November 21, 2024
5 read me
Genetic genealogy can stop violent criminals and exonerate wrongly convicted criminals
Although genealogical research is revolutionizing cold case investigations, it has been little used to exonerate the wrongly convicted.
Klaus Ohlenschlaeger/Alamy Stock Photo
since 1989, 3,615 people those convicted of crimes have been exonerated in the US, released after their convictions were overturned. Post-conviction DNA testing played a role in 606 of those exemptions.
The Milwaukee Brothers Robert and David Bintz they became the latest additions to this alarming list on September 25, after the Investigative Genetic Genealogist (IGG)—who relies on genealogical and genetic data to reverse family trees—helped uncover the true perpetrator of the crime. In many ways, their cases are typical of other wrongful convictions: false confessions and jailhouse informants provided key evidence against them at trial. However, their stories are unusual in that the underlying research method is essential to their exceptions.
They are Bintz brothers only the third and fourth individuals excepted with Support from IGG. Although the revolutionary research technique, since its creation in 2018, has helped to identify mainly human remains and the perpetrators of violent crimes, the double exemptions of the Bintz brothers show its power as a tool of justice in general. Condemnation is what wrongful organizations should follow. The case is also proof of the need for legal reform to deal with injustices Wisconsin’s criminal legal systemespecially for those who are found innocent after being in prison.
About supporting science journalism
If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you’re helping to ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world.
August 3, 1987 Sandra Lison— a mother of two — disappeared from the Good Times Tavern in Green Bay, WI, where she worked as a bartender. The next morning, hikers found Lison’s body in a nearby forest. She was strangled, and police noted the presence of semen, which matched a spot of blood later found on Lison’s clothing. For 11 years, law enforcement was unable to identify a viable suspect in the case.
Then, in 1998, while serving time for an unrelated crime, David Bintz’s cellmate said David made incriminating statements about Lison in his sleep. The roommate (and others) said David also implicated his brother Robert in the crime. Under questioning, David confirmed his statements, although he also denied any involvement in the crime. After reviewing notes from the initial investigation, law enforcement discovered that David and Robert were there He bought Lison a beer the night he disappeared, and he was angry about the price difference between a case of beer and a four-six pack. With this confession and motive evidence, the two brothers were convicted of Lison’s murder.
During the trial, the prosecution knew that the only DNA evidence in the case, which came from the victim’s semen and blood, excluded the Bintz brothers. Thus, they argued that the two substances had nothing to do with Lison’s death. Despite having no physical evidence linking them to the scene, the brothers were each convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
in 2019 Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) took on the case of Robert Bintz, believing that DNA evidence at the crime scene was the key to exoneration—and to identifying the real perpetrator.
A year earlier, IGG did it the headlines for helping to identify Joseph as James DeAngelo Golden State Killer and Marcia King formerly known as Jane Doe buckskin girl. GNIP continued the development of IGG, which was involved in the exoneration of Christopher Tapp in 2019, and recognized the potential of the group to help exonerate the Bintz brothers.
Working with forensic technology company Bode Technology, GNIP developed an advanced genetic profile based on crime scene evidence. This profile was uploaded to two consumer genetic genealogy databases, FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch, where citizens can upload their genetic profiles for personal research. A subset of these individuals decided to compare their profiles with crime scene profiles and those developed from unidentified human remains.
In the summer of 2023, the IGG job was turned over to Ramapo College Genetic Genealogy Research Center (IGG Center), which was founded in 2022, in part to bring this powerful investigative tool to more cases of wrongful conviction. In just two days, a small group of staff and students from the first “IGG Bootcamp” reverse-engineered the family tree of the individual who left DNA at the Green Bay crime scene 36 years earlier. Down the family tree, the groups landed with three brothers who meet all the genealogical and genealogical evidence. One brother stood out: William Hendricks, convicted of rape and released from prison seven months before Lison’s murder.
Hendricks died in a psychiatric hospital in 2000. In the summer of 2024, his body was exhumed, and Bode Technology eventually developed a genetic profile from his remains. Compared to the crime scene evidence, the result was unequivocal: William Hendricks left Lison with blood and semen. Wisconsin investigators went back to the evidence in the case and found fingerprints on an empty cigar box found behind the counter at the Good Times Tavern also matched Hendricks.
There was no longer any doubt as to who had raped and murdered Liso. In September, Wisconsin prosecutors joined forces with the Great North Innocence Project Wisconsin Innocence Project (who represented David) to demand the freedom and exemption of the Bintz brothers. After a few days, they were released from prison.
There are many similar cases that IGG can help solve. However, concerns about the technique may slow its use to help free the innocent. Skepticism about any new investigation or forensic method is justified, but the concerns raised about the IGG have largely been answered. Today, there are many IGG practitioners and groups that have developed strong policies and procedures around the use of the technique. It is owned by the Genetic Genealogy Verification Committee promulgated standards and will soon offer a code of ethics for the field and an accreditation review and database of those who pass the exam and meet other requirements.
For the Bintz brothers, the way forward will not be easy. Unlike convicted felons who are released after serving their sentences, there are no re-entry services for the suddenly exonerated. And for a quarter of a century in prison, Wisconsin law limits it $25,000 in damages each one
On the contrary, Recommended by the Innocence Projectand Many states provide itat least $70,000 per year of service.
We urge lawyers fighting to free the innocent to embrace the IGG, and urge the Wisconsin legislature to use the lessons of these cases to align its compensation statute with the amount recommended by the Innocence Project.
This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author(s) are not necessarily their own. American scientific
