FEARS FOR HIGH-PROFILE CONVICTIONS
Fears for high-profile convictions
THE temporary suspension of low copy number (LCN) DNA testing following the acquittal of Omagh bomb suspect Sean Hoey prompted fears that a number of high-profile convictions secured with the help of the technique could be unsafe.
In January and December, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales carried out a review of active cases which involved LCN DNA evidence following the non-conviction of Hoey at the Omagh trial last December.
While this review was going on, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) advised police forces against using LCN in criminal investigations, however, the technique was then reinstated after the CPS concluded there was no evidence of problems with it.
LCN testing allows scientists to cultivate identifiable DNA samples from very few human cells - sometimes invisible to the naked eye.
In 2005 DNA from the handcuffs used to tie up British backpacker Joanne Lees linked Bradley Murdoch to the murder of her boyfriend Peter Falconio in the Australian outback.
In the UK the previous year, Antoni Imiela was convicted of seven rapes, kidnap, indecent assault and an attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl and given seven life sentences.
Government forensic experts described the use of the LCN DNA technique as a "major breakthrough in the police investigation".
At the time police officers described the 48-year-old rail worker from Kent as a "trophy rapist".
THE temporary suspension of low copy number (LCN) DNA testing following the acquittal of Omagh bomb suspect Sean Hoey prompted fears that a number of high-profile convictions secured with the help of the technique could be unsafe.
In January and December, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales carried out a review of active cases which involved LCN DNA evidence following the non-conviction of Hoey at the Omagh trial last December.
While this review was going on, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) advised police forces against using LCN in criminal investigations, however, the technique was then reinstated after the CPS concluded there was no evidence of problems with it.
LCN testing allows scientists to cultivate identifiable DNA samples from very few human cells - sometimes invisible to the naked eye.
In 2005 DNA from the handcuffs used to tie up British backpacker Joanne Lees linked Bradley Murdoch to the murder of her boyfriend Peter Falconio in the Australian outback.
In the UK the previous year, Antoni Imiela was convicted of seven rapes, kidnap, indecent assault and an attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl and given seven life sentences.
Government forensic experts described the use of the LCN DNA technique as a "major breakthrough in the police investigation".
At the time police officers described the 48-year-old rail worker from Kent as a "trophy rapist".
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1081
Published Date: 11-Apr-08
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