Anya Johnson Mrs. Helms English 8E 10 May 2012 8th Grade Speaking Outline I. Intro A. Banter 1. Hello everyone!

How are you all doing today? I will be talking to you today about a topic that affects everyone who wants criminals to come to justice. B. Attention Getting Advice-When Jeffry Deskovic was 16 years old, he was convicted of a rape and murder he did not commit. DNA testing eventually declared him innocent when he was 33, 17 years later. He missed out on most of high school and all of college because the police did not use DNA testing on the evidence. Deskovic even pleaded for a DNA test but the government refused his request. The government thought for sure Deskovic was guilty just from the witnesses. C. Motivation to Listen 1. Them: Many of you know what DNA is. Deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is everywhere. On your water bottle. On your clothes. A hair, a fingerprint, even a drip of your sweat could be used to identify you. It is very

important in criminal cases because they can tell very easily who committed the crime. 2. Me: When I first became interested with DNA, it was only a couple years ago. I was watching an episode of NCIS and I watched the character Abbey analyze pieces of evidence and scan them through the computer. I became intrigued and started researching more about forensics. There were many different types but I became most intrigued with two kinds. Computer Forensics which is a new study that most people do not know about and using DNA in courts of law. D. Introduction to Topic and Big Idea: There is a problem in the studies of using DNA in courts of law. Not all states use DNA as a primary source of evidence. They say that it is expensive and useless because criminals could plant DNA in place of their own. But, it is the most precise of all methods of evidence. DNA doesnt lie, Jethro. The character of Ducky in the TV show NCIS quotes. If only we would use DNA testing in more cases, then more cases would be solved, and quicker. E. Forecast: If we used DNA in more court cases, then we could exonerate those who had been unjustly put in jail, condemn those criminals who had gotten away, and deter criminal activity. Transition: First, DNA should be used in all court cases because it can exonerate the innocent. II. Body of Speech A. Main Point #1: Exonerate Innocent

1. Explanation: Many innocent people are convicted of crimes they have not committed. DNA can free those sitting in prison for a crime they did not commit. In the first year of DNA testing in court cases, 1989, over 300 people in the United States were freed from prison that had been innocent all along. 2. Illustration: For example, when Jeffry Deskovic was sixteen years old, he was convicted of a rape and murder he did not commit. DNA testing cleared him seventeen years later when he was 33. He missed most of high school and all of college because the police did not use DNA testing on the evidence. Deskovic even pleaded for a DNA test but the government refused his request. The government thought for sure Deskovic was guilty just from the witnesses. Deskovics example is extremely unjust for if the government had agreed to the test, Deskovic would have been freed years earlier. Also, in 1981, a young woman was getting into her car after going grocery shopping in the evening. There was nobody in the parking lot, or so she thought. A man ran up behind her, grabbed her wrists, tied them together, told her to keep her eyes shut then beat her and raped her violently. Once he was done, he locked her in the trunk and began to drive her car away. Those in the shop recognized her car and were suspicious. They came out and stopped the car. When they were inside calling the police, the man ran away on foot. The shopkeepers did not get a clear view of the man. They said he was a middle-aged, tall black man. One of the shopkeepers remembered Jerry Miller in the grocery store just a few days

before. The police brought him into court, and the victim said he was guilty even thought she did not see her attacker. He was locked up in jail with a life sentence. Twenty-four hours later, The Innocence Project took on his case. They took a slip of the victim with semen on it from that night and sent it in for DNA testing. Two years later in 2007, Jerry Miller became the 200th person to be exonerated through DNA evidence. 3. Interpretation: William Sessions, the fourth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation says, Prosecutors have not only a professional duty to seek the truth, but a moral responsibility to respond to the DNA no-match rate. Single pieces of evidence sometimes are not very strong, but DNA evidence is unstoppable and could change someones life. 4. Transition into next point: The second reason DNA testing should be used first in criminal cases is that DNA samples can not only free the innocent but also condemn the guilty. B. Main Point #2: Condemn the guilty 1. Explanation: DNA is more reliable than anything we have so long as you have a good sample and a competent lab following appropriate procedures. If those conditions are met, DNA evidence is devastating. Sexual assault and homicide cases were at their peak before DNA testing was available and many criminals got away (DNA forensics). Once DNA tests became easier to obtain, if police still had evidence from a cold case, it solved the crime immediately without any doubt.

2. Illustration: One night in 2003, a housekeeper was entering the house to clean it as she did every night for a young woman about 27 years of age. She heard a struggle and so she rushed in to find the Christmas tree knocked over, ornaments broken, blood everywhere, and the 27-year old owner of the house beaten dead on the floor. Closer investigation from the police discovered that the killer had raped the owner wearing two condoms to prevent sexual evidence, and keeping well covered by many layers of clothes on his body. Police found one condom wrapper as evidence, but that was it. The police suspected that the killer had opened the condom wrapper with his teeth, thereby leaving DNA evidence; however DNA testing was not available at that time. Years later, the police tested the condom wrapper for DNA and found one tooth mark with a small sample of saliva on it. They ran the saliva and found a match. The killer was put away for the rest of his life. 3. Interpretation: In the same way, DNA testing has solved more than 100,000 rap cases in the US alone since it became available. Another reason why DNA needs to be used is that without DNA evidence, many rapists will go free. Some cases may be old, but it is better the rapists be put away years later for their crime rather than never at all. The character of Lily Rush from the TV show, Cold Case has said many times, People shouldnt be forgotten. They matter.

4. DNA testing should be used first in all court cases not only because it can exonerate the innocent and condemn the guilty but also because DNA testing deters criminal activity. C. Main Point #3: Deter criminal activity 1. Explanation: Ray Peavy, Captain of the Los Angeles Police Department says, As recently as 1990, a cigarette butt or a sweaty T-shirt picked up at the scene would not have meant much. But if it was saved, today we can take it to the crime lab and get identification through DNA. 2. Illustration: That number alone should scare criminals as DNA testing is used in thousands of homicide cases a year. Criminals should be wary of committing crimes because chance they would leave behind NDA evidence always exists. 3. Interpretation: If DNA testing was used on more police cases, then even more criminals would become hesitant to commit a crime. III. Conclusion of Speech A. Reiteration of points and big ideas: DNA testing should be used first hand on all court cases because it can free innocent people, put guilty men in jail, and potentially deter criminal activity. B. Concluding device: DNA is very important to police, FBI, citizen, victims, and innocent people convicted of crimes. Without it our world would be a very different place. Because of forensic investigations and DNA testing, in most cases people can be assured that the right person has been arrested, tried, and convicted.

People can have confidence that they are not surrounded by dangerous criminals who should be behind bars. C. Acknowledgments: Thank you. It has been a pleasure to speak to you.