DNA Sets You Free

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DNA Sets You Free

In America, you are guilty unless proven innocent. There have been people who have been falsely accused and convicted of heinous crimes they did not commit before DNA was discovered. One movie called Conviction is based on a true story how DNA proved a man’s innocence for a heinous crime. There is statistics and facts of how people were convicted for crimes they did not commit before DNA was discovered. Officials use DNA for their databases to identify people; investigators use DNA to solve crimes. In the movie Conviction the use of DNA is the key to justice, and this demonstrates that suspects should submit DNA into the database system, so that law enforcement and lawyers could use this to convict or release the individuals.

The movie Conviction, takes place in 1983. The main character, Betty Ann Walters is a working Massachusetts high school dropout. She has a short-tempered older brother named Kenny (Rainer, 2010). Kenny received a life sentence for a murder charge he did not commit. For the next 18 years, Betty went back to school to receive her GED then dedicated her life to law school to figure out a way to set her brother free. However, she sacrificed her marriage, lost her two children, and does not have a single regret for what she had done (Rainer, 2010). One day Betty stumbles across one single faint possible chance that would set her brother free: which was comparing Kenny’s DNA with the murder weapon. If Kenny’s DNA did not match the DNA that was on the murder weapon, he would be set free. Betty tried the strategy, which concluded on her proving and winning the case of her brother’s innocence. The court then paid Kenny $1 million for the pain-and-suffering.

There are some people in society, like K...

... middle of paper ...

...on from going to prison. You are guilty unless proven innocent, in other words the truth behind DNA results may set you free.

References

Bourgoin, S. (1998). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit, MI: Gale group.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2003). DNA examinations. Handbook of Forensic Services. p. 33. Retrieved from Criminal Justice Collection database.

Innocence Project. (n.d.). DNA Exonerations Nationwide. Retrieved from http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/DNA_Exonerations_Nationwide.php

Rainer, P. (2010). “Conviction: movie review.” Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from Criminal Justice Collection database.

The United States Department of Justice. (n.d.).Advancing justice through DNA technology: Using DNA to solve crimes. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/ag/dnapolicybook_solve_crimes.htm

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