20-Year Imprisonment Error: The Christopher Tapp Case
In 1996, Christopher Tapp was framed and coerced into confessing as the perpetrator of the murder and rape of Angie Dodge, the victim found dead in her apartment. Although the DNA evidence at the crime scene never matched Tapp, he nonetheless spent 20 years behind bars before a defense using genetic genealogy revealed the true facts. Uniquely, genetic material from a cigarette butt at the scene ultimately led investigators to Brian Leigh Dripps, paving the way for Christopher’s exoneration and sparking an ethical debate over the accuracy and limits of using public DNA databases in criminal investigations.
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In 1996, Christopher Tapp was framed and coerced into confessing as the perpetrator of the murder and rape of Angie Dodge, the victim found dead in her apartment. Although the DNA evidence at the crime scene never matched Tapp, he nonetheless spent 20 years behind bars before a defense using genetic genealogy revealed the true facts. Uniquely, genetic material from a cigarette butt at the scene ultimately led investigators to Brian Leigh Dripps, paving the way for Christopher’s exoneration and s...