The New York City medical examiner’s office said Thursday that it had discovered more than 50 cases in which it failed to upload critical DNA evidence samples from crime scenes to the state’s DNA database, preventing those samples from being compared to genetic material from convicte... [More]

She was just 20 when she accompanied her employer to Mamallapuram, where he allegedly drugged and raped her. It's been two years since the incident, but Nisha (name changed) hasn't got justice, as forensic reports did not back up her claim and the man walked free. Public prosecutors say that the... [More]

When Cook County prosecutors brought Cleveland Barrett to trial earlier this year for the predatory criminal sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl, they presented the jury hearing the case testimony from the alleged victim plus the kind of evidence that long has won convictions with its scientific... [More]

  Michael Morton was exonerated by DNA evidence this month after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and serving nearly 25 years in prison in Texas. In seeking to prove Mr. Morton’s innocence, his lawyers found in recently unsealed court records evidence that the p... [More]

Massachusetts is one of only two states in the country without a law granting prison inmates the right to test DNA evidence that might prove their innocence. A lingering, long-contested bill may finally change that. “Dennis, put on Channel 4. Put on Channel 4!” The year was 1993... [More]

For 17 years, Terrill Swift and three other men convicted in the 1994 rape and strangulation of a prostitute here have insisted on their innocence. And last May, a powerful new piece of evidence emerged that appeared to back their claim: a DNA profile, constructed from semen found in the victi... [More]

The bra clasp and the kitchen knife. For years now, we've been told that slain British student Meredith Kercher's bra clasp and a kitchen knife found in the home of Italian student Raffaele Sollecito and handed by Seattle student Amanda Knox were the most crucial pieces of DNA evidence in ... [More]

Serial killer Dennis Rader was caught with the help of DNA analysis. Now, laws in 25 states allow for DNA samples even before a conviction. Cheek swabs or blood samples from those arrested for felonies offer law enforcement officials unique identifying tags, much like fingerprints or bar cod... [More]

Massachusetts has seen its share of wrongful convictions. But when it comes to keeping the innocent out of jail, advocates say, the Commonwealth lags far behind.   In response to hundreds of cases nationwide of prisoners winning exoneration after spending years in prison, virtually ever... [More]

Yesterday, the Supreme Court found that Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner has the right to pursue testing of DNA evidence that could prove his innocence. Among the outstanding items that still have not been DNA tested: at least three possible murder weapons and a rape kit. SCOTUSblo... [More]