Dean Cage was convicted of a sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl in 1994. Because he was African-American, about six feet tall, had a beard, and was around 25-30 years old he was convicted of the crime because he fit the 15-year-old girl’s description of her attacker. After serving 2 years in a Cook County jail cell, on October 21, 1996 he was charged with 40 years in prison. In 2005, the Innocence Project accepted his case and found him to be innocent through testing the attacker’s cells on the victim’s clothes and comparing them to Cage’s cells. He was then released on May 27, 2008 after serving almost 14 years in jail and prison.
DNA testing has dramatically changed and progressed over the past century. In the 1900’s, DNA testing consisted of matching blood types. It then quickly changed to methods with higher powers of exclusion with HLA and serological tests. In the1970s, there were rapid developments in DNA technologies. In the 1980s, scientists began to see DNA attributes as an opening to studying biological relationships. These tests eventually led scientists to DNA fingerprinting which can identify your family, identify a body and even solve crimes.
One thing I am taking away from this story is the importance of modern day science and justice system. Before this project, I never realized how many people are accused of crimes they did not do and how long they have to serve for someone else’s actions. My appreciation for this justice system has grown immensely by its ability to cut down bias opinions and free those who are living their life in a cell because of something they never did.
Citations:
"Developing DNA Testing - The Path of DNA Technology over Time." DNA Junction - Your Resource for DNA Testing Information. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. http://www.dnajunction.com/history/new-dna-technology.php.
"DNA Testing: Paternity Tests, Forensics, and Identification." WebMD - Better Information. Better Health. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dna-fingerprinting.
