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Category Archives: costs of wrongful convictions
Illinois crime lab bill created to seal faulty testing from public view
Cases of government-run crime labs “hiding” forensic errors and gaffs from criminal defendants and the public got a boost in Illinois this week……We can use this to clearly understand who and how prosecutors and LE PACs control the legislators in … Continue reading
Posted in costs of wrongful convictions, Crime lab scandal, criminal justice reform, Exoneration costs, forensic fraud, forensic science misconduct
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, Bad forensic science, forensic examiner error, Forensic science, junk science, wrongful convictions
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Forensic look at death penalty statistics: 25% of exonerated were on Death Row
A 2013 infographic study by the California Innocence Project puts the cost in California at a staggering $4 billion since 1978. Statistics contained in this report, when overlayed with the national increase of exonerations ( now at 1793) , in the … Continue reading
The Mississippi Sting operation that uncovered Michael West’s bitemark bunk
One of the extraordinary defense presentations at the recent EL Howard hearing in Columbus MS was given by the Honorable Chris Plourd (pictured above), the presiding Judge of Imperial County, CA Superior Court. Judge Plourd rose to the bench in … Continue reading
Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bitemarks, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime lab scandal, Dr. Michael West, exoneration, Ray Krone bitemark case, wrongful convictions
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, AMERICAN BOARD OF FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY, Bad forensic science, forensic examiner error, Forensic science, junk forensic science, wrongful convictions
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Inside Exoneration litigation in Mississippi – At Times it’s Utter Frustration #ELHoward
In 2016, Texas determined that dental bitemark experts should not be admitted in court. What’s now happening in Mississippi (MS) is a classic legal and forensic science example of continuing that agenda. 1993. A bitemark ID was achieved in MS … Continue reading
TX and CA: How Prosecutors ignore the effects of junk forensic science on their convictions.
CSI forensics seems to be infallible on TV. Not as much in the real world. Try reading”Bitten by Experts” from Jordan Smith at The Intercept. Its all about the junk. In the same vein, this article gives a closeup on where the … Continue reading
Forensic lab autonomy in Mexico way ahead of US counterpart labs managed by police
Police have no jurisdiction in Mexican forensic science laboratories and investigations. DNA crime scene collection is done by civilian investigators. Fascinating. My county has made at least four attempts, in the last 30+ years, to put the Ventura County ME’s office … Continue reading
Harvards’ epic article on Innocence Litigation and the woman who exec directs the IP
A true Xmas season story about Maddy deLone who is the heartbeat of the NY Innocence Project. The challenges of the innocent in prison are described in vivid detail. A worthy and valuable read for those unaware of what “incarceration” does … Continue reading
Major US Forensic Lab Scandals by State : The DOJ takes a stab at solution
Rumblings about mess-ups in US government-run forensic labs has finally reached the US DOJ. The reliability aspects of who does the “accreditation” is another matter. Thanks to NACDL and @celiagivens at the DNA Newsletter. DOJ to Mandate Lab Accreditation The … Continue reading
Forensics: White House Science and Technology opinion on Bitemark Identification
Here is the keynote speaker ( Jo Handlesman Ph.D) at a 2015 NIJ conference on forensic science speaking about the unenviable position bitemarkers have attained by showing no reliability in their opinions and being individually inconsistent in their courtroom testimony. … Continue reading
Why the NC Carolina CSI lab got slammed in the media. The Public is scared about wrongful convictions.
The above photo is from a recent exoneration case from North Carolina. The joy on Dwayne Dail’s face is palpable. You probably won’t often see this discussion on TV , but people are really upset about wrongful convictions occurring on a … Continue reading
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