It was announced earlier today that the jury had reached a verdict on the Casey Anthony murder trial and that Chief Judge Belvin Perry would be publicly reading the verdict at 2:15 p.m. EST. The world now knows that a jury of Casey Anthony’s peers has found her not guilty of murder in the first degree. Casey Anthony was also found not guilty for aggravated child abuse and not guilty for the aggravated manslaughter of a child.
So how is it that after jurors deliberated nearly 11 hours to reach this verdict, Casey Anthony was only found guilty on four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer? The answer to that is DNA. The total lack of Casey Anthony’s DNA and forensic evidence on and around the remains of Caylee Anthony was most likely the factor that caused to jury to find her not guilty.
What is DNA?
DNA is a genetic code twisted in a long chain known as a double helix. A double helix is comprised of four nucleotides (adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine) that all interlink to create your individual genetic code.
Each human being, unless a twin, holds a unique genetic marker comprised of DNA combined from your parents. Each of the 23 chromosomal pairs that link to make DNA is either comprised of one chromosome from your mother or your father.
The Role of DNA in Court
The unique marker, like fingerprints, is what makes DNA evidence so critical during a court case. It is difficult for any lawyer to question the credibility of proven science. And DNA has definitely proven to be direct indicators of guilt or innocence during a trial.
Collecting DNA Evidence
Did you know that it only takes a few cells to identify a suspect with relative certainty? DNA can be gathered from blood, skin, semen, hair, saliva, sweat, mucus or earwax. Did you know humans shed 30,000-40,000 skin cells a minute? Think about the sweat, blood or hair that can easily be left at a crime scene. Especially in the moments that unfortunately lead to murder.
This is why law enforcement officials must always ensure they handle evidence with the utmost care. The only way to discredit evidence is by proving that it has been contaminated.
The most common and major guidelines officials follow are:
- To place evidence in paper bags, plastic bags produce moisture that can damage DNA.
- DNA forensic evidence should also be kept somewhere cool to protect biological matter from heat.
- Chain-of-custody must be followed to ensure that the DNA evidence hasn’t been tampered with on the way to the lab.
After officials did DNA analysis on the evidence collected from Caylee Anthony’s body it was found that there was no DNA evidence from Casey Anthony. The defense was even able to explain that the digital forensic evidence collected from the Anthony house computer was not enough to implicate Casey Anthony in the crime. And now Casey Anthony walks free.
How do you feel about this verdict?
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