7-Oct-2016

The probative power of DNA mixtures

Mixtures are evidence items containing DNA from two or more people. Crime laboratories generate excellent data from DNA mixtures. However, they often cannot interpret their data to calculate match statistics for court. Developed in 1999, and widely used in criminal cases, TrueAllele® computer technology solves the DNA mixture interpretation problem.

When properly interpreted, mixtures can be highly probative, establishing the presence of multiple people at a crime scene. For example, placing victim and suspect together can be highly incriminating. Or, excluding a suspect may prove exculpatory. TrueAllele helps elicit truth from evidence, apart from the adversarial legal process.

This one hour talk was given in June to the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. Dr. Perlin describes TrueAllele and how it works. Mixture probative power is illustrated through Louisiana cases - four murders and other crimes.