DNA Solving the Crimes

By Whit Nuckolls '21

Recently, several news articles have talked about decades-old criminal cases being solved due to DNA evidence that was collected at the scene of the crime ages ago. People like the Golden State Killer have been arrested with the help of family history DNA databases. Volunteers enter their DNA into ancestry databases and figure out close relatives to the guilty party, and then figure out who the killer’s ancestors are. Then, they trace the match to the present day and arrest who they believed suspect. Since the start, over 75 open cases have been solved with the help of DNA databases (NBC News).

The debate has been sparked about whether the police can use consumer DNA databases to investigate crimes. Members of GEDmatch became upset because their personal information was not being used the way they wanted it to be. They had no idea their data was being used to help imprison people when they spit in the tube, and now the debate has emerged about whether law enforcement agencies can use their personal information. To try and ease the debate, companies have come out with consumer agreements to give consent or not to use their DNA to help imprison people.

On the bright side of this debate, these cases have helped exonerate people that were wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit. Time has changed the way crimes are handled, and DNA being used to find criminals is just one more stage in the process. I think that using consumers DNA is valid as long as consent is given to use it. These websites were originally used to find cousins and figure out your pedigree, but now they have a new, crucial use to solve cold cases.