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?”
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