Category Archives: DNA

More than 2,000 people convicted of crimes, including those imprisoned for murder and rape, will be notified by Texas prosecutors about the possibility of defective forensic evidence in their cases because of faulty DNA testing by Austin cops.

Letters from Travis County prosecutors will be sent to 642 people with recently verified addresses, while another 1,559 defendants will be notified as soon as they are located and the letters will notify them that they may be entitled to an appeal, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

This process is specifically intended to identify a situation where an innocent person was wrongly convicted because of DNA evidence, Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said Thursday. We are looking at a very small population, if any, but that is the point of this process.

The 2,201 cases which date back to 2004 and include convictions as recent as last year are significantly fewer than the initial estimate of about 3,600 cases that may have required an additional review of DNA evidence. The Austin Police Departments DNA lab was closed in June after a state audit found staffers there were using outdated and incorrect procedures while processing DNA evidence.

If we have someone who is convicted on DNA evidence that isnt reliable, and it played a material role in their conviction, our duty is to see that justice is done to correct that, said Assistant District Attorney Dexter Gilford, who supervises the agencys conviction integrity unit.

The Travis County District Attorneys Office announced in late 2015 that it found concerns involving the historical interpretation of DNA results. Then-District Attorney Rosemary Lehberg said in a statement at the time that the potential impact of the issues was still unknown, but acknowledged it could have a material impact on some criminal cases.

The step of notifying defendants in writing marks the biggest development in the larger effort to locate and identify anyone wrongfully convicted as a result of faulty work at the DNA lab, which remains closed and could ultimately become privatized, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Using information from Austin police, prosecutors had been working for weeks to identify defendants whose cases included DNA evidence.

We are trying to identify anyone who suffered an adverse consequence, and DNA was material to that consequence, Gilford said.

The letters will include information for defendants on what they can do if they want their cases reviewing, including the hiring of private defense attorneys or lawyers from the Capital Area Private Defender Service.

The notices are just the first step, Gilford said.

Meanwhile, a police officer in Temple about 70 miles north of Austin was fired earlier this week after investigators determined he improperly stored some DNA samples and other evidence for years, the Associated Press reported.

Officer Jayson Jordan was indefinitely suspended from the Temple Police Department for violating procedures from 2012 through last year, including failure to properly recover, document and store items like DNA evidence, drugs and a gun. Prosecutors are now working with the department to determine how the issues could affect cases.

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Thousands of convicts told that cops mishandled DNA evidence ... - New York Post

People have been studying genealogy for about as long as there have been people remember all those begats in the Bible? but these days something has been added: Genetics.

The sharp fall in cost and rise in effectiveness of genetic testing, an increase in our understanding of humanitys genetic history, and the spread of online databases and commercial sites allowing easy comparison has expanded the search for ancestors way beyond dusty books and records. So we wondered: How has this affected what sometimes is called Americas most popular hobby?

The answer: A lot, but also a lot less than youd think.

It has had a huge effect, particularly on forensic work, said Diane Florence Gravel, a genealogist who is president of the New Hampshire Genealogical Society. I think it really started being accepted as a supportive aspect of genealogy maybe 3 to 4 years ago. It was kind of slow to really take off, but now its routinely used in a lot of the articles the National Genealogical Society publishes.

Gravel just got back from a class about what genealogical research can and cannot do with various types of material, such as Y-chromosome (men only), mitochondrial DNA (women only) and autosomal DNA (both sexes, but tricky to interpret).

At the amateur level, the appeal of genetic genealogy is the same as the appeal of most new technology: It promises to do things more quickly and more exactly, drawing in folks who wouldnt otherwise be interested.

It even got my husband interested in it. He just glazes over when I talk about it, until he got his own DNA results; now hes interested, Gravel said.

Uploading results to online databases is particularly exciting because it lets people find connections they didnt know existed, perhaps to a second cousin nearby. And sometimes it debunks connections.

My grandmother always said that we had Indian blood, but every time you asked her it was a different tribe were Seminole, Creek, Cherokee so I wondered about it, Gravel said. The result from her own genetic testing? There is not a single drop of it in me.

Genetics, as Im sure you know, is the biochemical mechanism that provides the blueprint for who we are. (Only a general blueprint, however. Other biochemical processes, notably the complex way that genes turn on and off and produce the proteins which do the work, as well as a myriad of environmental factors, make at least as much of a difference.)

The components of the genome are shuffled between parents during sex, and a mixture is passed down to children. The promise of DNA testing is that it can pinpoint specific bits of the genome that get passed down from parent to child unchanged, and use them to backtrack through history, making a connection to past generations.

Improvements in genetic testing have spawned several companies. Their claims for individuals may be overblown at times I saw them described on one medical website as genetic astrology but they can provide valuable information for more recent family connections, as well as spur interest.

Not that New Hampshire needs much spurring of genealogical interest. We already have a lot here, both inside and outside our borders. Thats partly because were wonderful people, of course, but mostly its because of history. Many, if not most, Americans with any ancestors from Britain or some northern European countries can trace their family tree back hereabouts.

We have about 400 members, and theyre from all over the country; so many people have New England roots, Gravel said.

In Concord, you can see that interest at 71 S. Fruit St., in the nondescript building that houses the New Hampshire Department of Archives. Inside, the surprisingly handsome research room is often bustling with people hunting down connections with people long gone.

We get very sophisticated amateur genealogists here. This is a Mecca for them, because lots of people whose families are now in Omaha, or Sacramento, or Portland, Ore., started here, said Michael York, the state librarian and acting commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources.

Theres a lot of material here, York said. Weve got a very solid collection, good collection, of family histories, town histories, a lot of tools for checking ones history.

Which means that theyve seen a big uptick in interest since Ancestry.com and the like started blitzing us with advertisements and shows like Finding Your Roots and History Detectives filled the airwaves. Right?

Not really.

I anticipated the question and asked the staff, and they dont see any difference, York said. They say we get a few people who say, I just went onto Ancestry.com and did their DNA test and I found X but thats rare.

The reading room with its extensive computer-supported data (the state library and archives have been going digital for more than 30 years) are no more crowded these days than theyve always been.

This answer surprised me, I admit. So far as I can figure, it may indicate that people who take the effort to come to the archives building are so far along in their research that theyre beyond the effect TV shows and print-outs produced by cheek swabs.

And it may say something about this new fad. If more folks brought into genealogy by new-fangled advances arent graduating to archives-level research, then maybe technology can only take you so far.

In other words, genetics is an aid to genealogical research, not a replacement for it.

Its used as a validation tool. You still have to have the paperwork, the actual in-the-trenches research, Gravel said. If somebody came in with (genetic tests) saying Im related to George Washington! I would want more than just that.

So before you mail off a cheek swab and a check to determine whether youre a descendant of Charlemagne (dont get excited its amazing how many people are told they are a descendant of Charlemagne) talk to your parents, your cousins, uncles and aunts, record their stories and their memories, find out what they know about earlier generations. Head to town halls or the county courthouses, try online searches through newspapers archives and cemetery databases, and generally poke around.

You may find new connections or you may not, but youll almost certainly be surprised by something. And thats better than a high-tech printout any day.

(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)

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DNA technology has changed genealogy a lot but also not much - Concord Monitor

STEPHANIE Davis appears to have deleted the statement she released on Twitter slamming her ex Jeremy McConnell for taking a DNA test on live TV.

Irish model Jeremy, 26, appeared on This Morning Thursday, where heprovided a swab to find out if hes the father of Stephs newborn baby, Caben-Albi.

OK! Magazine

Ruckas

Shortly after the segment, ex-Hollyoaks star Steph posted a lengthy response, beginning: Stephanie has felt humiliated by Jeremy denying his own son and foolishly announcing publicly his request for a DNA test.

Jeremy has caused Stephanie massive amount of stress, pressure and upset throughout her pregnancy, ruining what for most women is one of the most special times of their lives.

Now the tweet containing the statement has vanished from Stephanies timeline, as well as screen grabs shed posted of tweets by Jeremy denying he was the babys father.

Instagram

Stephanie has felt humiliated by Jeremy denying his own son and foolishly announcing publicly his request for a DNA test.

Jeremy has caused Stephanie massive amount of stress, pressure and upset throughout her pregnancy, ruining what for most women is one of the most special times of their lives.

Jeremy has at no point throughout the pregnancy or after the birth been in contact directly with Stephanie. Jeremy was categorically not banned from the birth, nor did he ever ask to attend.

Stephanie confirmed to Jeremy that she was pregnant 10 days after they split, any suggestion that she was unfaithful to him is to detract away from his numerous infidelities whilst in the relationship.

Jeremy has been given the option at all times to take part in a DNA test, because of past behaviour Stephanie has requested that this is handled via the correct channels and managed by her solicitor.

Jeremy to date has continually refused the terms of the agreement that Stephanie has proposed, which he was given the right to make his own amendments to suit him.

This confidentiality agreement was made to ensure privacy and protect Caben-Albi.

Stephanie as a single mother reserves the right to undertake any work she sees fit to provide for their son, her priority.

It is upsetting to think that Jeremy would stoop so low to challenge the mother of his child to a DNA test live on TV when it was already in hand.This shows how little concern he has for Caben and this is already being dealt with privately.

Caben and Stephanie have only been out of hospital for a few weeks, however after spending 9 months denying that he is the babies father, we cannot believe that Jeremy has the audacity to turn the situation around and bring all of this very much into a media circus, on his terms only.

Twitter

Fans who have been following the saga of Steph and Jeremy who embarked on a tumultuous on-off romance after meeting in the Celebrity Big Brother house last year were quick to notice the statement had been taken down.

A rep for Stephanietold The Sun Online she had no comment regarding the removal of the statement.

Fame Flynet

Meanwhile the new mumappears to be focusing on the positive, tweeting messages of thanks to those who have offered gifts and well wishes forher month-old tot.

A tweet pinned to the top of her timeline reads simply: So very thankful, while her latest Instagram snapshowsa pile of childrens booksnext to Cabens feet,captioned: Ending the day with hugs from this little one. The best feeling in the world.

OK Magazine

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Stephanie Davis deletes her emotional Jeremy McConnell statement slamming him for taking DNA test on live TV - The Sun

New York Times

Conflicting Views on a Wider Police Use of DNA New York Times The question of how widely investigators should be able to examine DNA databases is in the news, as officials in New York deliberate whether to authorize a method that could help find relatives of people charged with crimes. Called familial searching ... Vetrano's mother at DNA hearing: 'No medication will heal my shattered being'New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV Civil Liberties Advocates Push Back Against Calls For Familial DNA TestingCBS Local Family of slain jogger Karina Vetrano urge state to approve 'familial matching' DNANewsday WABC-TV all 7 news articles »

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Conflicting Views on a Wider Police Use of DNA - New York Times

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APD's DNA mixture could have affected hundreds of cases - FOX 7 Austin

This dog just had his day.

A beloved pooch sitting on doggy death row for killing a neighbors pup was granted a pardon when DNA testing proved his innocence, according to a report.

Jeb, a Michigan service dog, was in the wrong place at the wrong time last August when Vlad, a tiny Pomeranian, was found dead, according to CNN.

Vlads owner, Christopher Sawa, found Jeb standing over his dogs lifeless body, and he assumed he found his dogs killer and convinced a St. Clair Court that this was the case.

I have no choice except to follow out the state law that the animal would be destroyed, Judge Michael Hulewicz said in September, the network reported. I dont like to do this. I dont like it at all.

But Jebs owners, Penny and Kenneth Job, of St. Clair, MI, knew there was no way their gentle dog was a murderer, and were determined to have him exonerated. And its not just because they loved their dog they relied on him too. Kenneth, a 79-year-old Air Force veteran with neurodegenerative disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth who uses Jed to help him stand and walk.

The couple requested that testing be done to prove that the DNA found in Vlads wound matched his a procedure with a $416 price tag.

To do this, forensic experts plucked Vlad out of the freezer and swabbed the area where he was bitten, as well as the inside of Jebs mouth. The samples were sent off to the Maple Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

And on October 24, exactly two months after Jeb arrived at animal control, the verdict came in.

Jeb is not the dog that killed (Vlad), wrote DNA analyst AnnMarie Clark.

We were relieved, Penny told CNN. We were absolutely relieved.

Jeb was allowed to go home the week after the DNA results came in.

Vlads real killer is still on the loose, officials said.

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Dog escapes execution after DNA proves innocence - New York Post

Forbes

Buy Trump Island, Plan the Trip of a Lifetime with Your DNA, See the Biggest Yachts at the Miami Beach Show, and More Forbes Now CEO Rebecca Fielding is elevating the personalization with itineraries based on a client's DNA. With the new DNA Unwrapped program, clients pay $169 (half of which is refundable if you book a trip with the company) for an at-home cheek swab kit, ...

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Buy Trump Island, Plan the Trip of a Lifetime with Your DNA, See the Biggest Yachts at the Miami Beach Show, and More - Forbes

Iran Legal Medicine Organization (ILMO) has plans to collect DNA samples from people working in hazardous and risky jobs. DNA profiling is usually for two main reasons: to help in criminal investigations, and to identify a person after death in an accident, said Ahmad Shojaee, head of the organization on Wednesday. So far a genetic database to collect DNA samples from criminals has been created. Given the fact that the incidence of man-made and natural disasters is high in the country, the ILMO has decided to collect DNA samples of workers in dangerous jobs such as firefighters, IRCS rescuers, prison guards, etc, IRNA quoted him as saying. The measure can facilitate police investigation after an accident or disaster. In response to a query about the costs of maintaining such a database, he said the time and money saved through identifying suspects speedily through DNA evidence greatly outweighs the costs. The plan has been notified to the relevant organizations (including Tehran Municipality), and some of their employees will be undertaking a simple swab test soon, he said. Last week, a memorandum of understanding was signed between ILMO and the Passive Defense Organization of Iran (PDOI) by which the two sides were committed to integrate their diagnostic labs into a stronger network through exchange of information. The MoU was signed at ILMO branch in Kahrizak District, Rey County in Tehran Province where over 30% of all legal medicine diagnostic tests are undertaken. Criminal Identification Currently, over 60 countries have genetic databases. According to global figures, in countries with the highest number of DNA profiles created for criminals, searching the DNA database to find a profile match helps identify a suspect in around 60% of cases. In Iran, the first phase of the plan to collect DNA samples from prisoners was conducted in March 2016. According to the ILMO website, since then more than 2,000 samples have been collected and profiles created. According to our estimates, 50,000 more genetic profiles will be created and recorded in the genetic database by the end of the next fiscal year in March 2018. The databases will continue to expand annually, Shojaee said. A DNA profile is a small set of DNA variations that is very likely to be different in unrelated individuals. He further said genetic banks to help check crimes have been established in six provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, Fars and Khuzestan, and 50 people have been recruited to collect DNA samples of criminals. Genetic information database helps check criminals from committing repeated offenses. Statistics show that 12% of criminals resort to committing crimes within a year of the previous offense and 48% repeat their crimes after a gap of five years. First developed and used in 1984, DNA profiling is used in criminal investigation and to identify a person after death. DNA profiling is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA.

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ILMO Planning DNA Database for Workers in Risky Jobs - Financial Tribune

Jeb's owners, Penny and Kenneth Job of St. Clair, Michigan, couldn't believe that their sweet Jeb, the same gentle dog who helps Ken get up when he falls down, who lives peacefully with three other dogs, seven cats and a coopful of chickens, could ever harm another living being.

So the family used a forensic technique often used for human defendants to save their dog from death row last fall.

Jeb Stuart Job stands hip-high, with a muscular frame, big dark eyes and a long black snout. He's had a rough two years on this Earth.

In January 2016, when he wasn't quite a year old, he was found chained inside a shed in Detroit. His owner had died, and the rest of the family didn't want him.

Kandie Morrison, a volunteer with a dog rescue agency, got the call.

Once Morrison met Jeb, she thought he'd make the perfect service dog for her father; that's Kenneth Job.

Job, 79, an Air Force veteran who owned a drywall business, has a neurodegenerative disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth. He fell in love with the Belgian Malinois puppy. Dr. Karen Pidick, their veterinarian and neighbor in their rural Michigan town, trained Jeb to help Job stay steady on his shaky legs.

The family was a happy one until eight months later.

According to court testimony, on the morning of August 24, the Jobs' neighbor, Christopher Sawa, looked out his kitchen window and saw Jeb standing over the lifeless body of his own dog, Vlad.

Vlad weighed 14 pounds. Jeb weighed about 90 pounds.

Sawa ran out into his yard. He tried to give Vlad mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but it was too late. The tiny Pomeranian was dead.

Sawa called animal control and blamed Jeb. Animal control took the big dog into custody.

On September 19, all parties gathered at district court in St. Clair County.

If Judge Michael Hulewicz deemed Jeb a "dangerous animal," the dog would be put to death.

Sawa, the Jobs' neighbor for more than 30 years, testified about finding Jeb standing over his dead Pomeranian.

"It was horrifying. It was terrifying," he said, according to transcripts. CNN contacted the Sawas, who declined to comment.

He said it wasn't the first time Jeb had scared him.

"I was afraid of the dog. The dog always barked," he said.

Now, his beloved Vlad was gone.

"We've never had any children," he testified. "The dog was like a child to us."

Job testified that Jeb had indeed gotten away from him that morning: He and the Jobs' other three dogs had run off in the opposite direction of the Sawa home, toward a house with a pond where they liked to swim.

The Jobs' attorney, Edward Marshall, pointed to a lack of physical evidence linking Jeb to Vlad's death and questioned whether another large animal had killed Vlad. After all, Pidick, the neighborhood vet, had testified that an unfriendly stray dog had been spotted in the neighborhood, and foxes were known to live in the surrounding woods.

In the end, the judge said Jeb met the legal definition of a dangerous animal, and he made what he said was a tough decision.

"I have no choice except to follow out the state law that the animal would be destroyed," Hulewicz said. "I don't like to do this. I don't like it at all."

That's when the Job family asked to have testing done to see whether Jeb's DNA matched the DNA in Vlad's wound. They said they hadn't asked for it sooner because they thought Vlad had been cremated and there would be no way to get his DNA.

But at the trial, it came out that Vlad's body was in a freezer.

The Jobs arranged to have swabs taken from Vlad's wound and the inside of Jeb's cheek. The samples were sent to the Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine. The process cost $416, according to the Jobs.

On October 24, exactly two months after Jeb was taken into custody, AnnMarie Clark, a forensic DNA analyst at the center, sent in her findings: The DNA in the wound didn't match Jeb's DNA.

"Jeb is not the dog that killed (Vlad)," Clark wrote.

"We were relieved. We were absolutely relieved," said Penny Job, Ken's wife.

The DNA showed that another dog had killed Jeb, Clark told CNN -- but exactly who that dog is may forever be a mystery.

Jeb was allowed to go home the following week, after his owners signed an agreement promising that they would make sure Jeb wouldn't leave the yard unleashed and that they would maintain a secure fence to keep their animals in the yard.

The Jobs say Jeb came home a very different dog.

They say that during his nine weeks in animal control, he went from 90 to 75 pounds, and he became scared and skittish.

"The dog was thin and sick," Penny Job said. "And he lost all his social skills. He was afraid to go outside."

Jeb's weight wasn't taken when he entered and left animal control, said Steve Campau, a spokesman for the St. Clair County sheriff's office, which oversees animal control.

"We fed him a meal day," Campau said. "Maybe he was overfed at home."

Campau also said some behavior changes are to be expected after an animal is released from spending nine weeks of spending 23 hours a day in a kennel that's 6 feet long by 3 feet wide.

"Veterinarians say after a dog is in a kennel environment for an extended period of time, there's certainly going to be an adjustment period when the dog gets out," Campau said.

Even now, more than three months after his return home, Jeb is still scared of strange men, his owners say.

Still bitter that their innocent dog was nearly put to death, Jeb's owners wonder why they had to come up with the idea of DNA analysis. Why didn't the court do it before condemning Jeb to death? After all, that kind of testing is often done with human defendants.

Humans accused of a crime have rights under criminal due process.

"In a criminal prosecution, where you're putting a person in jail, we have the highest level of protection," Favre said.

It's a different story with dogs.

"Dogs have no rights. They're property," Favre said.

He wonders whether courts should reconsider and make DNA analysis a regular part of the process when a dog's life hangs in the balance.

"It's an easy thing to do. We just haven't thought of it in this context," he said.

He applauds the Jobs for saving their pet.

"Now people will realize they can do this, that it's a tool," he said. "They used a very creative defense."

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DNA saves dog from death penalty - CNN

New York Times

Push for Contentious DNA Method Outlasts the Case Calling for It New York Times When law enforcement officials began a push to use an ethically complicated forensic technique involving DNA in New York, they based their appeal on a high-profile case that had gone unsolved for months: the murder of Karina Vetrano, a 30-year-old ... The push for familial DNA will continueQueens Chronicle all 11 news articles »

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Push for Contentious DNA Method Outlasts the Case Calling for It - New York Times