Costs of forensic expert witnesses in a murder trial with the defendant facing the death penalty. Pathologist = $300/hr. Psychiatrist = $500/hr. “Mitigation specialist” = $100/hr. All have caps on maximum amount allowed.

Ballistics: OC Crime Lab Goes 3D – Matching bullet groves to suspect weapons considered a reliable forensic “tool.” 

 Opinion: Reliability is a two way street in forensic reform: In the lab and the courtroom.

[excerpt] “That forensic science is in need of restructuring is hardly earth-shattering news. Six years ago, in 2009, the National Academy of Sciences published a revealing report, “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward,” which detailed the burdens facing forensic science.” Full article. 

Man wrongfully jailed for 2 months on sex crime freed after Denver police find lab tech made error

DENVER – Denver police and prosecutors say a man wrongfully jailed as a sexual assault suspect for two months was freed Wednesday after police found that a crime-lab technician had mistakenly linked the man’s DNA to the attack. Full article.