Authors
Greg Hampikian, Emily West, Olga Akselrod
Publication date
2011/9/22
Source
Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
97-120
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Description
This new analysis of 194 DNA exonerations, representing 171 criminal events, examines the types of evidence and DNA testing that have been used to free the victims of wrongful conviction. The types of DNA testing used to free the innocent parallels the growth of these techniques in forensic science. Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis now prevails (70%), though Y-STR analysis (16%) and mitochondrial testing (10%) are still used when STR analysis is not feasible, and the recently developed mini-STRs have been used for exonerations since 2008 (2.6%). The types of exculpatory evidence included intimate swabs (65%), clothing (53%), hair (13%), fingernail evidence (5%), cigarettes (3%), and other evidence. The most common factor associated with wrongful convictions was misidentification (75%), including misidentification by the victim (65%). False confessions (including admissions and pleas) were …
Total citations
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Scholar articles
G Hampikian, E West, O Akselrod - Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, 2011