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FBI Fights Testing For False DNA Matches
Statesman writes "The Los Angeles Times reports that an Arizona crime lab technician found two felons with remarkably similar genetic profiles, so similar that they would ordinarily be accepted in court as a match, but one felon was black and the other white. The FBI estimated the odds of unrelated people sharing those genetic markers to be as remote as 1 in 113 billion. Dozens of similar matches have been found, and these findings raise questions about the accuracy of the FBI's DNA statistics. Scientists and legal experts want to test the accuracy of official statistics using the nearly 6 million profiles in CODIS, the national system that includes most state and local databases. The FBI has tried to block distribution of the Arizona results and is blocking people from performing similar searches using CODIS. A legal fight is brewing over whether the nation's genetic databases ought to be opened to wider scrutiny. At stake is the credibility of the odds often cited in DNA cases, which can suggest an all but certain link between a suspect and a crime scene."
Yes, cops do lie, and I've experienced this personally. Judges sometimes make presumptions and rule on that basis too. And on and on.
I don't want to create a "special class" of rights -- we already have far too much of that already. I do want to create an awareness of the damage that is done to the innocent being dragged though this quagmire, let alone being wrongfully convicted.
I do have a "special interest" in all this since I have suffered greatly from being falsely accused, lying cops, screwball judges, and the like. It all began from one stranger whom I've never met before butting her nose into my business and fanning the flames of latent racism in a public arena.
And it's sad that being innocent should ever have to be a "special class", considering that you are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. But we both know that's a joke in this country.
And so, I rather have the "special class" with the awareness, despite all the problems, vs. what we have now. Alas, the government and the public does not respond to reason; it takes crass hyperbole to shift direction and attention.
We live in an imperfect world, alas.
Ruby Neural Evolution of Augmenting Topologies
The frequent unfunny jokes about homosexual rape in prison show that not only the conviction system is out of control, but the punishment system is as well.
Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it. This is also a joke.
No...there are have been plenty of studies on profiling by police departments. For example, in CO, for the same types of traffic stops, Hispanics and Blacks were 3 times more likely to be searched by the police, however, Whites were more likely to have something illegal on them when searched. If the profiling is based on statistics, Whites should be searched more frequently in CO. Minorities are more careful when driving becuase they know they are more likely to be searched.
Plus, your sig line tells me you are likely to be bigoted in your views.
He just said that you can't attribute the number disparity to discrimination alone, so you immediately infer that he must be a racist?
He made a good point: not committing crime in the first place will lower your chances of jailtime significantly.