Send to a Friend

LostInParadise's avatar

How does "beyond a reasonable doubt" translate into a probability?

Asked by LostInParadise (31925points) June 23rd, 2012

Suppose that at a crime scene, the proper procedures are followed for gathering evidence and a DNA analysis of blood samples shows there is a one in a million chance that they come from someone other than the defendant in a trial. Does one in a million count as being beyond reasonable doubt? It would seem to. What if the probability of match was 90%? That at first seems to be pretty good, but 90% chance of match means a one in ten chance that someone chosen at random would be a match. Surely that counts as reasonable doubt. Where is the dividing line between reasonable doubt and beyond reasonable doubt?

Using Fluther

or

Using Email

Separate multiple emails with commas.
We’ll only use these emails for this message.