My twin brother committed a crime, how can I prove my innocence?

Identical twins often carry a mysterious charnel ground because they are two individuals developed from a fertilized egg that is copied in two, and their genetic information is also copied in two copies, so the two look extremely similar.

In the TV series "Day and Night", the identical twin brother is a policeman, while the younger brother is a wanted criminal who has been wrongly accused. Because the elder brother has "darkness phobia", he can only go out during the day, so at night he lets his younger brother pretend to be him to investigate the case, and the people around him rarely suspect him.

It's been 4 years since "White Night Chase", and Pan Yuean has never appeared again丨Giphy

So the question is, if in real life, one of the twins goes astray, will his or her twin brother or sister be blamed because they can't tell them apart?

The key to answering this question is whether identical twins have identifiable, stable, and judicially recognized differences. With existing identification technology, identical twins can be distinguished, including DNA testing (sometimes), fingerprints, venous blood vessel images, irises, etc.

DNA Identification:

In the process of technology upgrade, some cases can be distinguished

Distinguishing identical twins is a difficult problem with conventional DNA identification technology. However, there are no two exactly the same people in the world. Even twins whose DNA is copied from a set of genetic information code books can have slight differences in their genes due to a few mistakes (mutations) when copying the code books. And then, gene mutations will continue to appear and accumulate in two independent living people. Therefore, there are differences in the genes of twins, which is the basis for DNA identification to distinguish twins, although this difference is much smaller than the difference between two unrelated people.

In reality, commonly used DNA identification techniques, including short tandem repeat (STR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, are difficult to distinguish between identical twins. In 2009, in a drug-hiding car case in Malaysia, the police arrested twin brothers who may be related to it. Locally, this crime faces the death penalty. In the end, the evidence could not indicate which of the brothers hid the drugs, and in order to avoid manslaughter, the court released both brothers.

Some more sophisticated genetic identification methods may be able to completely distinguish the twins' DNA, but they are expensive. At the end of 2012, six rape cases occurred in Marseille, France, and DNA evidence locked a pair of identical twin brothers, both of whom claimed innocence. Because the police could not determine who was responsible, the brothers were detained for 10 months. The police learned that if super-precise genetic sequencing was performed on the twins, the DNA of the two should be separated. This test compares one billion base pairs, and the identification cost was as high as one million euros that year. The case made new progress in 2015. Several victims confirmed that the offender had the characteristics of stuttering, which determined that one of the twins was the criminal and brought him to court.

The picture shows Elvin Gomis. The real criminal is the other twin, Yohan Gomis｜AFP

In April 2018, my country's Ministry of Justice disclosed a case of successfully distinguishing the DNA of identical twins. In this rape and murder case, the police arrested the suspect Zhang based on the DNA of the semen stain at the scene, and Zhang also confessed to the crime. Then, the procuratorate discovered that Zhang had an identical twin brother! So is it possible that this brother was involved in the crime? In order to rule out this possibility, the police conducted STR typing tests on the brother's DNA and found that there was a rare genotype somewhere in his autosome (not caused by sample contamination), but the brother's did not have it, and the semen stain at the scene was consistent with that of the brother. In the end, the younger brother was considered unrelated to the case, and the elder brother Zhang was punished by law.

With the development of genetic testing technology, there will be more and more ways to distinguish identical twins. The Ministry of Justice’s guiding case pointed out that “the differences between identical twins are not only reflected at the epigenetic level (DNA methylation, acetylation, etc.), but also at the genomic level (copy number variation, mitochondria, etc.)”, which may be the future technical direction for distinguishing twins.

Fingerprint: Distinguishing

Although the twins' DNA is cut from the same mold, there are visible differences in their fingerprints that can distinguish them from each other.

Fingerprints that easily leave marks everywhere｜Giphy

Fingerprints are raised lines on the fingertips that help primates stretch their skin and increase friction when climbing. These lines are formed during the fetal period and remain stable throughout life. Even if the finger is injured, the new skin will grow the same lines (unless the wound is too deep and forms a scar).

Why do twins have different fingerprints?

Because during the period of fingerprint formation, the twins also have different developmental environments in the mother's body, and blood pressure, blood oxygen, nutrition, hormone levels, etc. are changing all the time, which causes huge and difficult to estimate randomness in fingerprint development. Under these complex influencing factors, compared with the face, the difference between the fingerprints of the twins is much easier to distinguish.

Fingerprints are traditional identification features that are stable, diverse, and easy to collect. One fingerprint can correspond to one person. How to see it specifically? When fingerprint identification is performed, it is necessary to confirm the number of feature points of the two samples. Here, feature points refer to the starting point, end point, fork, and confluence of the lines (rather than the familiar dustpan and bucket...). When the number of identical feature points in the two samples reaches a certain number, it can be determined that the samples are from the same person. At present, there is no consensus internationally on how many matching points are required to identify the same identity. Most people believe that more than 8 or 12 matching points can be considered as evidence.

Some characteristics of fingerprint identification: the end point of the fingerprint, that is, the place where the fingerprint lines end (left picture); the bifurcation point of the fingerprint (middle picture); the short lines in the fingerprint, that is, the isolated points (right picture) | Wikiwand

Fingerprints are so easy to obtain and so convenient, why have they become less and less popular in recent years? Perhaps it is because they are too easy to obtain, can be forged, and leave traces everywhere, some of which are stained and distorted. Therefore, it is sometimes unreliable to link the fingerprint owner to the crime based solely on the fingerprint at the scene.

Vein pattern recognition: can distinguish

Speaking of twins, one of the most famous stories is about taking exams for others, that is, when taking important exams, the better-performing twins take the exam for the weaker ones. Decades ago, when the only way was to rely on the invigilator to recognize faces by looking at ID cards or admission tickets, this illegal operation seemed to have room. But now, to enter the college entrance examination room, you may not only need to check fingerprints, but also check finger veins, which are more difficult to fake, to prevent taking exams for others.

Finger veins refer to the morphological characteristics of the venous blood vessels on the fingers.

Combining image recognition and infrared photography, vein pattern analysis is an emerging biometric technology in the past decade. Each person has a different pattern, so two identical vein patterns can be judged as the same person. This technology can be used in the field of access control security, and can also be used to track suspects in online videos.

Fortunately, vein recognition technology has been used in some areas to combat pedophilia. In the child sexual abuse videos circulating on the Internet, most of the perpetrators do not show their faces, but often expose the back of their hands. British forensic anthropologist Sue Black is dedicated to studying features such as hand veins. She said this method can distinguish identical twins.

Black uses vein features to identify the back of the hand, a technology that has been used to combat pedophilia | Morgan Silk

Over the past decade, Black's team has assisted police around the country in sentencing 30 people to life imprisonment, plus a total of about 400 years in prison for the rest.

Protect your biometric information

In addition to DNA, fingerprints, and vein images, iris and tooth morphology are also common features that can distinguish twins, although the latter two may not necessarily be left at the crime scene...

There are also many differences between identical twins. This is due to the countless randomness in the development process, which makes each person a unique individual even if they start from the same fertilized egg. With the advancement of technology and the accumulation of data, more and more biological characteristics will become new evidence for judging individual identity. This evidence will be used to prove that "that person" is me.

But does “that person” really have to be me?

In 2017, a professor at the National Institute of Informatics in Japan warned that making a scissors sign in a photo could lead to the theft of fingerprint information. If these photos are published online, fingerprints may be stolen.

On November 14, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China pointed out in the "Network Data Security Management Regulations (Draft for Comments)" that data processors "shall not use biometric features such as face, gait, fingerprints, irises, voiceprints, etc. as the only method of personal identity authentication, in order to force individuals to agree to the collection of their personal biometric information."

In recent years, biometric features such as fingerprints, irises, and facial morphology have gradually replaced passwords as a passport to prove "I am me". These features have become the credentials for clocking in at work, unlocking mobile phones, and making payments and transfers.

We hand over personal biometric information in exchange for some convenience in life, but we also open the Pandora's box of information leakage. When our faces and fingerprints exist independently in this world, and even start to act independently, that will be the most terrifying story.

References

[1]Twin DNA test: Why identical criminals may no longer be safe

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25371014

[2] The Ministry of Justice issued three guiding cases on judicial appraisal

http://www.moj.gov.cn/news/content/2018-04/12/bnyw_18145.html

[3] On the value of fingerprint identification evidence in judicial practice

http://dg2jcy.dg.gov.cn/ztdy/1966.jhtml

[4] Use fingerprint identification with caution

https://www.spp.gov.cn/llyj/201408/t20140822_78829.shtml

[5]Lancaster University needs hand with study

https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/lancaster-university-needs-hand-study-104182

[6]Six incredible things we learned about bones from forensic anthropologist Prof Sue Black

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/six-incredible-things-we-learned-about-bones-from-forensic-anthropologist-prof-sue-black/

[7]To catch a paedophile, you only need to look at their hands

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/sue-black-forensics-hand-markings-paedophiles-rapists

[8] Japanese experts warn that it is dangerous to take photos with the "scissor hand" gesture, as fingerprints may be stolen

http://japan.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0109/c35421-29009393.html

[9] Notice of the Ministry of Education on the 2016 General College Enrollment

http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A15/moe_776/s3258/201603/t20160307_232202.html

[10] “Regulations on Network Data Security Management (Draft for Comments)” is open for public comments

https://news.cctv.com/2021/11/14/ARTIZ8aJx5lAHWc1Ht2wDBC1211114.shtml

[11] Marseille Identical Twins Rape Case Solved After Victims Reveal Speech Impediment

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/09/08/confession-in-case-of-marseille-identical-twins-held-over-rapes_n_8102272.html

[12] Twins' DNA hinders France sexual assault investigation

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21401200

Author:vicko238

Editor: Xiao Towel, You Shiyou

An AI

However, the twins on the cover are the famous Kray brothers, known as the elders of the twin criminal world, and neither of them is innocent...

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