MOULTON, Ala. - I
n Lawrence County, Tim McWhorter is the sheriff's chief investigator. "DNA, just minute amounts of it, can be enough to make a match," he told WAAY31 FirstNews. One recent DNA match made a burglar confess. "He said the evidence was strong," McWhorter told us. "He said, 'that's strong. Real strong'."In Limestone County, a doorplate at Calhoun College reads "Criminal Justice Laboratory."
"If you look at the history, there are a lot of cold cases being solved and that is through DNA," Will Culver told us. Culver is the Director of Criminal Justice at Calhoun.
Microscopes, magnifying glasses and much more. Culver's busy getting ready to open the new crime lab. A former cop, Culver says DNA is cracking cases. "Now it's your scientists. It's in the labs. This is how crimes are being solved," Culver said.
You're probably already familiar with one of the most basic forms of DNA testing. Your fingerprints show your signature DNA.
"This one is used for criminal prints," Culver shows us a fingerprint card used by police.
Thieves are having a tougher time getting away with their crimes. "Sometimes, criminals will put on gloves and burglarize places," Culver explained. "But, DNA, is on the inside of gloves."
DNA data bases are also catching up to criminals.
"When they get rearrested, these days, and take the DNA from them, they are able to go back and solve just about any crime they have committed," Cuver explained.
For Captain McWhorter, more DNA experts give him a more powerful weapon to fight crime. "Anytime I see anything at a crime scene that I think we might get DNA evidence from, I'm excited."
