Category Archives: criminal justice

Forensics: DAs seldom get punished for misconduct. Wrongful Convictions Cost Chicago Taxpayers $153M from 2019 to 2023: Analysis | Chicago News

That toll is set to grow in the coming weeks, as the Chicago City Council considers paying $25 million to resolve separate lawsuits filed in 2016 by two men who spent a combined 34 years in prison after being wrongly … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, criminal justice, Exoneration costs, forensic evidence exaggeration, forensic science misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

Forensics: Read your own declaration before going to court. FBI investigates key witness for Bryan Kohberger’s defense

Rather than cross-examine an expert witness for the defense of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson flagged the FBI to investigate her following some contradictory testimony. — Read on http://www.fox13seattle.com/news/fbi-investigates-key-witness-for-bryan-kohbergers-defense

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, expert testimony, forensic evidence exaggeration, forensic science misconduct | Leave a comment

Forensics: “Gloves off” Johnson & Johnson sues researchers who linked talc to cancer claiming junk opinions.

Johnson & Johnson has sued four doctors who published studies citing links between talc-based personal care products and cancer, escalating an attack on scientific studies that the company alleges are inaccurate. — Read on http://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/johnson-johnson-sues-researchers-who-linked-talc-cancer-2023-07-13/

Posted in AAFS, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, expert testimony, forensic toxicology, Medical errors | Leave a comment

Forensics: #NamUS needs this data for 23,000 Missing Persons cases. National DNA backlog delays closure in missing person cases.

There is a multi-year backlog for getting DNA profiles onto the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. — Read on http://www.wbir.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/dna-namus-backlog-missing-person-cases/51-e8436a8b-14cb-441c-b416-596c10fffdc6

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, DNA profiling, human identification, missing persons | Leave a comment

Forensics: Looking to speedup “overworked”coroners. Ignores investigative failures. Controversial coroner cremation bill sails through House committee – Louisiana Illuminator

A bill that would allow coroners to cremate bodies despite suspicious circumstances sailed through the end of a House committee Thursday. — Read on lailluminator.com/2023/05/25/controversial-coroner-cremation-bill-sails-through-house-committee/

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, criminal justice, forensic pathology, Forensic Science, forensic science misconduct, junk forensic science, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Forensics: Fewer than 1% of defendants in federal criminal cases were acquitted in 2022

In 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted. — Read on http://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14/fewer-than-1-of-defendants-in-federal-criminal-cases-were-acquitted-in-2022/

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, pardons | Leave a comment

Forensics: After decades of arguing DC Council Votes To Keep Crime Lab Out Of MPD Hands

The vote rejects a proposal from Mayor Muriel Bowser, which would have moved crime scene science duties under the D.C. police department. — Read on dcist.com/story/23/06/13/dc-council-maintains-crime-lab-independence/

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, Crime, Crime lab scandal, criminal justice, forensic science reform, US Crime labs | Leave a comment

Forensics: Florida man Donald Santini arrested in 40 year old cold case

Donald Michael Santini was arrested on Wednesday June 7, in the 1984 killing of Cynthia Ruth, a 33-year-old woman found strangled in Hillsborough County Florida. — Read on nypost.com/2023/06/11/florida-man-donald-santini-arrested-in-decades-old-cold-case/

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, Forensic Science, US Crime labs | Leave a comment

Anthropology at work. Forensic tools restore identity to the unknown dead. – YouTube

Forensic scientists from NC State have teamed up with state investigators in the hope of identifying skeletal remains and restoring the identities of unknown individuals in North Carolina. After studying the bones and creating biological profiles, they turn to DNA … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, DNA profiling, Forensic Dentistry, missing persons | Leave a comment

Forensics: Australia needs a dedicated body for wrongful convictions

Professor David Hamer and Dr Andrew Dyer from Sydney Law School explain why Kathleen Folbigg’s pardon points to the need for a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in Australia. — Read on http://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2023/06/06/australia-needs-a-dedicated-body-for-wrongful-convictions.html

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, Civil rights, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, Wrongful Conviction | Leave a comment