Category Archives: AAFS
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
#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
#Forensics: read the difference between hanging vs strangulation. Special focus on the hyoid bone, cartilage, and vertebral fractures.
By Judy Melinek MD One might infer from this lit review, that the Epstein family’s medical expert has gone WAY OUT on a limb. https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/working-stiff/83087
#Forensics: Contextual bias influences and weak forensic testing results leads to jury overestimation of guilt
When police lab results are weak or ambiguous, juries commonly use non science circumstances to increase its value. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-csi-current-impact-bias-crime.html
Posted in AAFS, Crime, criminal justice, CSI, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias
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#Forensics: 16 minutes on DNA profiling, the good and the bad. From Dan Krane in Ohio
The opponents (i.e. prosecutors) to Dan’s methodology say that standards for minimum sample size and commercial profiling companies testing for inconsistencies and unreliabilities are not necessary. Of course they do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpPkmDeS3Dg
#Forensics: Syrian Refugee Develops Dentistry Tech to ID Gender of War Victims
Finally, some legitimate research in the area of forensic dentistry. Kudos to Univ of Dundee and this young researcher. Syrian refugee Rawad Qaq has unveiled his Sex Calculator, which could help forensic scientists predict the sex of a skull. — … Continue reading
#Forensics #DNA U.S. Takes Step to Require Asylum-Seekers’ DNA
Similar to building walls in Colorado? The Trump administration ignores US untested rape specimens and will collect DNA samples from asylum-seekers and add the information to a massive FBI database. Trump and the GOP continue to protray undoc immigrants as … Continue reading
Posted in AAFS, criminal justice reform, DNA profiling, forensic science misconduct, human rights violations, junk forensic science, police crime labs, US Crime labs, US homicide statistics analysis
Tagged Bad forensic science, Forensic science, Miscarriage of justice, prosecutorial misconduct
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Forensics: Decertified DNA mixture methods affected 1300 convictions in the US.
An in-house DNA mixture program that has been abandoned by the NYCME’s office gets a jaundiced review by an ex-DA judge. Unfortunately, the legal and political barriers to its effect on past convictions is left up to lawyers to consider. … Continue reading
Forensics: Public familial DNA companies secretly aiding the FBI
Good thread on law enforcement’s expanding use of public corporations who have access to public DNA databases. Customers now worried. But its a business opportunity for one new company. We should add some convers on false positive or otherwise misleading … Continue reading
Forensics: Revealing the effects of politics tainting forensic science
The sociology of police crime labs is thoroughly disclosed in this short article. Max Houck recognizes the 10 year old NAS Report and he offers some improvements. Tell that to the USDOJ. Again. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X19300853
