When a crime has occurred, often the first order of business is to determine who committed it. Biological evidence, police reports and witness accounts are all used to determine the criminal, but new evidence reported by ScienceMag.org suggests that eyewitness testimony may not be as useful as previously thought. Several convictions, including some slated for execution, are being proven false after advances in DNA evidence techniques and studies have stated that as high as 75 percent of these mistakes were convicted because of witness accounts. There are several reasons why this is the case.
DNA evidence: a gamechanger in Missouri criminal appeals
The availability of DNA evidence has dramatically affected criminal appeals in Missouri and across the country. It has made it much easier to challenge convictions, as the evidence from DNA has shown that other evidence used to obtain convictions, including eyewitness evidence, can be wrong.
