Advanced English Reading and Comprehension

DNA ingerprinting: Condemning evidence 85

convicted people. From 1989 to 2012, DNA evidence freed 292 men, 17 of whom were facing exe-

cution. Another 15 had been sentenced to life. DNA testing gave these men their lives back, and

in 142 of these cases, the real perpetrator was found.

13 Despite DNA ingerprinting’s usefulness, signiicant issues temper its success. Over the

years, massive amounts of DNA evidence have been collected, but a lack of funding, qualiied

staf, and time has created huge backlogs of unprocessed information. DNA ingerprinting

requires a high level of expertise and accuracy, and when testing is not properly carried out,

violent ofenders can go free to commit more crimes. he mishandling and possible contami-

nation of evidence can still present a major problem, as was evident in the controversial 1994

double-murder case against O. J. Simpson^2 in Los Angeles. DNA evidence and DNA databases

have become so vital to the criminal justice systems that politicians and police authorities have

proposed requiring all persons who have been arrested and charged to give DNA samples, regard-

less of their guilt or innocence. Civil liberties organizations vigorously oppose such measures as

an invasion of privacy and warn of the dangers should such private information ever be released

to employers or insurance companies.

14 While lawmakers debate the legal uses of DNA ingerprinting, the science will continue to

prove itself outside the crime lab and court of law. Already, DNA ingerprinting has been used to

establish paternity and family relationships, to identify the remains of soldiers reported missing

in action, to match organ donors with potential recipients, and to protect endangered animal and

plant species. Population geneticists working with the Human Genome Diversity Project have

been using DNA testing to study genetic diferences within the human population in hopes of

reconstructing human history. In the future, DNA ingerprinting will trace not only what we have

done, but more importantly, where we come from and who we are.

After reading
In the Pre-reading section, check to see if your predictions about the reading text were correct.

Vocabulary

7 · 1

EXERCISE

Thematic vocabulary List 10 words or phrases related to criminal justice.

(^2) O. J. Simpson, a former American football star and celebrity, was acquitted of the brutal murders of his
estranged wife and a friend of hers ater his lawyers argued that the police had mishandled and planted blood
evidence in order to frame him; further, they argued that Simpson, an African-American, was the victim of
racial discrimination on the part of the lead homicide detective.