Do you like “CSI”? Take a look inside the Connecticut State Crime Lab

Crime scene investigations are a hit on television, but the reality takes place at the Connecticut Forensic Crime Laboratory in Meriden.

On Friday, News 12 Connecticut had the unique opportunity to take a look inside the lab's operations – and learn how new technologies are keeping innocent people out of prison.

IN THE LABORATORY

From the outside, the state crime lab looks like a nondescript school building. But inside, dozens of highly trained scientists and technicians work with cutting-edge technology to solve crimes faster than ever before.

In one room, a technician fires a gun into a barrel – two stories deep and filled with 270 kilograms of water.

“We then compared these test shots, whether they were bullets or shell casings, under a microscope – a comparison microscope – with the evidence found at the crime scene on a victim,” said Joseph Rainone, deputy chief of the forensic lab's identification division.

The biggest developments, however, are in the area of ​​DNA testing, which has seen dramatic progress in recent years.

“In the past, you would have needed a blood stain the size of a quarter,” says Michael Morganti, a forensic expert. “Today, we can create DNA profiles from what we call 'touch samples' – which are essentially invisible. If someone touches a surface, we can take a swab of that surface and create their profile.”

“I KNEW I DIDN’T DO IT”

Besides all the gadgets and futuristic science, technology is also keeping innocent people out of prison. James Tillman of Glastonbury served 16 years in prison in 1988 for a rape and kidnapping he did not commit.

“I knew I didn't do it,” he said. “I didn't do it. So it was like, 'OK, how do I prove my innocence?'”

“After the call, it was one disappointment after another,” Tillman said. “It was a relief to get out.”

During the tour, Tillman was shown a new rapid DNA technology that can create a complete DNA profile and exonerate a suspect in just 90 minutes.

“If that machine had been out when I was out and I had put my DNA in it, I wouldn't have been in prison for so many years,” he told a lab technician.

Two years after Tillman's release, DNA tests also led to the real suspect in the Tillman case.

Others are getting justice more quickly, too. Thanks to technological advances, as well as more money and staff, the Forensic Crime Laboratory has been able to completely clear a backlog of 12,000 cases dating back to 2013.