And the Blood Cried Out: A Prosecutor's Spellbinding Account of the Power of DNA [Hardcover]

Harlan Levy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

Many of the most high-profile cases of our time, including the World Trade Center bombing and the O.J. Simpson trial, have hinged on DNA evidence. This book is the first book to examine the controversy surrounding DNA evidence, illustrating both the power and the pitfalls of DNA evidence through riveting accounts of the most sensational trials of our day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With admirable objectivity and fair-mindedness, Levy, a New York City lawyer and former assistant DA, examines the history of DNA in the courtroom and shows how evidence based on it has prevailed in the face of various assaults. He begins with a famous New York City case (that of the Central Park jogger who was raped by a gang of teenagers), which, intriguingly enough, did not involve DNA evidence, and goes on to a Maryland rape case in which the victim misidentified her attacker but DNA found the real rapist. New York's Stuyvesant Town rapist and an Austrian serial killer who committed three of his 11 murders in the U.S. were two more cases solved by DNA. Levy also cites several overturned convictions, one more than a decade old, in which DNA was critical. In his culminating chapter, on the O.J. Simpson case, the blood evidence was incontrovertible and never questioned by the lawyers, but the government was put on trial for allegedly sloppy testing and police bias. The conclusion of this riveting study: DNA is here to stay, and the creation in most states of DNA data banks to hold designated convicts' profiles proves it.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

DNA has received its fair share of press in recent months, primarily in the O.J. Simpson trial, and former prosecutor Levy presents the pros and cons of DNA evidence in clear, easy-to-understand language. Beginning with the discovery of DNA and the developments of various lab techniques in typing and matching samples, Levy focuses on several cases (the Central Park jogger, O.J. Simpson, the World Trade Center bombing, and others) to show how DNA evidence can be used or misused. Because he presents the scientific aspects in the context of trial strategy and the gathering of evidence, the technical aspects?RFLP, STR, and PCR tests, data-banking and the debate about DNA and race?fall into a perspective that the lay readers can understand. Fascinating reading that makes today's headlines a little more understandable and/or appalling; for general readers.?Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie Cty P. L., Buffalo
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465017045
• ISBN-13: 978-0465017041
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tutorial in DNA Evidence, October 26, 2007

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And the Blood Cried Out: A Prosecutor's Spellbinding Account of the Power of DNA (Hardcover)

Harlan Levy developed his expertise in DNA evidence while working in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Chapter 1 explains how detectives elicit confessions from suspects. They cause the subject to abandon all hope and make the suspect think they must confess. [Psychological conditioning? If a person is convinced of their guilt won't they confess?] This technique is explained on pages 2 and 3. Three kinds of evidence are needed to convict (p.12); one alone is insufficient to convict. False confessions are the result of coercion or the susceptibility of a weak or frightened suspect. Pressure can result in a confession (p.13). Details of a crime can be fed to a suspect (p.14). But the corroboration of DNA evidence can overcome doubts (p.15).

"DNA evidence can promote a more just society" in punishing the guilty and exonerating the innocent (Chapter 2). Levy explains how he was drawn to public service. It is "profoundly idealistic and socially redeeming" and emotionally rewarding (p.23). There was an explosion of violent crime from the 1980s. [No mention of Reagan's economic policies and growing gun prohibition.] DNA can help solve murders and rapes. [Isn't prevention better than a cure?] Levy explains the reason for regulating police and prosecutorial behavior (p.24): it protects people from the power of the state. Is a trial "a search for the truth" (p.25)? Levy resigned from the DA's Office to write this book and tell about DNA analysis. Most human genes are identical, less than 1% is different. Research into genetic diseases led to knowledge about DNA. A person's DNA pattern is found in all the cells of the body (p.29). The repetitive pattern of DNA was discovered in 1984 and patented (p.31). Can an innocent suspect confess to a murder? Yes (p.35)! [This case was described by Joseph Wambaugh in his book "The Blooding".]

Chapter 3 tells of the conflicts in setting the standards for reliable DNA testing (p.68). There was a problem with the DNA evidence in the Central Park Jogger case: it did not match the suspects, a group of teenagers out to commit crimes. But only a few of the gang were caught, there were unknown suspects. [Years later there would be new revelations on this crime.] Chapter 5 tells how DNA freed the innocent and convicted the guilty. Chapter 6 discusses the FBI's racial breakdown of DNA evidence and its assumptions (p.128). Would a Federal official try to suppress scientific knowledge (p.136)? Chapter 7 tells how DNA solved other crimes. Chapter 8 explains Polymerase Chain Reaction and its use in DNA testing. It was used to convict a modern "Jack the Strangler" (p.178). A newer form of PCR led to a pardon of an innocent man (p.185).

Chapter 9 discusses the formidable challenge to O. J. Simpson because of the blood evidence found in his car and home (p.187). This case seemed foolproof. The best defense lawyers create a theory that supports the client's innocence better than the prosecution's theory of guilt. This is harder to do than say (p.189). It all comes down to credibility of the witnesses (p.190). The missing blood sample could account for the blood found at the crime scene (p.193). DNA can identify blood but could not tell if it had been planted (p.194). There is the problem of contamination (p.195) from improper procedures (p.199). DNA laboratories did not follow the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (p.203). There were problems with some swatches (p.206). Levy points out the problems for the defense (p.207). Was blood planted on the socks (p.217)? Levy explains the rules for circumstantial evidence (p.222). The defense provided inferences of innocence. Chapter 10 warns about the National Research Council. It didn't require the accreditation of DNA laboratories (p.232)! Or even blind testing of proficiency! Would they accept "racial groupings" to concoct statistics? Yes (p.233). High quality DNA testing provides accurate identification (p.235).

Chapter 9 does not mention other undisputed evidence. The limo driver picked up OJ at 11pm for a trip to the airport. The Medical Examiner who did the autopsies said the murders occurred after 11pm. The red liquid blood found at 12:15am said the murders occurred after 11:30; else the blood would be black and clotted. Hence all the DNA evidence against OJ had to be planted. The book "Tainted Evidence" covers related topics.