RootsTech 2025 Specials: Choose the code that best suits your needs, then use it at checkout at https://GenealogicalStudies.com
Ethics Involved with Forensic DNA
Forensic DNA and Forensic Genealogical DNA are in the news with a hot break in a serial rapist case. The following news pieces feature me, the International Institute of Genealogical Studies executive director, Angela Breidenbach. They’re interesting and well done news pieces by the reporters. But what they haven’t had time to report on yet are the ethics issues that are also hotly debated in the genealogical community and legal arenas. Let’s explore those after you watch the two short videos below.
The first link is in English. The second is in Spanish. But I think you’ll catch the essence of the story in this breaking news case where genetic genealogy exploded onto the scene in this cold case. After watching, keep reading. I’m not judging the case at all. I don’t have all the details and I’m not the judge and jury. These women deserve to have their case solved and their peace restored. They deserve justice. The goal of this article is to help you think deeply about the various aspects of the broader topic involving ethics and law in genetic genealogy and criminology.
Will vicious crimes go down with so much light being put on DNA finding perpetrators? I hope so. The danger of getting caught has often minimized crime in years/centuries past. But, there are still a ton of questions about whether the DNA is compromised or whether the genetic DNA compared against is or isn’t legal, or whether the accused person’s DNA was present along with other DNA specimens for some odd reason.
I can think of a lot more to question beyond these noted. If the man in these news pieces is guilty, then it’s good to take him off the streets. But, if there could be some issue with chain of evidence, false planting, DNA shedding from simply being at the scene… The situation becomes much more complicated each time one of the possible errors or intentional incidence occurs. I have no idea as none of that information appeared in the news as of this writing. We aren’t told the chain of custody, either. But it’s important to take multiple questions into consideration before convicting someone in the media or in court.
We, as human beings, want justice–and often revenge–for harm done. The common feeling is that someone has to pay. These legal and ethical issues are not yet solved in many places regarding Genetic DNA in criminology. Each situation has its own set of circumstances. But it’s also important to consider whether you personally want your DNA used in this manner without knowing it could be. Could your relative be falsely accused? Could you? Could someone catch and prove your relative guilty? How would that affect your choice? Labs can mix up testing, DNA can be contaminated by outside sources, DNA can transfer or still be present long after someone spent time in a place. You name it, there are potential reasons to be very, very sure you have the right person.
Is it legal in the country or jurisdiction where the alleged crime took place to use genetic DNA in forensic investigation? Be thoughtful. Consider the justice for the victims. Consider the way media and/or society condemn anyone close to someone accused. Remember to think beyond “both sides”. Think of the possibility there may be many sides to an issue. Also consider that one set of circumstances or even type of crime may not equal another. Laws may be vastly opposite of what you’re used to where you live.
Laws specify that crimes are different in different countries. A crime in one place may be nothing in another. Recent news tells of a toddler being condemned to life in prison in a certain country because his parents had a Bible in their possession. It could have been a Koran or Buddhist tome. The type of faith book wasn’t the issue. Faith is not allowed outside of certain regime teachings in some places. Three generations convicted for life for owning a faith book. Possessing a faith book or material is a crime in that country, along with any book from outside of the system that introduces ideas unwanted by the leadership.
DNA can be used to trace whether you wore a shirt or touched an item like a book. What book would you go to prison for life for owning if your DNA were found in its pages? My great-great-grandfather, my great grandfather, my grandfather have all left visible fingerprints on the pages of a circuit-riding preacher’s Bible. And, so have I. I’ve touched those prints on the pages imagining those men who lived before me preaching from that book. Riding a horse around the country to talk to people? That hardship and commitment impressed and amazed me. I touched those fingerprints in awe of their existence over 150 years later. Just because I own that Bible as an artefact, I know one country that would send even my grandchildren to prison for life. I own many faith-based historical documents handed down through my family. My DNA is all over them. The laws of one place differ from the laws of another. How should genetic DNA be used? How should or shouldn’t it apply to legal matters?
I hope the victims find the justice they need in this serial crime case. I hope violent crimes stop forever. I hope they found the guy. From these small bits and pieces, we still do not have enough information to know if this particular man will be found guilty. Time will tell. I’ll definitely be watching for the resulting judgment.
But what if he’s not guilty? What if he can defend/prove he did not commit the crimes? Or if the prosecution cannot prove he did the crime? Which is the proper judicial action, “innocent until proven guilty”, in US court system.
If someone is innocent, but they were tried by public opinion, then another life is destroyed through the process without justice being appropriately applied and the bad guy is still out there. I hope for the sake of all involved that they have the right guy and that those hurt will feel safer from now on.
In the meantime, Genetic DNA research and discovery must be handled with respect as we wade through the many questions worldwide access to individual DNA raises.
Angela Breidenbach, PLCGS, is the executive director at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies, an author, speaker, and professional genealogist. Learn more about her at https://AngelaBreidenbach.com
Learn more about courses in Genetic Genealogy at https://GenealogicalStudies.com
Genealogy Jobs: Part 2
Quite a few companies hire professional genealogists in a wide variety of positions. If you’d like to work for a company like Ancestry.com, LegacyTree, MyHeritage, legal offices, and hundreds of other small to large businesses, then it’s a matter of matching your skills and experience to the job you’d like to have and/or getting the education you need.
Jobs for a Professional Genealogist?
YES! There are a lot of different jobs in professional genealogy from the regularly known family tree building to adoption angels (often volunteers, but not always), to a wide array of teaching, writing, researching, and more.
Original Records for Mayflower Research: Probates
Probate Records
Probate records can provide important familial identifications. They can identify children and spouses, prove family relationships and provide approximate death dates. Probate records come in many forms including wills, codicils, inventories, accounts, receipts, settlements among heirs and guardianships of minor children.
via Canva.com
A person who dies testate left a will; a person who died intestate did not. Occasionally expediency determined that a person had to make a will in a hurry, and did not have time to write it down, stating his wishes to another party who would later relay his sentiments to the probate court; this is referred to as a nuncupative will. If the deceased did not name an executor (male) or executrix (female) to oversee the administration of his estate, the courts would have to appoint an administrator or administratrix who would be required to post a bond.
What can wills tell us genealogically? They often named the children in order of birth. Children might be named in actual order of birth, or listed first by sons in their order of birth followed by the daughters in their order of birth. When birth records cannot be found it is often possible to construct approximate years of birth and family positioning based on the order of children in their parent’s will.
What happens when a child is not mentioned in his father’s will or settlement? The most likely reason is that the child is deceased with no living issue. If a deceased child has left children, these children are almost always named and identified, and receive the portion that was due their deceased parent. Occasionally, a child is not mentioned because they have already received their portion.
Once a father was deceased, guardians, who were often relatives of the deceased or his wife, were appointed for his minor children to protect their interest in their father’s estate. Generally speaking, children over the age of fourteen could choose their own guardian while those under fourteen had one appointed by the court.
In addition to proving parentage and family relationships, probate records can give an approximate time frame for a death when a death date cannot be found. A person died between the dates of his will and the next mention of his estate in the probate records which often is the date the will was presented for probate or the date administration was granted to the executor.
In New England, early probate records will be found in the county courthouses with one exception—Connecticut. In Connecticut these records have been deposited at the State Library in Hartford.
Of interest to Mayflower researchers is Roser’s Mayflower Deeds & Probates which are abstracts of records collected by George E. Bowman. Genealogy websites Ancestry, American Ancestors, and FamilySearch have probate and will databases for New England.
With our “Research: Mayflower Ancestors” course, you will learn more about your Mayflower ancestors and the information provided in those probate records.