Patients are about to be enrolled in the first study to test a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR inside the body to try to cure an inherited form of blindness. People with the disease have normal eyes but lack a ...

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With a name that sounds like futuristic fiction, Rapid DNA machines roughly the size of an office printer have helped solve rape cases in Kentucky, identified California wildfire victims and verified family connections of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Now ...

Tagged with: criminal cases DNA Rapid DNA technology Texas

A jury convicted a man charged with capital murder in the death of a 16-year-old girl more than 30 years ago. Gregory Bowman was charged in St. Louis County Court in 2007 with the killing of Velda Rumfelt 30 years ...

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If you’re not Bill Nye, the Science Guy – and chances are you’re not – it may be difficult to wrap your head around some of the scientific and technological evidence that parties try to have admitted in court these ...

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An attorney for a man seeking a DNA test argued on Wednesday before the Missouri Supreme Court that a lower judge erred in denying the procedure. Randy Belcher, a Livingston County resident, pleaded guilty in 1989 to rape.  He was ...

Tagged with: DNA Missouri Supreme Court Randy Belcher

Gov. Jay Nixon signed a number of bills Thursday related to crime prevention, including legislation prompting officials to take DNA samples from individuals arrested or booked for certain offenses. Nixon signed a law requiring individuals over the age of 17 arrested or booked for assorted felonies to provide a DNA sample to law enforcement officials. Individuals arrested for burglary, sexual offenses and child pornography would be affected by the law.

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The Constitution doesn’t guarantee access to DNA evidence for accused and convicted criminals, a divided U.S. Supreme Court said, ruling against a convicted Alaska rapist who sought to test DNA samples from a condom. The justices, voting 5-4, overturned a ...

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The collection of DNA samples from people suspected of committing felonies under U.S. law and not yet convicted is constitutional, a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., ruled. “DNA sampling is analogous to taking fingerprints as part of the routine booking ...

Tagged with: DNA DNA sampling Judge Gregory Hollows

Through last-minute parliamentary maneuvering, Sen. Jim Lembke (pictured), R-Lemay, became the unlikely sponsor of the first omnibus judiciary bill to pass the legislature in years. Lembke said he found the turn of events ironic. "My relationship with the judiciary has been tenuous at best," he admitted. Continue reading for a rundown of legal bills of note that passed in 2009, such as the caseload cap for public defenders, and those that failed, such as changes to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan.

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Two bills offering significant changes to Missouri family law have been sent to the governor for his signature. Both bills were crafted by state Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, who worked closely with prosecutors and state agencies to ensure unanimous ...

Tagged with: DNA fathering court Jeff Smith Tim Jones

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday that a DNA test ordered by the Missouri Supreme Court last year has confirmed the convicted man’s guilt. Huntley Ruff was convicted of raping a guest at the Phillips House Hotel in Kansas ...

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