Monthly Archives: June 2013

PRESS RELEASE: San Diego man talks about his case-ending exoneration

This is the first information regarding the comments from Uriah Courtney regarding his years in jail and attitude regarding his wrongful conviction. Another notable story is the CIP co-director Justin Brooks and a San Diego DA, Brent Neck’s comments about … Continue reading

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DNA overturns CA conviction which relied on victim influenced by law enforcement

Above is a picture of Uriah Courtney walking out of prison into the arms of his parents. The California Innocence Project at Cal Western Law School is holding a press conference today on the outcome of their efforts to exonerate … Continue reading

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Prosecutors trail of theories about defendant’s guilt in this case ranged from guilt to innocence over a 30 year period. In late 2011, Jackson County prosecutors working through cold cases sought testing for a very different reason: to find Nelson’s … Continue reading

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Innocent and after spending 20 years in Illinois prison, Bennie Starks sues prosecution’s bitemark experts

Bennie Starks In a twist of fate, two Illinois dentists are being sued by Bennie Starks whom they determined, in a 1986 trial, left a bite mark on a rape victim. They claimed the bite mark as “medically certain” to … Continue reading

Posted in Bite Marks, Bitemarks, CSI, Forensic Dentistry, Forensic Science | 1 Comment

The use of DNA from bite marks takes casework, status and money from ABFO dentists

The AP article (use your search engine for “bite marks” and “unreliable”) in June 2013 suggested that the bite mark dentists of the American Board of Forensic Odontology have been “supplanted by the more reliable science of DNA.” More recently, … Continue reading

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, CSI, Forensic Science, William Richards Exoneration Case | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bite mark experts sound desperate in AP review of bad forensic science

Well, the story had to come out eventually. The Associate Press extensive investigation into the US forensic dental organization, the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO), reviews their past mistakes in court cases and current denials of problems in their … Continue reading

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, CSI, Forensic Dentistry, Forensic Science, William Richards Exoneration Case | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

PBS-2012 Nova Production On Doubtful Forensic Science

With major contributors from the forensic science community, this in-depth PBS presentation discusses the strengths and weaknesses of forensic examiners and their effects on the US judicial system. Erroneous convictions involving bite mark identification and other “impression evidence” are the … Continue reading

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An academic’s views on problems existing in forensic science testimony and methods

This is a repost of a 2009 article published by UCLA Today. The author is well established as an external evaluator of forensic methods. Shortly after this article appeared she was given a $700,000 research grant by the NIJ to … Continue reading

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FORENSIC TESTIMONY: Science Biases and Subjectivity

This is a repost of my June 5, 2013 blog on the important subject of bias in forensic science   Added comment: The expanding revelations of extraneous influences that can plague forensic experts in court has added to the existing literature … Continue reading

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