Author Archives: csidds

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About csidds

Dr. Michael Bowers is a long time forensic consultant in the US and international court systems.

Forensics: Genetic Genealogy. Woman arrested in deaths of newborns found in 1999, 2003, police say

A woman recently identified through DNA as the mother of both babies has been arrested in their deaths. — Read on http://www.13abc.com/2022/05/09/woman-arrested-deaths-newborns-found-1999-2003-police-say/

Posted in AAFS, DNA profiling, human identification, US Crime labs | Leave a comment

Forensics: NamUS case. Cellastine Wade, 18: Missing From New Jersey Since 1968

Very little is known about Cellastine Wade and there hasn’t even been an exact date given of when she vanished from New Jersey in 1968. — Read on ourblackgirls.com/2022/05/08/cellastine-wade-18-missing-from-new-jersey-since-1968/

Posted in AAFS, Forensic Science, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Forensics: Drought levels at Lake Mead. Human skeletal remains found at a Las Vegas lake one week after a body was found in a barrel

The National Park Service reported human skeletal remains discovered in Lake Mead National Recreational Area Saturday afternoon. — Read on http://www.kwqc.com/2022/05/08/human-skeletal-remains-found-las-vegas-lake-one-week-after-body-was-found-barrel/

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Forensics: Police arson opinion “divorced from science.” After multiple appeals, Claude Garrett Sees Murder by Arson Conviction Overturned

Thirty years after a fatal fire sent Garrett to prison for life, a judge vacated his conviction, opening the door to his release. — Read on theintercept.com/2022/05/07/claude-garrett-murder-arson-conviction-overturned/

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, Civil rights, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime lab scandal, Forensic Science Bias, junk forensic science, prosecutorial misconduct, US Crime labs | Leave a comment

Forensics: Unregulated DNA collection by police gets cancelled. New York court halts family DNA searches for crime suspects

The crimefighting tool has helped crack cold cases, but it has also raised privacy and racial discrimination concerns. — Read on http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-court-halts-family-dna-searches-crime-suspects/

Posted in AAFS, Civil rights, Crime lab scandal, DNA profiling, prosecutorial misconduct | Leave a comment

Forensics: Border Patrol’s forensic teams being fired after ‘cover up’ allegations

After withering criticism and allegations that they have worked to “cover up” shootings involving agents, Border Patrol — Read on http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/050622_critical_incident_teams/border-patrols-forensic-teams-being-eliminated-after-cover-up-allegations/

Posted in AAFS, Civil rights, junk forensic science, police crime labs | Leave a comment

Forensics: ‘Making an Exoneree’: Georgetown University Documentaries Highlight Wrongful Convictions

News4’s Jackie Bensen takes us to the screening made possible by a group of university students. It’s a series of documentaries that re-examine the cases of… — Read on http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/making-an-exoneree-georgetown-university-documentaries-highlight-wrongful-convictions/3043222/

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, exoneration, forensic science misconduct, junk forensic science | Leave a comment

Forensics: Taxpayers must pay. Pardoned Chicago man reaches $7.5M settlement

A Chicago man who was pardoned after spending more than seven years in prison for an armed robbery he didn’t commit has reached a $7.5 million settlement with a northern Indiana city and former police officers — Read on http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/attorney-pardoned-chicago-man-reaches-75m-settlement/2022/05/04/ebdfbf58-cbd0-11ec-b7ee-74f09d827ca6_story.html

Posted in AAFS, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, exoneration, forensic evidence exaggeration | Leave a comment

Forensics: Australia. How did we fall for the junk science of forensics?

US described as “bitemark crazy.” I grew up in the golden age of forensic science, at a time when expert witnesses were becoming celebs, each with their special little area of crimebusting… — Read on http://www.spectator.com.au/2022/05/how-fact-killed-my-belief-in-forensics/

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Brown shooting evidence, costs of wrongful convictions, expert testimony, forensic evidence exaggeration, forensic fraud, Forensic Science, Forensic science misconduct, junk forensic science | Leave a comment

Forensics: Despite exoneration cases debunking these opinions, all a judge needs is a bite mark, a forensic dentist, and a heinous murder: how junk science ruins innocent lives.

Charles McCrory has spent decades in prison for the murder of his wife, convicted on the strength of bite mark evidence. The problem? CSI-style forensics is bad science — Read on http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/28/forensics-bite-mark-junk-science-charles-mccrory-chris-fabricant

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice reform, exoneration, forensic evidence exaggeration, Forensic science misconduct, junk forensic science | Leave a comment