Cold Case, Bones, Law & Order, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Silent Witness, Dexter, Monk, and Waking the Dead, who among us can say that we have not watched one or more of the a fore mentioned TV shows? and of those that have viewed them,, who will admit to not being drawn in by the nearly omniscient presence,, that has become forensic science??? amazing isn’t it?? think about it,, they can take a cotton swab,, capture a cell or two from the interior of your cheek and either positively identify you as the perpetrator,, or totally exonerate you of a crime.. absolutely a-fucking-mazing…
although evidence would suggest that forensic science has done little to curtail the rise of violent crime,, there is no question that forensic evidence,, when made proper use of in crime scene investigation,, will positively identify the perpetrator of a specific crime,, while at the same time,, it will serve to alleviate the number of innocent men and women that will be convicted of a crime that they did not commit… when properly wielded, it can be an incredible tool of justice… however…..
forensic technology has not always been as sophisticated as it is today.. time was in the not so distant past,, that although hair, blood, semen, saliva samples, etc.,, were collected as a routine part of the crime scene investigation,, they really did little more take up space in the evidence locker.. they could in most instances not prove conclusively one way or another whether the potential offender was guilty or innocent.. they sounded good in a courtroom,, but in reality,, the science was not yet perfected enough to be able to say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the collected samples proved the guilt or innocence of the accused…
thousands of men and women have been convicted on the probability of their particular hair sample,, or blood type matched that of the alleged perpetrator.. thousands of innocent men and women are currently behind bars,, many serving life sentences,, some on death row awaiting execution,, and with all the forensic technology that is currently available,, no one is routinely collecting dna evidence from of all of those previously convicted.. no one is entering all of those samples into the national data bases.. the innocent are not being routinely exonerated,, because the dna evidence has come to light, and proven beyond a shadow of a doubt,, that they are innocent.. why not?? i think we all know the answer to that question… money..
why is every inmate that is currently housed in our nations over crowded corrections system not being swabed and their genetic profile being logged into the nations databases?? why is dna collection not a routine part of the arrest procedure?? why is no one going thru the evidence lockers and entering all of that lethal information in the national data base system so that cold cases could be solved,, electronically?? so that innocent men and women are released from unlawful imprisonments??
why would we as a nation accept the excuse that it would be to prohibitively expensive to do that?? why are we willing to allow politicians to spend multiple millions of dollars on campaigns to further their individual political careers,, and yet,, find it acceptable that monies are not available to,, incorporate a routine forensic science cataloging system,, that would serve to not only exonerate the innocent,, but bring closure to many cases currently labeled as “cold”?? why is it that multi millions of dollars are being spent on making TV shows that extol the virtues of forensic science,, and yet,, we cannot see our way clear to make it really work for us???
i think it is because very few of us has a family member or close friend that has been wrongfully convicted.. even fewer among us have been wrongfully convicted ourselves… it isn’t personal with us,, it doesn’t effect our ability to eat, and sleep, and buy the newest in connectivity… to most of us,, it isn’t real…. too many of us are under the impression,, that if they hadn’t done something wrong,, they wouldn’t be imprisoned.. too many of us are willing to wash our hands of a life that is in no way connected to our own… and i am ashamed to admit,, that until today,, i could be counted in that number…
earlier today,, i watched a documentary on the watch instantly option of my nextflix account entitled after innocence.. it profiled the cases of eight men that have been released from prison when the dna evidence was exhumed,, and presented to the courts.. these men had served more than one hundred combined years behind bars for crimes,, they did not commit.. one of them spent 23 years, in solitary confinement, on death row.. i cannot even begin to imagine the horror..
after innocence made me cry, as i could feel the sense of desperation,, disbelief, and powerlessness that must have saturated the existence of each of the exonerees they profiled..
it made me angry,, that our criminal justice system not only lays the burden of proof on the incarcerated individual and his or her, more than likely non existent legal team, to gather the evidence,, pay for the testing and go thru the slow process of being heard by our over crowded criminal justice system..
it made me think… that my tax dollars could be well spent supporting legislation that would once and for all push law enforcement to enter every single bit of forensic evidence they collect,, and/or currently have in their possession into the national data bases… as well as, paying programmers to write programs that would cause that information to interact in such a way as to electronically eliminate potentially wrongful imprisonments from continuing even one more day…
it made me aware of the fact that even as these cases come to light,, even as these innocent men and women are exonerated of the crimes,, and released from prison,, the justice system is not expunging their criminal records.. it is not in every case compensating them for the years of their lives that were stolen from them.. it is not paying them, in criminal damages, what McDonalds paid some little old lady that spilled hot coffee in her own lap….
it made me sick.. spiritually,, emotionally,, physically.. it made me want to do something.. so i am telling you.. maybe if enough of us hear about this,, if enough of us think about this,, if enough of us act on this in any way,, even if it is simply spreading the word,, someone that is in a position to know what the next logical step is,, will point us,, as a nation, in that direction…
for more information on this topic, please visit the innocence project.…
