Testing alibis is not as straightforward as it seems
Justice is sometimes badly served as a consequence
IN 1985 RONALD COTTON, a resident of North Carolina, was falsely convicted of rape and burglary, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Nearly a decade later, he was exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence. Not only did the victim make an error in identifying him as the perpetrator, but Mr Cotton had also provided an alibi that could not be corroborated.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Where were you on Thursday the 15th?”
More from Science & technology
Are ice baths good for you?
They won’t hurt. Actually they might, a bit
Why carbon monoxide could appeal to the discerning doper
Professional cycling is debating whether to ban the poisonous gas
A sophisticated civilisation once flourished in the Amazon basin
How the Casarabe died out remains a mystery
Heritable Agriculture, a Google spinout, is bringing AI to crop breeding
By reducing the cost of breeding, the firm hopes to improve yields and other properties for an array of important crops
Could supersonic air travel make a comeback?
Boom Supersonic’s demonstrator jet exceeds Mach 1
Should you worry about microplastics?
Little is known about the effects on humans—but limiting exposure to them seems prudent