NY Times: “DNA Analysis Exposes an Inexact Forensic Science” + Bitemark Cases

For over 2 decades, the US press has used “inexact” in writing about certain forensic methods which are used to convict criminal defendants. Bitemark experts included. Here is the latest from the New York Times. It uses the debunked FBI’s hair matching system as its focus, but erroneous bitemark cases are included in the video material.

NY Times

By now — despite the apparent infallibility of detectives from Sherlock Holmes to Lieutenant Columbo, despite the clinical genius of wizards from Dr. Quincy to Gil Grissom — it should surprise no one that forensic science is not the model of exactitude that popular culture might have us believe. The scientific rigor of entrenched forensic disciplines has been challenged for years. Still, we live in a “C.S.I.” world, and television viewers could be forgiven for assuming that laboratory techniques used to catch bad guys are unassailable. In real life, though, the soundness of criminal analysis is being regularly tested, both in America’s labs and in its courtrooms.

See videos and the full content of this headlining article here. It includes bitemark identification “science” as an inexact aspect of forensics.

Try this for an incredible video on “How DNA Changed the World of Forensics.”

About csidds

Dr. Michael Bowers is a long time forensic consultant in the US and international court systems.
This entry was posted in Bad Forensic Science, criminal justice, Forensic Science, forensic science reform and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to NY Times: “DNA Analysis Exposes an Inexact Forensic Science” + Bitemark Cases

  1. csidds says:

    Reblogged this on FORENSICS in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends and commented:

    How DNA changed forensics.

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