2 Responses to Forensics: Incompetent hair analysis led to 8 executions and hundreds of convictions. Virginia Crime Commission recommends deeper review of Mary Jane Burton’s work | VPM

1. John Lentinni says:

   October 25, 2024 at 8:15 am

   I “learned” microscopic hair comparison in 1974. I thought it was BS then, but got away from it by saying I felt it was “too subjective” and that my skills as a microscopist caused me to be “less confident” in my ability to declare a match.

   That resulted in a transfer from the microscopy lab to the arson lab, and the rest is history.

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   • csidds says:

     October 25, 2024 at 1:45 pm

     I had a case where the FBI hair guys testified. I never heard a more bitemarker line of assumptions and grandiosity in my life.

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