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Your Consumer DNA Test Could Get Your Distant Cousin Convicted of a Crime

24 Jun 2021 8:31 PM | Anonymous

An interesting article by Lizzie O’Leary can be found in the Slate.com web site:

"In April 2018, Sacramento County’s district attorney announced that after more than 40 years, investigators had found the Golden State Killer. And they’d done it by putting his DNA profile on genetic genealogy websites.

"Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested, pleaded guilty, and is serving 26 life sentences. His case marked a seismic shift in how investigators use DNA in cold cases. And yet, lurking in the background were concerns over the lack of regulation regarding police use of genetic genealogy. When cops want to peek inside your family tree, should anything stop them?

"On Friday’s episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Nila Bala, a senior attorney at the Policing Project at NYU Law School, about law enforcement and genetic genealogy technology—and what’s being done to regulate it. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity."

The full article my be found at: https://bit.ly/3gRCQKY.


Comments

  • 25 Jun 2021 10:05 AM | Anonymous
    I realize this headline is from the article on Slate and was not written by Dick but it is inaccurate. Your DNA test could not get anyone convicted of anything. It could only point law enforcement to a possible perpetrator of a crime. From there law enforcement would have to build a traditional case that could be proven in court. And, by the way, it is highly unlikely that you or your DNA would be involved in the actual court proceeding.
    Link  •  Reply
    • 25 Jun 2021 10:45 AM | Anonymous
      And if they committed a crime and it can be prooved, so be it!
      Link  •  Reply

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