Forensic DNA Databses

One of the principle areas where DNA databases are used is the criminal justice system. While the appeal of using cutting-edge science and technology to catch and convict criminals (or to exonerate those falsely convicted) is high, there are also risks associated with he rapid proliferation of these databases.

Briefs and Position Papers

Differential Trust in Forensic DNA Forensics
Troy Duster
(also available in .pdf)

Brief on Genetics and Crime
Evan Balaban and Richard Lewontin
(also available in .pdf)

Rapid DNA Database Expansion and Disparate Minority Impact
Jenny Rushlow
(also available in .pdf)

CRG's Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005, Sujatha Byravan, November 5, 2005

Articles:

Deconstructing Violence by Corey Morris, Aimee Shen, Khadija Pierce and Jon Beckwith, GeneWatch 20-2, March-April 2007

What does One in a Trillion Mean? by Edward Ungvarsky, GeneWatch 20-1, January-February 2007

Statisticians Not Wanted by Keith Devlin, GeneWatch 19-6, November-December 2006

The Myth of Fingerprints by Simon Cole, GeneWatch 19-6, November-December 2006

Permanently Detained by Helen Wallace, GeneWatch 19-6, November-December 2006

Racism by Other Means by Sujatha Byravan, The Hindu, August 9, 2006

Expanding Databases, Declining Liberties by Helen Wallace and Tania Simoncelli, GeneWatch 19-1, January-February 2006

Database Limitations on the Evidentiary Value of Mitochondrial DNA Evidence by Fredrika A. Kaestle, Ricky A. Kittles, Andrea L. Roth and Edward J. Ungvarsky, American Criminal Law Review (.pdf)

Retreating Justice by Tania Simoncelli, GeneWatch 17-2, March-April 2004

 

CRG in the Press

DNA Typing: A Technology of Fear by Sujatha Byravan, Development 2006 (.pdf)

A Cold Hit by David Dudley, Cornell Magazine, July/Aug 2006