DNA Test Jailed Innocent Man for Murder
By Hannah Barnes,
BBC News
| 08. 31. 2012
Scientists, lawyers and politicians have raised new concerns over the quality of forensic evidence testing - so is the criminal justice system too reliant on lab tests without realising their limitations?
"There was a knock at the door, in the early hours of the morning, saying I was being arrested for murder. I asked, 'what evidence have you got?' and they said they thought it was my DNA.
"I thought 'I'll prove I'm not a suspect' but it didn't pan out that way. DNA has become the magic bullet for the police... they thought it was my DNA, ergo it must be me."
David Butler has every right to be cynical about the use of DNA evidence by the police. He spent eight months in prison, on remand, facing murder charges after his DNA was allegedly found on the victim.
"That was when Alice fell down the hole. Everything went upside down. My whole life changed overnight," he told Radio 4's The Report.
"It was hard. The loneliness was the worst, not speaking to your family. I've led a...
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