Fredrick Peacock: DNA testing comes to the rescue of wrongly convicted criminals

Rochester, New York, 1976- Fredrick Peacock was convicted of rape. He was accused of raping a 24-year old girl who was walking home and dragged into the bushes. Without any evidence  based on DNA testing his conviction could not be reversed. For 30 years following the conviction, Peacock consistently asserted he had not committed the crime. His clinical mental insanity did not in any way help his plight. DNA testing was only made available for criminal cases in the past decade or so and came to Peacock’s rescue in the recent present.

Peacock spent considerable time studying the laws and made several formal bids to innocence. The New York Innocence Project, a not for profit organization, took on his case. The scope of the project is to take on criminals and free them of crimes they have been wrongly convicted of by using modern day genetic/DNA testing to re-open cases. Up to date, the Project has managed to exonerate 250 criminals. Peacock’s case was simple taken on because of his constant assertion that he was no guilty, despite his mental insanity. The issues in this case point towards more thorough DNA forensic investigations and the proper use and collection of DNA samples. Once cases have been closed and concluded, DNA samples and all evidence used in the case should be kept for a set number of years.

Peacock was released in 1982. He originally got a prison sentence of 20 years but spent 6 years of those in prison. Despite his freedom after the release, his name was still ruined and the man was forced to live his life bearing the stigma of a convicted rapist. Wrongful convictions are due to a number of reasons, although the most prelevant one is eyewitness accounts and the common misidentification associated with them. In fact, the victim in this case gave a rather unclear testimony regarding how exactly she identified her assailant.

DNA testing in forensic investigations has revealed the inaccuracies of the judicial systems, not only in the US but in the bigger part of the western world. DNA testing in criminal investigations is going to be mandatory and will ultimately change the criminal justice system making it more reliable and increasing by virtue of reliability, the people’s trust in it.  Not all states allow cases to be re-opened, though a number of them do; DNA testing after conviction should be a right for criminals if they constantly claimed to be innocent and their convictions were not based on sound forensic DNA testing or incontrovertible evidence as is given relying on DNA.

Perhaps something like The New York Innocence project should be taken up in other countries and bring DNA testing as a tool to free the innocently convicted who are suffering the degradation and loss of hope in the justice system; people such as Peacock feel that a system which should protect you does just the opposite.