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How Forensics Actually Works
A cousin's ancestry test caught the Golden State Killer. A confident eyewitness is the most common way to convict the wrong person.
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Fingerprint
A fingerprint is an impression left by the raised friction ridges on the skin of a human finger.
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Investigative genetic genealogy
How police use consumer DNA databases and distant relatives to build family trees that identify criminal suspects and unidentified victims.
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DNA profiling
DNA profiling is a laboratory technique that determines an individual's unique genetic characteristics.
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Locard's exchange principle
Locard's exchange principle is the rule that whenever two objects make physical contact, they transfer material between them.
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Forensic entomology
Forensic entomology is the study of insects and other arthropods to gather legal evidence for civil and criminal cases.
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Eyewitness identification
Eyewitness identification is a powerful courtroom tool, but misidentifications account for over 75% of convictions overturned by DNA.
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False confession
A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime that the person did not actually commit.