The overall objective of the commission is to ensure the integrity of forensic claims in Texas, Downing said, by making sure proper methods of evidence analysis are used. Downing said the scope of the commission has grown over the past 10 years.
"We're so used to DNA being our go-to piece of evidence," Downing said, "but now if there's two or more people mixed in a sample, the specificity is not as accurate as once believed, and new techniques are being developed constantly."