Discussion Board 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion Board 5 - Essay Example The Washington Times, p. 1. Retrieved July 7, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001572892 sexually assaulted her, and the woman offered evidence in the way of a bite mark and DNA from certain articles of clothing. Because of Mr. Albert’s celebrity status, the case was closely followed by the public and much attention was given to the use of the forensic evidence, especially the bite mark left on the victim. Cases involving celebrities are often sensationalized by the media, perhaps giving more credibility to certain forensic evidence than is warranted, when in actuality forensic evidence such as bite marks, fingerprints, palm prints and lip prints should not alone be evidence enough to convict a person of a serious crime, especially a crime involving the death penalty. An article by Molly Burton and Donna Lyons, appearing in State Legislatures (2001), stated â€Å"Back in the 1970s, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) did proficiency tests of crime lab hair comparisons, bite marks, serology, these types of things. They knew they were getting it wrong like fifty percent of the time. It was terrible. And then that sort of analysis disappeared with the LEAA (p. 1).† What Burton and Lyons are suggesting, is that each of these sources of evidence are, first, subject to lab error and one should not infer from the results of a test using these sources that the information stemming from the tests is infallible. Alone these sources of evidence should not be enough to cause a person to be convicted of a major crime, especially one that carries the penalty of death. â€Å"Fraudulent and junk science is a critical, critical area,† write Burton and Lyons, â€Å"Forensic science has not always been the discipline that the best pe ople in the profession want it to be (p. 1).† One case that brought attention to the infallibility of fingerprint evidence was an