Essay title or question:
Title:
With an increasing number of wrongful convictions based on DNA evidence coming to light, some say we
should no longer rely on DNA evidence in court .To what extent do you agree with this statement?Discuss the benefits and dangers of using DNA evidence to convict people and support your arguments
with reference to relevant data and example.

Part 1: Annotated List of Sources
Select TWO sources you have read and plan to use in your essay and complete the table below outlining:
• why the text is useful for your essay
• How you found the source.
You will focus on three different sources in part 2. Note that you should summarise and paraphrase key information in the text in order to demonstrate that you have understood the sources. You may use bullet points. You are not marked for your language accuracy, but you will be penalised for copying text from the source.

Include a reference in APA format – here are some examples to help you:
Books / chapters of books:
Surname, I. and Surname, I. (Year) Title of the book Place of Publication: Publisher
Surname, I. (Year) ‘Chapter of the book’ In I. Surname & I. Surname (Eds) Title of the book Place of Publication:
Publisher pp.1 – 18
Journal articles (print/ online)
Surname, I. (Year) ‘The Title of the Article’ The Name of the Journal 1 (1), pp. 1- 18
Reports / articles online
Surname, I. (Year) ‘The Title of the Article or Report’ [Online] The Name of the Organisation or website. Available
at: url [Last Accessed 23.07.19]

Source 1
Type of source:
Online Article
Reference:
LaPorte, G. (2017) ‘Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Forensic
Science’ [Online] National Institute of Justice. Available at:
https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/wrongful-convictions-and-dna-exonerationsunderstanding-role-forensic-science [Last Accessed 3.4.2020]
This source is relevant because…
This article highlight the process of DNA identification in forensic science. The Article shows that however, DNA
technology has improved for investigation of cases and interpretation of forensic evidence, but nowadays forensic
science has become faulty and misleading and it has been linked with the wrongful convictions which can lead to
misjudgement in courts. The Article contains a case study which is beneficial for evidence-based research.
I found this source by…
I found this source on online by using a key word “wrongful DNA convictions” and DNA in the journal category of
StarPlus

Source 2
Type of source:
Journal
Article
Reference:
Muhamad, M. (2010) ‘Reliability and conclusiveness of DNA evidence in criminal trail’
Malayan Law Journal, 1, pp. 103- 118
(This source is relevant because…
This Article is written in the Malayan Law of Journal which express the reliability of DNA sources in courts as
evidence. The journal is relevant because it explains the failure to explain DNA evidence details. Because the DNA report content cannot be re-examined by the counsel for accuse. Also, the DNA sample taken from the crime scene will have no value if the examiner don’t have sample of accuse for the comparison. This Article is useful to highlight the negative aspects of DNA evidence to prove the link between crime and criminal activity.
I found this source by…
I found this Journal by using key words of “DNA reliability in court”, and “DNA evidence in Court” in StarPlus
library. I narrowed my research by using filter to search only academic source of journal for this study.

Part 2: Source Report
Complete the source report for THREE more sources you have read. Include:
• The plan for the overall structure of your essay
• The reference for each source
• How you have identified each source as suitable for academic use
• Three main points from each source which are useful for your essay, the supporting information for each
idea or argument and which paragraph in the essay each main point is useful for. Make sure you cover at
least three different aspects of your essay.
• Conclusions you have drawn from your reading.
Plan for overall structure of essay:
Plan for overall structure
Introduction
Background:
In recent years, forensic proof has proven one of the most challenging facets of the battle against crime. Even in
previously unexplained instances, the visible signs identified by the police on the scene are of significant
importance for establishing the identification association between the victim and the suspect, DNA proof is one of
the essential forensic evidence and is commonly utilised in a number of situations. However, with the rising
number of wrongful convictions it has become difficult to relay on DNA evidence in court.
Connecting Information:
DNA evidence plays an important role in court decisions for a long time, this text will have a discussion in whether
people should continue to rely on DNA evidence in court.
Position (from thesis statement):
This Article will analyse Whether DNA evidence should continue to be used in court?
Scope:
The scope of the study is to find out the relevance of using DNA based technology as evidence and what possible
changes should be taken in order to use DNA report in court.
P1. Advantages of using DNA technology in court.
P2. Dangers/Disadvantages of using DNA evidence in court.
P3. The point of improving DNA evidence performance in court.
Conclusion – See Part 2
Source 3
Reference:
Roy-Burman, P. (1988) ‘DNA Fingerprinting—Applications for Resolving Medical, Legal, and Criminal Issues’
Western Journal of Medicine, 149(5), pp.595-596.
Source Evaluation
Currency
a. When was the
text published?
b. Are the citations
and references used
in the text current?
a. This Article is written in 1988
b. No this Article include academic references from 1985-1988
Authority
c. Who is the author
/ organisation?
d. Are they
qualified?
e. Is the source
peer-reviewed?
c. This Article is written by Pradip Roy-Burman. He is a professor and vice chair of
Pathology.
d. The author is PHD holder and worked as professor of Biology in Keck school of Medicine
e. Yes, this Article is a peer-reviewed journal
Accuracy
f. Where does the
information in the
Article come from?
g. Are academic
conventions used?
f. The information written in this Article came from academic resources and research
papers.
g. Yes, the Article include appropriate academic conventions
Use of Source
Relevant key point from the text Supporting evidence / example/ data for the
key point
This point is useful for
paragraph…
DNA fingerprint technology can
accurately identify individuals
There is now a genetic examination to
determine the human origin.
This DNA check or “DNA fingerprinting” has
the same degree of accuracy as a sample of
fingerprints. England universities use these
cloned DNA fragments as probes to identify
sequences in endonuclease-restricted human
DNA and discovered Human DNA banding
pattern. Finally they found that the
probability of people with the same DNA
fingerprint is extremely low, about 5 x 10-19
-,
and the probability that siblings share the
same pattern is only 1 x 10-6
(Roy-Burman,
1988, pp.595).
This point will be used in
paragraph 2 which
highlights that the usage
of technology to
accurately identify
different criminal using
their DNA sample.
DNA profile can be accurately
obtained from a small proportion of
human samples
There are two ways to use DNA profiles. One
is body, another is human material. DNA
profile can be found through the human
body, such as taking a blood collection
.Another way is extracting DNA maps from
body samples separated from the body. For
example, square centimetres of blood, saliva
on cigarette butts, roots of the hair, even
worse samples (Roy-Burman, 1988, pp.597).
This point will be included
in paragraph 2 that by
using technology DNA
sample can be option from
a small proportion of
human sample.
DNA can be identified instantly by
DNA fingerprinting to find out the
criminal
The state of California is developing an
automated DNA fingerprinting database for
convicted criminals to enable the fast
detection of repeat offenders. The
examination is therefore valid for all practical
purposes in settlement of situations of
contentious parenthood or other social
relationships (Roy-Burman, 1988, pp.597).
This point will be used in
Paragraph 3 that shows
DNA sample helps in
criminal identification.
Source 4
Reference:
HU, N. A., CONG, B., LI, S., MA, C., FU, L., & ZHANG, X. (2014). Current developments in forensic
interpretation of mixed DNA samples (review). Biomedical Reports, 2(3), pp. 309-316.
Source Evaluation
Currency
a. When was the
text published?
b. Are the citations
and references used
in the text current?
a. The Article was published in 2014
b. Yes, the Article includes reference last ten years, and it also includes some research
papers from 2004-2010.
Authority
c. Who is the author
/ organisation?
d. Are they
qualified?
e. Is the source
peer-reviewed?
c. Na Hu, Bin Cong, Shujin Li, Chunling Ma, Lihong fu, Xiaojing Zhang are the authors of this
Article.
d. The authors are the part of Hebei Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Department of
Forensic Medicine, Hebei Medical University
e. Yes this source is peer-reviewed
Accuracy
f. Where does the
information in the
Article come from?
g. Are academic
conventions used?
f. The information of this Article came from 61 authentic resources from DNA reports and
research papers.
g. Yes Article used academic conventions.
Use of Source
Relevant key point from the text Supporting evidence / example/ data for the
key point
This point is useful for
paragraph…
DNA is beneficial for crime
investigation
DNA databases provide a vital resource for
the prosecution of DNA-based crimes when
other verification, such as fingerprints, is
inaccessible or inconclusive. Using DNA proof,
investigators would classify offenders by
looking for a suitable DNA match; however,
broad and extensive networked DNA sample
repositories were needed to understand the
advantages of DNA profiling (Na Hu & Zhang,
2014,pp.310)
The point will be used in
paragraph 3 which will
show that DNA helps in
criminal identification.
Some subtle misinterpretations of
DNA evidence in court may also
Current instructions for the analysis of mixed
DNA samples.
This point will be used in
paragraph 4 which
affect jury misunderstandings about
the truth.
Significant advances in the sensitivity of trace
samples to DNA mixtures have occurred
during the past two decades.
The scientific problems raised in the precise
identification of the human identities of mixed
DNA samples have already had an influence
on legislation and legal concerns(Na Hu &
Zhang, 2014,pp.310)
highlight that however,
DNA sample can identify
criminals but sometime
the DNA sample report
doesn’t show accurate
results.
DNA sample is useful for only
limited time period to trace crime.
In rape cases, modern techniques allow for
the amplification of small amounts of suspect
DNA up to 24 h after the crime, using the
Ampfistr Sgmplus multiplex kits, even under
LCN conditions where the female (victim)
DNA is present in a significantly higher
proportion. Unfortunately, several forensic
facilities face enormous backlogs of samples
from sexual assault cases
(Na Hu & Zhang, 2014,pp.311)
This point will be used in
paragraph 4 by continuing
that DNA sample can
provide accurate results in
a limited time only, and it
cannot identify criminal in
delayed or old cases.
Source 5
Reference:
Machado H., Granja R. (2020) DNA Technologies in Criminal Investigation and Courts. In: Forensic Genetics in the
Governance of Crime. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore
Source Evaluation
Currency
a. When was the
text published?
b. Are the citations
and references used
in the text current?
a. This book is written in 2020
b. Yes this book references are latest and it include 2015-2020 references mainly.
Authority
c. Who is the author
/ organisation?
d. Are they
qualified?
e. Is the source
peer-reviewed?
• c. Helena Machado and Rafaela Granja are the authors of this Article and they work in
Communication and Society Research Centre of Portugal.
d. Yes
e. Yes this is peer reviewed book
Accuracy
f. Where does the
information in the
Article come from?
g. Are academic
conventions used?
f. The information came from journals, reports, and books
g. Yes this Article used academic conventional
Use of Source
Relevant key point from the text Supporting evidence / example/ data for the
key point
This point is useful for
paragraph…
Develop more related technologies
to increase the usefulness of DNA in
court
The illusion of infallibility associated with DNA
technology creates perceptions that are
frequently inflated and disassociated from
the practical realities of the criminal
investigation. It is also important to consider
This point is used in the 5th
paragraph, which shows
that the latest technology
can help in DNA sample
identification.
and recognise potential hazards resulting by
the usage of DNA technologies in to avoid
mistakes and challenges of future in civil
rights, which include the presumption of
innocence (Machado & Granja, 2020, pp. 47)
Different technologies are used in a
criminal investigation
A molecular biology technique called
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is important
for the study of DNA polymorphisms. This
procedure makes it possible to reproduce and
amplify and examine small quantities of DNA
in vitro. Nowadays, this method is commonly
used in the DNA profiles creation for suspect
detection, and it makes it easier to identify
criminals through their blood sample, hair,
saliva or semen (Machado & Granja, 2020, pp.
48)
This point will be included
in the 6th paragraph to
show that DNA technology
is helpful in the
investigation of a crime.
Problem with technological DNA
testing
The technological issue due to the DNA
profiles shows that DNA contamination of
outside sources may occur at sampling time
and in laboratory of science. Contamination
of the DNA sample is normal in crime scenes,
aged and weakened samples, dead bodies
and human leftovers. Miss-identifications are
likely to happen when used in partial profiles
due to insufficient quantum (Machado
& Granja, 2020, pp. 47).