Forensic evidence has been originally used to find criminals and convict the authors of a crime. In the first criminal case in Germany using a blood test (the murder of Lucie Berlin in 1904), the main suspect had been convicted after one forensic expert testified that the blood found on an item belonged to a human (and not to an animal). A large study undertaken by Karl Peters investigated already in 1970 wrongful convictions in the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 1980 forensic sciences, especially DNA analysis accelerated the reopening of cases to acquit wrongfully convicted persons in post-conviction procedures. The term forensic science is discussed in light of presentations addressing the two sides – incriminating or exonerating - of
