Genetically Born to Be Bad

In order to solve crimes efficiently, police often make use of the forensic departments.

Much evidence can be hearsay and unsubstantiated.

Eye witnesses can often be intimidated or perhaps be made to seem untrustworthy or unreliable by a defense attorney.

Now the New Jersey Supreme Court has recently ruled that eyewitness “line-ups” are unreliable and can send innocent people to jail.

The forensic departments are becoming more and more relied on to provide evidence for conviction of criminals.

The forensic departments often rely on fingerprints, to provide evidence, of a suspected criminal’s activities.

No two person’s fingerprints are thought to be alike. Therefore by taking fingerprints from the crime scene and matching them to their records, forensics can definitely place a person at the scene of a crime.

Fingerprints have not, as yet, been brought into contention as being unreliable evidence.

There are however two genetic conditions known as Adermatoglyphia and Naegeli syndrome. These conditions are when a person’s skin is smooth. There are no concentric circles on the skin of their palms, fingers, toes or soles. They also have fewer sweat glands on their hands and feet. It is thought that a defect in the protein keratin 14 may be responsible for both diseases.

When a person with one of these disorders submits to a fingerprint, all that appears on the paper is a smear, no print.

If someone with one of these disorders were to take up a life of crime, it would be that much harder to find evidence on which to convict him.

Are people with these disorders genetically suited to a life of crime, especially in New Jersey?