or Just Touched It.” New Scientist, 6 Feb. 2020, www.newscientist.com/article/2232622-a-fingerprint-can-show-if-someone-has-taken-cocaine-or-just-touched-it/.

Donna Lu’s article “A Fingerprint Can Show If Someone Has Taken Cocaine or Just Touched It” explores a recent advancement in forensic science. Developed at the University of Surrey in the UK, this test is much quicker than a blood test lasting less than two minutes. In addition to identifying traces of cocaine from the skin, the test can identify cocaine in one’s system.  “...the test picks up on a molecule called benzoylecgonine, which is excreted through the skin after a person has ingested cocaine”.  To test, the person suspected of cocaine use places their finger onto a specialized paper for merely ten seconds. To detect cocaine, scientists utilize a technique called mass spectrometry. 

Lu’s article is extremely relevant to the public as this speeds up the process of testing for cocaine immensely. In most cases, to test for cocaine you must conduct a blood test. Now forensic scientists can have their results in less than two minutes. Within a larger case, this can allow investigators to eliminate suspects or follow leads much faster.

For Lu to improve her article, I think it would have more effective had she further explained the process of blood testing for cocaine vs this new method. She only explained that it was much faster but gave the reader no amounts of time to compare. Overall, Lu did a very good job summarizing and explaining the process of the new test for cocaine. 

Charlotte Cagliostro

Forensics

C Odd / Current Event 19

3/21/20

Hayhurst, Claire. “How a Remarkable 32-Year-Old Murder Cold Case Was Solved.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 10 May 2019, www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/melanie-road-murder-how-dna-collected-in-1984-solved-the-32-year-old-case-with-christopher-hampton-a7022056.html. 

Claire Hayhurst wrote an extremely interesting article for The Independent, in which she described how a 32-year-old murder case was recenlty solved by investigators. The victim, Melanie Road, was only 17 years old when she was murdered in 1984. Although investigators found traces of semen and blood on her body and around the scene, the DNA did not match any samples on file or that of any suspects. The murderer, Christopher Hampton, was identified and charged over 30 years later when his daughter’s DNA was uploaded to the national database because of unrelated domestic violence issues. The system identified the familial connection between the unknown DNA sample from the 1984 murder and the sample from Hamptom’s daughter. Now having linked the DNA, investigators were able to collect a sample of Christopher’s saliva and match his DNA to the samples from Melanie’s case. 

This article demonstrates the importance of DNA analysis in criminal cases. If Christopher’s daughter’s DNA had not been uploaded to the federal database, he certainly would not have been caught. There are thousands of cases that mirror this one and illustrate how powerful and advanced DNA analysis has become. DNA is such a great type of evidence because it is airtight, and it was the only thing that could put Christopher at the scene.

I quite enjoyed reading this article. Claire Hayhurst wrote in a very sophisticated, yet informative manner. I think she did a great job summarizing the case and prioritizing the relevant information in her article. In specific, I appreciated how many details and facts from the case she included, since they legitimized her writing. However, I do wish she had spoken to the relevance of this case and how it speaks to the importance and usefulness of DNA analysis and federal databases.

Madison Meehan

3/11/20

Levenson, Michael, and Heather Murphy. “Golden State Killer Suspect Offers to Plead Guilty.” 

The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Mar. 2020, 

www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/us/golden-state-killer-trial.html.

The man accused of being the Golden State Killer, facing a possible death sentence for many rapes and murders in California during the 1970’s and 80’s, has recently offered to plead guilty. Although he offered to plead guilty, he will only do so if he gets a life sentence instead of the death penalty. The suspect, Joseph James DeAngelo, was arrested in 2018 and charged with 13 counts of murder. This specific investigation was the first to be solved with genetic genealogy. Genetic genealogy is a “forensic technique that relies on identifying crime-scene DNA”. 

Since this case used genetic genealogy successfully, many other agencies began to solve violent crimes using the same system. Investigators took a sample from the scene of a 1980 murder and submitted it to GEDmatch, connecting the DNA to a distant relative of DeAngelo and finally to him. This has led to a “rapid emergence of genetic genealogy over the past two years”. This makes forensic scientist’s jobs much easier. 

I learned a lot from reading this article, however there were some things that the author could have done better. One thing that could’ve been better is more description of the process for genetic genealogy. The author summarized the case really well though and I understood everything that happened. Finding out about such an important process for forensic scientists was very interesting and informative.

Sophia Prior 

Ippolito  

Current Event 18 

March 12, 2020 

University of Surrey. "Experimental fingerprint test can distinguish between those who have taken or handled cocaine." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 February 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200206080453.htm>.

In a Science Daily article, they discussed an experiment with a fingerprint detection approach that could identify traces of cocaine on human skin even after someone has washed their hands. The test is going to be used to show whether an individual has actually consumed a class of drugs or just put their hands on some. This is a new possibility for drug testing which is accurate and painless with a single fingerprint sample. The process of detecting the drug is said in the article stating, “using lateral flow assay technology and fluorescence-labelled antibodies to selectively detect specific drugs and their metabolites in eccrine sweat collected from fingerprints”(SD, p1). The team working on this project is from the University of Surrey, forensics science Ireland and national physical laboratory and intelligent fingerprinting. they took fingerprints from people who want treatment at drug rehabilitation clinics who told them they had taken cocaine in the past 24 hours. The participants were told to wash their hands and then the team would collect their fingerprints. 

   Overall the fingerprint is a great way to test for drugs quickly, efficiently and painlessly. It will have a great effect on society if this project is put in place and people begin using it. It'll be easier to discover who is actually consuming the drugs and who just handles the drugs in an investigation. Forensics scientists will benefit from this technology as it will make it easier during drug testing and to see who is involved. This fingerprint testing would have a very positive effect on society.

 I think the author did a good job of making this subject matter easy to understand by providing a good summary paragraph. Also by giving the step-by-step of what the team of scientists goes through to create an output. However, I think that some parts of the article are harder to understand and you definitely need a science background to be able to decipher what they are describing. Some improvements would be they could add more statistics about the usage of cocaine and explain more on why cocaine is the main focus instead of other class drugs.

Ruby Howell 

Current Event #18 

Forensics D-Odd

March 6th, 2020

Murphy, Heather. “Sooner or Later Your Cousin's DNA Is Going to Solve a Murder.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Apr. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/golden-state-killer-dna.html.

In the NYT article Sooner or Later Your Cousin's DNA Is Going to Solve a Murder,  Heather Murphy discusses how the Golden State Killer case was solved because of a new criminal investigation technique. This technique has been developed mainly by females who are deeply interested in family history, and it relies on DNA submitted to online genealogy sites. While it has been mainly used as a source of identification for the biological parents of adopted children, there has been a major push for it to be used widely in the field of a criminal investigation. This site has been used by criminal investigators to solve crimes that were previously thought to be unsolvable. 

In the Golden State Killer Case, genetic genealogist Dr. Barbara Rae-Venter had uploaded crime scene DNA to her small genealogical research site, GEDMatch. That DNA had added to the family tree data of the Killer’s cousins that had been on the site, which allowed Dr. Barbara Rae-Venter’s team to find a suspect for the case. That suspect turned out to be Joseph DeAngelo, the killer criminal who was responsible for his 26 murders cases, rapes and kidnappings.
Although this technique has been able to solve a multitude of cases that have been unsolved for decades and has been reported as a resounding source of DNA identification, there is a large force of legal backlash from civil rights activists. This resistance towards GEDMatch is because some have reported that they were unaware that their DNA was going to be used as a source for criminal investigation, even though Murphy explains that “GEDMatch discloses that profiles could be used to investigate violent crimes”. Although GEDMatch is a site that clearly states its intentions with its DNA, there have been sites such as FamilyTreeDNA that have been exposed for having secretly worked with the FBI. There have even been laws imposed on certain states within the US regarding DNA databases. One includes Maryland, where the police are forbidden from using DNA databases as a source of identification for suspects, yet it has been reported that in Maryland, “police departments in two counties have done precisely that with GEDMatch.” So while arguments against DNA databases are valid, not all DNA databases are untruthful about their intentions. However, for the companies that have lied, it raises the question about our privacy and human rights about what is ours. 

While I did enjoy this article, I thought that the author did a poor job making a deep connection between the many cases that she was mentioning and the relevance that they had in the main point of the article. I believe that if she were to mention fewer cases but go into more depth about each, it would have made the article much more impactful. Despite her glossing of topics, I do believe that the article is clear and includes a quality background on the topic that builds on the influence of the writing. 

Fareeha Rehman's “1998 Sexual Assault Cold Case Solved with Blood Sample from Suspect's Autopsy" by Molly Palma

Molly Palma

Mr. Ippolito C-Odd

Current Event 18
Due on March 12th

Rehman, Fareeha. “1998 Sexual Assault Cold Case Solved with Blood Sample from Suspect's

Autopsy.” KRQE News 13, 21 Feb. 2020,

https://www.krqe.com/news/national/1998-sexual-assault-cold-case-solved-with-blood-s

mple-from-suspects-autopsy/

In 1998, sexual assaulter, Juan Johnson “forced entry to a 32-year-old woman’s apartment and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint”.  The woman luckily escaped after jumping out the window. There were no matches found in the DNA and fingerprint databases at the time, that would identify him as the perpetrator. In 2014, Johnson died (cause not listed). It wasn’t until last year, when the Virginia Department of Forensic Science found a match with Johnson’s blood sample, as well as his fingerprints. The database had grown vast enough to finally find a match, but it was too late. Even if Johnson hadn’t died, the statute of limitations had passed to put him in jail for his crime.

This article, “1998 Sexual Assault Cold Case Solved with Blood Sample from Suspect's Autopsy” is important in the grand scheme of forensic science for many reasons. First and foremost: Johnson’s DNA and fingerprints were not found in the database for 21 years proving that the database is constantly growing larger. This is because of new ancestry sites and the rising demand for the services. Secondly, Juan Johnson believed he was slick by posing as an exterminator with the initial entrance into this woman’s house, but his fingerprints and blood DNA were collected by the police. According to Major Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Commander of Major Crimes all members of this bureau are ‘caring and committed’ in seeking closure in cases like this. Forensic scientists are always ready to solve new and relook old cases, which is important to acknowledge for context purposes. 

Rehman’s article was easy to read, because she carefully laid out a who, what, and a why for the reader. Rehman’s concise writing style was refreshing, but a criticism might refer to the lack in specificity with certain facts. For example, she says “detectives also matched Johnson’s DNA with a similar case in Arlington County a week before the August 17 incident.” To follow this statement, she should’ve explained which case matched with Johnson’s DNA, because a) the reader was wondering and b) it has everything to do with the topic which is Juan Johnson’s criminal record and how this plays into the evolution of forensic science. She could’ve done this several times like about how Johnson died and how the police collected the blood sample from Johnson in the first place. 

Clara DeMagalhaes                                                                                               Current Event #17

Dollinger, Arielle. “'No One Would Listen': Cleared of Murder, After 33 Years in Prison.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/nyregion/murder-conviction-vacated-keith-bush.html.

At 17 years old, Keith Bush was suspected of strangling a 14 year old girl and was promptly incarcerated after having to sign a confession. Despite this, he always fought to clear his name, and wrote to a lawyer called Adele Bernhard, asking her to help his case. She took it, and her subsequent investigation turned up evidence inconsistent with the confession statement and other conclusions, such as how the cause of death detailed in the confession didn’t match the girl’s actual cause of death. Additionally, DNA found under the victim’s fingernails didn’t match Bush’s DNA, and a witness who said she saw him leave with the victim the night of the crime recanted her testimony 5 years later. Most importantly, Bernhard obtained records of the case saying that the police had another suspect for the murder - John W. Jones Jr., who made a statement to the police. These statements were never told to Bush’s defense lawyer, which is a violation of evidence rules. Bernhard took the records to the district attorney, who concluded that the prosecutors had engaged in a deliberate cover up. “‘At the end of the day, we came to some very simple conclusions,’ Mr. Sini said. ‘We don’t believe Mr. Bush committed this murder. We believe Mr. Bush was denied a fair trial. And we believe that John Jones is a more probable suspect in this crime.’” 44 years after his arrest, John Bush’s conviction was thrown out and he was absolved of the crime.

A case in which an innocent person is wrongly convicted and imprisoned or worse is an unfortunate event that isn’t uncommon. This event can hopefully encourage more careful procedures and standards in the criminal justice system to ensure that an occurrence of deliberate misconduct doesn’t happen again. Furthermore, the methods used to uncover the true conclusion to this case are a signal of the advances of forensic science, which will likely be more accurate and reliable in the future.

Overall, the article was well-articulated and was a decent length. It does a great job at stirring emotion in the reader, making one feel great sympathy for the formerly suspected criminal. Yet it doesn’t overdo it to the point where it feels artificial. The use of pictures and quotes from various people involved in the case was also helpful because hearing their personal thoughts helps lend credibility to the author’s retelling of the story. However, one thing that I think could have been included was a description of what Bush is now doing after he was absolved, such as the job that he might have or if he might be engaged. It would be a satisfying conclusion to have some closure provided about that.