Milestone 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Milestone 2 - Essay Example However, even the best individual encounters circumstances where his/her ethical and moral standards are tested (Bowen, 2009). The Annie Dookhan lab scandal is at the peak of legal, moral and ethical misconduct necessitating an overhaul of the American criminal justice system to avert future injustices. Forensic science can reveal information regarding whether or not a crime was committed, who committed the crime, and what transpired during the crime (James et al., 2009). Mishandling, manipulating, or misinterpreting even one piece of evidence could destroy a person’s life or pervert justice. It is vital that forensic personnel allow evidence to speak for itself without manipulations or errors (Bowen, 2009). Most people trust that scientific analyses provide trustworthy proof regarding the interpretation of evidence, failing to consider that humans handle the evidence, a situation that puts the evidence at risk of contamination (Bowen, 2009). From the scene of the crime to the lab and all the way into the courtroom, forensic personnel should always display good ethical and moral character, while providing trustworthy, first class forensic service (Bowen, 2009). Dookhan is just a drop of water in the ocean of a corrupt criminal justice system whose sole selfish ambition is to reap huge out of crimes committed. In the process, guilty individuals are set free while the innocent are convicted. When someone falsifies reports, interferes with evidence, misguides investigators, and fabricates credentials as Dookhan did (Jacobs, 2013), it shows that the whole system tolerates unethical and immoral conduct. Moreover, the legal backgrounds are so weak that these blatant misconducts go unnoticed and not remedied. Dookhan is just but a sacrificial lamb. The real issue should be the identification of the legal loopholes that lead to such gross unethical and immoral behaviors in the criminal justice system. Prosecuting Dookhan will not