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[purchase]
Basic Books, 1996
Suggested price: $24
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It has been only a dozen years since Dr. Alec Jeffreys, working at the Leicester University in England, recognized that DNA contains stretches of repeating sequences that vary significantly in length from one individual to another. Using an approach developed in 1980 by Dr. Ray White of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Utah, Jeffreys was the first to realize that the lengths of DNA fragments produced following incubation with restriction enzymes could be used to create what he called "genetic fingerprints," that would have a significant influence on the history of forensic science.
One might have expected a particularly nasty fight over the acceptance of
a technique that promises to distinguish one specific person from among
billions of his or her peers. The stakes, of course, were and are
life-size. Misapplication of the technique or misinterpretation of the
results could mean that the innocent could be judged guilty and the guilty
innocent. Add challenges generated by feisty defense attorneys to the usual
outspokenness of scientists in disagreement and you have a particularly
hot, controversial issue.
It is then not surprising that the short history of DNA fingerprinting is highlighted by a series of ripping arguments and developments. The controversy began with disagreement over the technique's basic scientific validity and with questions of whether our criminal justice system should even admit DNA evidence in court. Then for a brief time DNA fingerprinting enjoyed relatively wide acceptance before the issue of race was raised. How, those concerned asked, might being Asian, Caucasian, or African-American affect the odds of one DNA fingerprint matching another? These questions were eventually resolved with the help of revised methods of analysis, but then the peace was disturbed by the introduction of PCR-based testing methodologies, and a whole new series of questions about scientific validity had to be hashed out in the witness box and in committee rooms before eventual general acceptance.
And yet, as recent well-publicized trial results show, despite years of
scientific and legal argument and resolution, and a general consensus that
DNA fingerprinting is a valid technique for identifying the guilty and
excluding the innocent, lawyers can still use the complexity of the
technique to confuse scientifically naive or ignorant jurors about the
meaning and significance of DNA testing results.
The author of And the Blood Cried Out has the legal credentials to
recount these courtroom ups and downs of DNA. He began work in the
Manhattan district attorney's office in 1987, the same year that DNA
analysis was first introduced as evidence in a criminal case. From that
time until he resigned from the district attorney's office in 1995 to write
this book, he followed the literature and studied the legal implications
and applications of the technology. He says he wrote the book to "help
dispel some of the public bafflement surrounding this new technology and to
meet the strong desire of so many people to understand the controversy
surrounding DNA testing."
Levy handles the scientific aspects of his topic as well as he handles the
legal aspects. The result is a useful and fairly detailed review of the
scientific controversy surrounding the development of DNA fingerprinting,
explained in the context of what the author describes as "some of the most
thrilling and dramatic court cases of our time."
Perhaps to appeal to a mass audience, the book contains many detailed accounts of "true crime," a nonfiction genre that has become profitable for publishers. If at times it seems these crime stories are given more emphasis than necessary, the author nevertheless links each case to a specific stage in the evolution of forensic DNA testing. He has attempted to interweave aspects of police work, criminal trial tactics, and science into one work. It would not be an easy task for any one author, but this lawyer handles the science well. And Levy has managed to include a fairly complete account of the bickering among scientists that delayed the introduction of DNA analysis into the courtroom over the years.
And the Blood Cried Out is a popular, not definitive account of the
transfer of DNA testing from the laboratory to the courtroom. (It does
include an index (something that can no longer be taken for granted in
popular books) and references provided in a section on "Notes and Sources." It
succeeds in accomplishing the author's goal of answering questions a
curious member of the public might have about DNA fingerprinting. It also
provides an interesting view of how science affects society from the
standpoint of someone outside the usual confines of the scientist's world.
More than ever, once results are published, "science" is no longer the
exclusive domain of the scientist. Levy's book illustrates that very well,
and in doing so reviews how much and how little progress we have made as we
have traveled from early RFLP results to recent OJ results.
Dean A. Haycock is a journalist who writes science articles for many magazines and newspapers. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Brown University.
There are scores of Web sites devoted to forensic sciences and most of them look interesting. If you are new to the field, you can start at The Forensic Science Web Page, which was created to provide nonspecialists with an easy understanding of forensic science. It provides brief explanations of some of the main disciplines within forensic science and provides icons to click on for more in-depth explanations.
If you want to read more about DNA fingerprinting, browse through the selections at the Forensic Science Bookstore's DNA Evidence Shelf.
The specific, mandatory requirements and standards for laboratories conducting DNA fingerprinting are spelled out at Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories.
Helix Biotech HomePage describes the services of one commercial testing lab. The staff at Helix Biotech also offers explanations of RFLP testing and PCR analysis.
If you plan on paying anyone to do your DNA fingerprinting analysis, the Web page of another commercial testing company, Baltimore Rh Typing Company, Inc. includes their prices. (A DNA fingerprint analysis of blood costs $220 per sample, and a buccal swab test costs $275 per sample.)
The American Academy of Forensic Sciences represents professionals (including physicians, criminalists, toxicologists, attorneys, dentists, physical anthropologists, document examiners, engineers, psychiatrists, and educators) "dedicated to the application of science to the law." Theirs is a serious site, as befits such a professional organization.
When you are ready to play forensic scientist yourself, visit the Murder Is My Business page on the Forensic Science in Cyberspace site sponsored by the Institute of Science and Forensic Medicine in Singapore. This page features a series of articles from a book called Murder Is My Business. The authors of the book "want you to gain an insight into the vital role of the forensic pathologist in solving crime, as well as a rare view of the 'fine print' - at a crime scene or on a corpse - that only a forensic pathologist is trained to decipher."
If you need more, The Forensic Web provides links to many information resources in forensic sciences.