Monthly Archives: November 2019

#FORENSICS: When the crime scene evidence never gets to the crime lab. Sadly, both are managed by the same people. Says alot about the future of cop DNA testing.

From the great state of Orange County, California. https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article237862684.html

Posted in AAFS, Civil rights, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime lab scandal, CSI, Forensic science misconduct | Comments Off on #FORENSICS: When the crime scene evidence never gets to the crime lab. Sadly, both are managed by the same people. Says alot about the future of cop DNA testing.

#Forensics: Errors in fingerprinting matches get some air time. Training and low standards a major focus.

One major issue in the fingerprinting world is how court testimony of these experts can mislead juries to expect mis-matches never occur. Fingerprint Analysis Is High-Stakes Work — but It Doesn’t Take Much to Qualify as an Expert

Posted in AAFS, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime, CSI, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

#Forensics: How DNA transfer is affected by “shedder” status. 

Any assumption that a DNA mixture can prove who was and wasn’t the perp gets clobbered in this study. Some people shed (i.e. leave) DNA more than others.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1872497319301164

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, CSI, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling | Leave a comment

#Forensics: Ageing the colors of a bruise. It doesn’t work.

Every dentist who has testified on the age of skin injuries from their color should contact the Innocence Project to initiate review of their unreliable opinion. Justice demands the advances of science should influence all these cases from the last … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, expert testimony, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

Dana Delger ’10 Fights to Keep Flawed Forensics From Convicting the Innocent | Columbia Law School

Dana Delger ’10 works as a strategic litigator for the Innocence Project and fights against using flawed forensic evidence, like bite marks, in criminal cases. — Read on http://www.law.columbia.edu/news/2019/11/dana-delger-fights-to-keep-flawed-forensics-from-convicting-the-innocent These lawyers know how to talk science. No wonder the crime … Continue reading

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#Forensics Getting Better. Ultrasensitive protein method ( might) let scientists ID someone from a single strand of hair | Science | AAAS

Heavily shedding criminals, beware — Read on http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/scientists-can-now-identify-someone-single-strand-hair

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, Forensic Science, police crime labs | Leave a comment

#Forensics Not So Good. Leaked Documents Say Roughly 2,000 NY Prisoners Affected By Erroneous Drug Tests – Gothamist

https://gothamist.com/news/leaked-documents-say-roughly-2000-ny-prisoners-affected-by-erroneous-drug-tests

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Planned Texas execution under unprecedented US and international scrutiny. This article says why.

https://theintercept.com/2019/11/08/rodney-reed-death-row-texas/

Posted in costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, stay of execution | Leave a comment

Forensics: Dundee and Glasgow take a look at the bitemarkers

Let’s see if prosecutors and the judiciary get the gumption and honesty to see this as the death knell for bitemark flim flam. Congrats to the Scots and Open Access publishing! https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00414-019-02163-5

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bitemarks, costs of wrongful convictions, CSI, expert testimony, forensic science misconduct, junk forensic science | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

#Forensics: Cop DUI machines busted. 

…..and the police want to do their DNA rapid and inhouse. Yikes.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/business/drunk-driving-breathalyzer.html

Posted in AAFS, Crime lab scandal, CSI, DNA profiling, Forensic Science Bias, Forensic science misconduct | Leave a comment