DNA - The Last Key?

[schadeaux]

Just a thought...

We have broken the genetic code. Good for us. We can do so much with that information now. From identifying the long dead, to figuring out who or what did (or did not) kill them. These examples from CNN:

The Body

Not Guilty

Some say this may end up being a blessing, others a curse. Of course it is both. We can now, in many cases, figure out who that dead dude in the ditch was that we found five years ago. No more "John Doe" on his gravestone. Family, if any, can be notified. Another name off the missing persons list.

Then there is the side that gets confusing. We are now releasing prisoners based on the DNA evidence. Good: An innocent person is set free. Bad: The guilty guy is still out there, and has been for maybe fifteen - twenty years. Really bad: The innocent guy is on his own to rebuild a life.

Our judicial system found these innocent people guilty beyond doubt of crimes they did not commit. How do these folks get repayed for the five, ten, fifteen years they sat in jail, loosing their jobs, family, their life in general? They don't. "So sorry, dude. You are free to go." I posted a thread about this a while back, and it is terrible (in my opinion) the way the system handles these cases. And if current events are any indication, there will be more of these cases in the near future.

I know that any judicial system man can come up with will never be perfect, and sometimes there is that innocent person that will get convicted. But can't the system that made the mistake do something more that hand over a few bucks and an apology?

I don't do soap box things often. In fact, I had to borrow this soapbox and have to return it. (Besides, I don't like hights.) Just wondering if anyone else has a different view on this matter.

Just a thought...

[SpaceyKC]

I agree with you schadeaux. Like all these stories where people sue

for enormous amounts of money (for a much smaller injustice) than

sometimes 1/3 of their lifetimes behind bars. It should be estimated how much income they would have made if they had not been imprisoned (even a rough estimate would be better than the small sum they're given).