The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "DNA testing" ...
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Fishy Business
Boston Globe reporters Jenn Abelson and Beth Daley captured the attention of consumers across the nation with their 2011 “Fishy Business” series, which revealed widespread mislabeling of seafood at restaurants. DNA testing commissioned by the Globe showed diners frequently – and unwittingly -- overpaid for less desirable species. In 2012, the Globe produced two more “Fishy Business” installments to expand and follow up on the initial investigation. First, Abelson spent several months examining how fish processors add water to seafood to increase profits. The Globe hired an independent lab to conduct an analysis of 43 fish samples collected from supermarkets across Massachusetts. The results, presented in a multimedia package in September 2012, showed consumers often pay for excess water when they buy scallops and frozen fish. About 1 in 5 of the samples weighed less than what was stated on packages. The testing also showed 66 percent of the fish from one supplier had too much ice. The Globe also wanted to verify restaurants and wholesalers had changed their ways following the newspaper’s 2011 investigation and resulting calls for reform. Daley and Abelson returned to 58 restaurants that served the wrong fish in 2011 to collect new samples. DNA tests showed 76 percent did not match what restaurants advertised on their menus. The resulting third installment of “Fishy Business,” published in December 2012, detailed these findings. In addition, Abelson and Daley explained how accountability is lost in the fish supply chain by investigating a major wholesaler that provided mislabeled fish to some of the region’s best-known restaurants.
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Mother's Day Murder
The story provides a complete picture of what happened in a Mother's Day murder case.
Tags: murder; Mother's Day; evidence; DNA testing
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Freedom for Anthony Caravella
This series is an investigation of the conviction of Anthony Caravella and potentially how it was flawed. He was convicted of rape and murder, without proper DNA testing and a biased prosecutor. Eventually, the investigation led to his release, but now he is faced with a number of challenges. Also, an investigation was launched on the prosecutor, who wrongly convicted four other people of murder.
Tags: court; judge; jury; genetic testing; Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); prison; prisoner; law enforcement; confession
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Freed Without the Possibility of Life
A man, who was wrongly imprisoned, was freed from prison after a DNA test revealed he wasn’t the murderer. Though, he was freed the murder conviction has never been cleared from his record. This makes him unable to get a job and live a normal life. The prosecutor and the court can legally choose to never clear his name because it is not a legal requirement.
Tags: David Scott; sentence; jail; law enforcement; arrest; Vigo County; Indiana State Police; case; evidence
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"Losing 'Letta"
A sloppy police investigation led to a mother waiting 27 painful years for her daughter's remains to be identified. The girl was 12 when she disappeared from her Little Rock home. A girl's remains were located in 1991, but DNA testing did not reveal a match. In 2009, a retest was done after "prodding" from reporters. This time, the test revealed a match and the child's case was ruled a homicide.
Tags: Little Rock; DNA test; Arkansas Crime Lab; FBI
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"Who Is Testing Your DNA?"; "Could Your DNA Betray You?"; "How My Genome Was Hacked"
In this series, reporters take a look at how the DNA left behind by humans can be gathered and studied by regular, everyday people. The reporters also explain how the industry of underground DNA testing can pose a serious threat to one's privacy and health.
Tags: DNA; genetic testing; DNA chips; genome; paternity testing; infidelity
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I Didn't Do That Murder; New Light On Old Case
Based on questions reporter Christine Young raised in her reporting of a 1987 murder conviction, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, in a rare decision, is re-investigating the murder case of Michaelanne Hall, a prostitute brutally murdered in 1989. The man convicted for the crime, Lebrew Jones, was a mentally retarded security guard and his conviction rested on a nonsensical statement he gave to police. Now 51, Jones is awaiting DNA test results from the fingernail clippings of the murder victim. Also, a potentially viable suspect has emerged as a result of Young's work.
Tags: wrongful conviction; Manhattan medical examiner's office; prostitution; runaways; murder; DNA testing; Innocence Project; developmentally disabled
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Mistaken Identities
DNA-based exonerations of wrongly convicted men hit a record high after it was discovered that police used suggestive lineups procedures and pressured witnesses to pick out a suspect. Sometimes shaky identifications were preserved by withholding evidence that would lead to other suspects in the cases.
Tags: accusation; eyewitness; false conviction; DNA test; genetic; rape;
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Test of Convictions
"Ohio's system for testing evidence and inmate DNA to uncover wrongful convictions is deeply flawed. Prosecutors ignore court orders for testing, judges reject inmates without following the law, and evidence is routinely lost or destroyed before it can be tested."
Tags: DNA testing; Ohio; justice system; inmate; wrongful conviction;
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The Daughters of Juarez
The book investigates the series of murders that have been occurring to women and girls in Juarez, Mexico for over ten years. The authors also explore the impact that NAFTA has had on the local economy.
Tags: murder; Mexico; economy; Juarez; El Paso; North American Free Trade; factories; law enforcement; rape; DNA testing; Amnesty International;