Blood Evidence: How Dna Is Revolutionizing The Way We Solve Crimes [Hardcover]

Henry Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2003

From O. J. Simpson's "trial of the century" to the recent disappearance of Chandra Levy and the reopening of the Edward De Salvo case, the collection and use of DNA in criminal investigations has become a controversial and often confusing burden of proof. Blood Evidence explains the principles and science behind DNA testing and shows how it has both helped solve some of the most puzzling criminal cases in recent history and been used to discredit eyewitness accounts and physical evidence found at the crime scene. Written specifically for a lay audience, Blood Evidence is the first trade book to explore the complexities of DNA testing and the effect it has had on justice systems worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lee first entered the national spotlight as a defense expert in the O.J. Simpson murder case, when his memorable phrase, "Something's wrong," cast doubt on crucial crime scene blood samples. Based on Lee's extensive experience as director of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory, this is a highly detailed yet accessible look at how forensic DNA analysis has evolved in the U.S. to its current state of being "routinely used" in criminal and civil cases. Like Lee's earlier Famous Crimes Revisited, which used seven sensational murder cases to evaluate crime scene reconstruction techniques, the book analyzes a range of high-profile assault cases to show how DNA fingerprinting has both helped establish guilt as well as free the wrongly imprisoned. The authors expertly explain for the average reader technical DNA-typing techniques such as PCR technology, RFLP and STR analysis and EDTA samples. They also explore the successful use of DNA analysis in famous nonviolent cases, such as a Mick Jagger paternity suit and the effort to establish the death of notorious Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele. A large final section on DNA evidence in the Simpson case overlaps with Lee's previous book, Cracking Cases: The Science of Solving Crimes, once again criticizing the Los Angeles Police Department for its possible contamination and its definite mishandling of crucial blood evidence. Although the authors downplay Lee's role in the Simpson case, this volume is an excellent introduction to the science and use of DNA analysis.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From The New England Journal of Medicine

In their engaging book, Lee and Tirnady do much more than discuss the effect of the use of DNA analysis on crime investigations. Of course, advances in DNA-based technology have changed the way the police can build a case against a suspect, solve old, previously unsolvable crimes, identify the real perpetrator of a crime, and free persons who have been wrongly convicted. But Lee and Tirnady also explore the mysteries that DNA profiling has solved in fields as diverse as archeology, agriculture, genealogy, and paleontology. We can now assess the legitimacy of claims of lineage to the Iceman, the extinct mammal known as the quagga (zebras win out over horses), Mick Jagger, and French grapes. We can track the infiltration of genetically modified crops into our food system and verify the authenticity of experiments in cloning. And we can identify the remains of victims of war and other catastrophic events. The forensic use of DNA testing has so fundamentally altered our way of life that it has, as the authors conclude, "truly changed the world." (Figure) All of this is pretty remarkable when one considers that DNA typing made its first appearance in a criminal investigation in 1986. The technique is now so widely accepted that its reliability, the authors suggest, is no longer in doubt. The only method available for challenging the results of DNA typing is to question how the testing was done and by whom. This tactic was adopted by the defense in the trial of O.J. Simpson -- a case that has to be included in a book about DNA, even if one wishes that one never had to read any more about it. The book devotes two chapters to this case and, oddly, does not mention Lee's role as a defense witness at the trial. His testimony about cockroaches in spaghetti provided a vivid image in support of the defense's theory that damning evidence should be discarded because it had been either contaminated or planted. Nonetheless, the authors present an unbiased and detailed examination of the forensic evidence offered at the Simpson trial. They suggest that the overriding lesson from the case is that laboratories must follow the highest professional standards in collecting, storing, and identifying evidence. Unfortunately, as recent scandals in police crime laboratories such as Houston's have shown, the lesson has not yet been learned. The book introduces the reader to the complex moral and political issues that are a result of the extraordinary progress in the understanding and forensic use of DNA typing. Questions arise as to how to balance law enforcement's need for an expansive DNA data base against the individual's right to privacy. Cases in which DNA typing has led to exoneration -- over 130 to date -- have exposed the shortcomings of our criminal-justice system and raised questions about the legitimacy of the death penalty. The successful cloning of sheep and mice has led to questions about whether designer children and human cloning are around the corner and what we should do about that prospect. However, the authors do not attempt to provide answers to these thorny issues, leaving that task instead to bioethicists. This book's mission is to explain the science of DNA to the layperson and to provide case histories that bring to life the science behind an investigation. Whether the object of the investigation is to get your man, your plant, your animal, or your pathogen, DNA typing has revolutionized the way in which an investigator approaches solving the puzzle. Lee and Tirnady have written a valuable book for those who are interested in learning more about the history of the forensic uses of DNA and in being drawn into the characters who have been part of its myriad accomplishments. Jacqueline McMurtrie, J.D.
Copyright © 2004 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (April 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738206024
• ISBN-13: 978-0738206028
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of case reviews, no photos or illustrations, July 4, 2003

By 

John P. Callan (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Evidence: How Dna Is Revolutionizing The Way We Solve Crimes (Hardcover)

I bought Blood Evidence based on a review in Science News magazine. I've not finished it yet, but I have concluded that this is a book for the professional crime fighter more than the general public interested in scientific investigation using DNA evidence.

Blood Evidence is a lengthy, detailed, all-text work with many stories of cases solved with scientific investigation, and also the stories of the development of those scientific investigation tools and techniques. The science discussed centers on DNA evidence, but other forms of scientific crime investigation, for example finger prints, get some treatment. There's no shortage of the usual suspects... O.J.s here, there, everywhere, Nazis hiding in South America get unearthed, the Lindbergh baby, etc. The book has an extensive reference section and a comprehensive index.

The book has not one photo, illustration, chart, or drawing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is equivalent of many, many pictures, and that is its weakness. In numerous areas, pictures would have conveyed far more information more quickly and accurately, making the book a better read.

Take Blood Evidence for a test drive at the library before you spend your hard-earned cash. Many readers just won't have the stamina or willingness to take notes to get through this 338 page, single spaced treatise.