The Evidence: Blood
In 2007, new evidence emerged as scientists conducted a massive "cold case review", and reviewed the case of Stephen Lawrence. There was blood that had stained on the bomber jacket that Gary Dobson was wearing, and the blood stain dried into the weave of the bomber jacket's collar. The jacket had been analyzed twice before in 1993 and 1995 for the presence of blood. This had been concluded with negative result. The jacket had been examined for two days in April 2008 under a low-powered microscope, and in the weave of the collar, the equipment revealed a tiny blood stain measuring 0.25mm by 0.5mm.
The jury was told that there was less than a billion-to-one-chance that the DNA was not that of Stephen Lawrence ("Stephen Lawrence Murder: Dobson and Norris Found Guilty."). “Forensic scientist Edward Jarman found the stain after two days of work with a microscope. He told the trial: ‘There was a potential that the blood could be transferred by the weapon itself when removed from the victim or [be] the actual blood from the injury itself.’” ("Stephen Lawrence Murder: Dobson and Norris Found Guilty."). The results produced the breakthrough the police, scientists and the Lawrence family had waited for: an almost complete DNA match to the murdered teenager.
The jury was told that there was less than a billion-to-one-chance that the DNA was not that of Stephen Lawrence ("Stephen Lawrence Murder: Dobson and Norris Found Guilty."). “Forensic scientist Edward Jarman found the stain after two days of work with a microscope. He told the trial: ‘There was a potential that the blood could be transferred by the weapon itself when removed from the victim or [be] the actual blood from the injury itself.’” ("Stephen Lawrence Murder: Dobson and Norris Found Guilty."). The results produced the breakthrough the police, scientists and the Lawrence family had waited for: an almost complete DNA match to the murdered teenager.
Experts working on this case declared that the blood stain would have been useless if it was not for the developing DNA testing. Because of the newer DNA testing, DNA analysts were able to determine that the blood found on Dobson’s jacket was in fact Stephen Lawrence’s blood.
VIDEO
For a while, many people suspected that the clothing taken from the guilty party was contaminated with Lawrence’s blood, when in fact after close examination Forensic Scientists declared the contamination to be highly impossible.
For a while, many people suspected that the clothing taken from the guilty party was contaminated with Lawrence’s blood, when in fact after close examination Forensic Scientists declared the contamination to be highly impossible.
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