Abstract
In March 4, 1974, a nine-year-old boy was raped in his home in Lake Wales, Florida. When the police arrived, the boy described his assailant as possibly 17 or 18 years old with a mustache and thick sideburns and named “Jim” or “Jimmy.” After being identified in a photograph lineup by the victim, Jimmy Bain, who said that he was at home watching television with his sister, was arrested and charged with child sex abuse, kidnapping, and burglary/unlawful entry. During the trial, the prosecutors relied on both the photograph lineup and semen that had been found at the scene. The analyst identified that the semen came from a person with Type B blood, but Bain had Type AB blood. However, because the analyst said that Bain’s blood type was a weak A, he could not be excluded from the list of suspects. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison based on shoddy forensic science.
Recommended Citation
Dinh, Nathan
(2019)
"DNA on Trial,"
Osmosis Magazine: Vol. 2019:
Iss.
1, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/osmosis/vol2019/iss1/9
