Furthermore, many scientists are using this technology for other uses.
Suppose Kirk Bloodsworth was guilty. How would one know for a fact? DNA fingerprinting helps investigators link a suspect to the scene of a crime. According to Harlan Levy, Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, DNA evidence made the 1984 case against Martin Perez, a thirty-seven-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico who raped and killed a twenty-three-year-old woman named Jean Ann Broderick. "Broderick's murder would never have been solved without a DNA date base" (Levy 125-28). Levy also states that DNA fingerprinting can assist in false accusations, just like Bloodsworth's case.
Bloodsworth's case is common for homicide detectives. On August 17, 1990, John Davis was arrested for the raping and assaults of Carol Sanders, his "on-again, off-again" girlfriend. He pleaded innocent and agreed on a blood test (Levy 94-95). On December 19, 1990, an FBI agent called the prosecutor's office and informed them that the semen sample taken from Carol Sanders was not that of John Davis (Levy 96). Earlier that autumn, Davis told police about Greg Ritter, an unemployed Baltimore bricklayer who had dated Carol Sander's roommate. Ritter looked very similar to Davis. Although Sanders was certain her attacker was Davis, police had new evidence to believe Ritter was Carol's rapist. Ritter had blamed Sanders for the breakup between Ritter and Sanders's roommate (Levy 96-97). After the police and the court agreed that Davis was innocent and released him, their new task was to convict Ritter. The prosecution had one problem though. Davis and Ritter looked remarkably alike, and Sanders insisted that her attacker was Davis. The only difference between Davis and Ritter was the chest hair, and Sanders stated she had felt chest hair on her assailant. Detectives had a lead. Ritter had dark chest hair, and Davis hardly had any.