Category Archives: criminal justice

Dana Delger ’10 Fights to Keep Flawed Forensics From Convicting the Innocent | Columbia Law School

Dana Delger ’10 works as a strategic litigator for the Innocence Project and fights against using flawed forensic evidence, like bite marks, in criminal cases. — Read on http://www.law.columbia.edu/news/2019/11/dana-delger-fights-to-keep-flawed-forensics-from-convicting-the-innocent These lawyers know how to talk science. No wonder the crime … Continue reading

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#Forensics Getting Better. Ultrasensitive protein method ( might) let scientists ID someone from a single strand of hair | Science | AAAS

Heavily shedding criminals, beware — Read on http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/scientists-can-now-identify-someone-single-strand-hair

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#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

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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

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Forensics: let’s hear it for another biased and messed up Jack the Ripper case

This time its the Journal of Forensic Sciences that gets the gong for publishing a one-sided example of fumbled assumptions and disconnected exaggerations abt mitochondrial DNA. https://www.kxan.com/news/jack-the-ripper-identity-questioned-by-texas-state-research-professor/

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, criminal justice, DNA profiling, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias | Tagged | 1 Comment

Forensics: Hearings | Hearings & Legislation | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

Hearings | Hearings & Legislation | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology — Read on science.house.gov/hearings/raising-the-bar-progress-and-future-needs-in-forensic-science Best minds in the business. Mostly female. Quite nice.

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Forensics: In depth look at bogus pattern-matching police labs. Stinson bitemark exoneration compared to toolmark conviction under appeal in Colorado’s Genrich case.

https://www.thenation.com/article/the-crisis-of-american-forensics/

Posted in Bite Marks, Bitemarks, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime, Crime lab scandal, criminal justice, exoneration, Forensic Science, junk forensic science, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

Forensics Australia gets low marks from a senior judge

Unreliability of forensic experts gets serious attention from a high level jurist. Some of this started in California’s bitemark case of Bill Richards. @CA_Innocence. https://www.smh.com.au/national/top-judge-worried-forensic-evidence-putting-innocent-people-behind-bars-20190823-p52k3l.html

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, Bitemarks, criminal justice, expert testimony, forensic misconuct, Forensic Science Bias, Forensic science misconduct, police crime labs, US Crime labs | Leave a comment

Forensics disaster in the UK. Looking at £s wasted and evidence lost

Take a close look at this one. Government “savings” turned into a mayhem of chaos since the 2012 closure of the FSS. Dont talk to police or politicians abt forensics. http://www.labnews.co.uk/article/2029976/forensics-in-crisis

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Forensics incorrect between 23% to 96% of court cases

A UK study group describes their study as demanding a “holistic overhaul” of these practices taken into criminal courts. It contains a good review of US exoneration efforts to effect forensics. Too bad the police controlled forensic managers seem deaf … Continue reading

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