Something most people do not know is that with today’s technology, a man or woman who has been dead for 15, 25, or even 30 years can be brought back to life. To this date there are 111 cases of humans having been resurrected and all are alive today to tell about their experiences.
If you don’t believe me, investigate for yourself. There is Mark Diaz Bravo, who lives in Ontario; Frederick Daye, also from California; or the most recent survivor, Jimmy Ray Bromgard from Montana. These are all men who have conquered death.
How is this done? Through forensic technology — DNA testing.
These names are the identities of exonerated inmates who, not too long ago, were only identified by their jail numbers. They are victims of a judicial system which cost them their families, friends, spirit; their lives. Thanks to the miracles of science, these men have been able to overcome wrongful convictions that sentenced them to life in prison or execution through capital punishment.
In California we have a chance to give more wrongfully convicted men and women a fighting chance. We have a chance to bring to justice the real criminals and help close rape and murder cases that remain unsolved.
Los Angeles County is in the process of building a new crime lab that would help ease the burden of backlogs that now total approximately 2,000 cases. According to Deputy District Attorney Ellen Aragon, there are between 120 and 160 cases that request DNA analysis every month and only about 15 of these cases are able to be processed.
The opportunity for justice is here. We have a chance to build a state-of-the-art crime lab that would compete with some of Britain’s premiere and sophisticated labs that solve approximately 300 “cold cases” each week. We have an opportunity to help innocent people who have been wrongfully incarcerated.
So why don’t we make the most of it? The state has basically said that this crime lab is not that important by limiting the project to a budget of $96 million, far short of the estimated $132 million which is needed to make such advancements in fighting crime.
The limited budget means that fewer personnel and experts in the field of forensics technology will be hired, equipment purchases used for forensic testing will be limited, and newly developed advancements in technology, such as new portable DNA testing kits that allow for investigators to get results directly from the field, will not be accessible because of expensive prices.
This is a slap in the face to all those innocent inmates who are on death row and in jail, to their families and friends, and to all those rape victims and families coping with the loss of a lost one.
We all see the importance of forensic technology in crime fighting. It is being used in cases like that of Danielle Van Dam and Samantha Runnion, who were viciously murdered.
It has restored freedom to Bromgard, who spent 15 years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
Let’s not allow our state to put a price on justice and freedom; they are priceless.
The new crime lab will be built at California State University, Los Angeles and is expected to be completed between 2005 and 2006.
This gives us time to voice our opinions and concerns, and help press our congressmen to increase funding for the new crime lab. Most importantly, it gives us an opportunity to help expand on the facilities that will help victims restore their lives.
Christian A. Lopez, a senior broadcasting major, is editorial cartoonist for the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at clopez@ulv.edu.
