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Letter: When the odds on a DNA match are deadly serious

Published 5 December 2018

From John Cantellow, Derby, UK

A man was apparently declared dead because DNA from a decomposed corpse was 99.92 per cent likely to be his (Feedback, 17 November). When he turned up alive we were reminded to think of the 0.08 per cent. So should a jury in a murder trial be persuaded of a suspect's guilt by a similar likelihood?

Issue no. 3207 published 8 December 2018

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