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DNA-TESTING

The Wire

US mulls DNA tests for some refugees

The Obama administration is considering using DNA tests for some foreign refugee applicants following a Bush-era pilot program that found massive fraud among those claiming family links to join relatives already in the United States.

High court says convicts lack right to DNA testing

The Supreme Court said Thursday that a convicted rapist has no constitutional right to test biological evidence used at his trial in Alaska years earlier, leaving it to the states to decide when prisoners get access to genetic evidence that might prove their innocence.

Court seems split on convict's right to test DNA

The Supreme Court's conservative and liberal justices appeared divided Monday about giving convicts a constitutional right to test DNA evidence, which for 232 people has meant exoneration years after they were found guilty.

Court to decide on convict's right to test DNA

The Supreme Court will decide whether, years after his conviction, a defendant has a constitutional right to test genetic evidence found at the crime scene.

Report: Ohio Inmate DNA Testing Flawed

Ohio's DNA testing program for inmates seeking to prove their innocence is deeply flawed, with police routinely discarding evidence after trials and court-ordered tests never getting done, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Vine
Mass. crime lab still lags in DNA testing
Source: The Associated Press

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts State Police crime laboratory still lags in testing DNA samples connected to crimes, despite a critical report two years ago that led to the firing of some high-ranking lab employees.

U.K. cops arrest people just for the DNA
Source: msnbc.com

More than three-quarters of young black men aged between 18 and 35 are on the system, the report said.

Holder to Review Bush Policy on DNA Test Waivers in Guilty Pleas
Source: The Washington Post

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has ordered a review of a little-known Bush administration policy requiring some defendants to waive their right to DNA testing even though that right is guaranteed in a landmark federal law, officials said.

So DID Texas Execute an Innocent Man?
Source: The Agitator

Last month, I wrote about new questions in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas for setting a fire that killed his two children.

Antonin Scalia's Moral Quandary
Source: thedailybeast.com

Let us be clear precisely what this means.

Woman Confesses to False Rape Charge Man She Accused Has Already Served Four Years in Prison
Source: AOL

Gonzalez initially accused McCaffrey of raping her while on the way to a late-night party.

Court knew man jailed for a year for non-support was not child's father
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Frank Hatley has languished in a South Georgia jail for more than a year. The reason? He failed to reimburse the state for all the public assistance his "son" received over the past two decades.

Recent SCOTUS Ruling Takes Justice Out of the Justice System

As was asked in a previous seed, "Does the Constitution Grant a Right to DNA Testing That Could Prove Innocence?

...And Justice for All?
Source: ScienceBlogs

Some days, I am ashamed to be an American. Today, I've been astonished and outraged by yesterday's 5-4 Supreme Court decision that prisoners have no constitutional right to DNA testing that might prove their innocence.

Supreme Court Rules that Inmates Don't Have Right to DNA Tests
Source: The New York Times

Convicts do not have a right under the Constitution to obtain DNA testing to try to prove their innocence after being found guilty, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. More Articles

Prosecutors Block Access to DNA Testing for Inmates
Source: The New York Times

In an age of advanced forensic science, the first step toward ending Kenneth Reed's prolonged series of legal appeals should be simple and quick: a DNA test, for which he has offered to pay, on evidence from the 1991 rape of which he was convicted

10 Recent Scientifically Solved Mysteries - Listverse
Source: listverse.com

Since the beginning of modern science we have been solving the great mysteries around us. Because of recent advances in science and technology we now have the ability to unravel some unknowns like never before.

DNA clears Conn. man imprisoned for 20 years
Source: msnbc.com

A Connecticut judge dropped murder charges Thursday against a New Britain man who served 20 years in prison after being convicted of killing his pregnant girlfriend.

DNA testing helps clear jailed man (This story twists and turns)
Source: St. Petersburg Times > Local News

TAMPA — On the morning deputies led a shirtless Kenneth Robinson down his driveway and off to jail, he gave neighbors a tiny smile. It's a mistake, he said.

SWITCHED AT BIRTH: Pembroke man discovers mixup with his family at age 57
Source: PatriotLedger.com

PEMBROKE — As a child growing up in New Zealand, Fred George always felt out of place. He had light hair; the rest of his family was dark. He was shy, when other family members were confident and rambunctious.

DNA tracks ancient Alaskan's descendants
Source: adn.com: Alaska

Examining mitochondrial DNA obtained from cheek swabs taken from Alaskan natives reveals that none were related to the 10,000-year-old Alaskan found on Prince of Wales Island -- but they were related to coastal Indians in British Coumbia.

Exposing Obama's Genome: And Oprah Winfrey's, Brad Pitts', and yours
Source: Reason Magazine

Cheap genome screening is becoming ever more widely available. For example, the price of a genome screening test offered by Silicon Valley startup 23andMe has dropped from $999 to $399, and it now reveals even more genetic information to customers.

Fetal DNA test sheds light, but stirs an ethical battle
Source: The Houston Chronicle

Baylor College of Medicine is at the forefront of new DNA testing that screens fetuses for hundreds of genetic abnormalities — testing touted for diagnosing previously undetectable disorders but sparking debate because it's sure to result in more abortions.

Europe's most prolific female serial killer strikes again
Source: Telegraph

Excerpt: The woman identified only as Diana P, 45, was found dead by walkers in a ditch near her Fiat Panda car in October.

Video: Carlos Padilla news conference December 15, 2008
Source: myfoxorlando.com

Additional items recovered at the search site.

Caylee Anthony: America Awaits For Final Confirmation
Source: bloggernews.net

Excerpt: Caylee Anthony disappeared from the face of the earth in mid June and has not been seen or heard from since.

Remains found in Caylee Anthony case match predictions of forensic astrologers
Source: Examiner

Excerpt: Astrologers posting on one of the Web's most popular true-crime forums predicted that the body of missing Caylee Marie Anthony, 2, of Orlando, Fla., was hidden in her own neighborhood and would indeed be found, despite the passage of months and the failure of massive s …

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