4. Discovering innocence on Death Row.
Illinois Governor George Ryan applied DNA testing to death row inmates in 1998 and found 13 of the 25 could be exonerated by the results. He immediately put a moratorium in executions. The resulting study recommended 85 ways to prevent the death of innocents, with DNA testing at the core.
In Texas, Roy Criner was sentenced with circumstantial evidence to 99 years for the rape and murder of a 16 year old girl. Years later, he submitted to DNA testing which excluded him from being the contributor of genetic material found on the girl, but he remained in prison because the majority of the appeals judges had no confidence that DNA evidence would have weight over witness testimony. After a reporter found additional evidence that implicated another person, Criner was finally set free