Category Archives: criminal justice

Efforts to rid court system of outdated and flawed forensic “expertise”

Old Convictions, New Science Texas tackles debunked forensics. This legislative process in Texas reflects how the monolithic (i.e huge) US criminal justice system “repairs” itself. I use the word “repair” very loosely in that people have to be injured, killed … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, Civil rights, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling, exoneration, Exoneration costs, expert testimony, Forensic Dentistry, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias, forensic science misconduct, forensic science reform, forensic testimony, Innocence March, junk forensic science, police crime labs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forensics: Conference makes demands that FBI correct its crime lab mistakes | US Senator Blumenthal and Henry Lee video

Read and view video of this Connecticut conference. Blumenthal “chilled and appalled.” Read more.  

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, DNA profiling, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias, forensic testimony, junk forensic science, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forensics: Fire Chief resigns after falsifying evidence, FBI hair debacle casts generalized doubts, TX leads in wrongful convictions and wants a fix

Fire chief resigns after lying about his credentials and arson evidence.  Forensic hair analysis: Evidence of more federal governmental dysfunction  How pizza can be tested for DNA evidence. Protocol used in Wash DC family murder investigation. Washington man imprisoned by … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, Bad Forensic Science, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, DNA mixtures, exoneration, Exoneration costs, expert testimony, Forensic Science Bias, Forensic science misconduct, forensic science reform, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forensics: 2004 Chi Trib articles about dubious bitemark convictions and bad science that still stand as “justice done.”

Its been 11 years since this article was published. Its about the DNA vs bitemark case AZ v. Tankersley. The defendant is still in prison. The “bitemark matchers” were ABFO members Raymond Rawson (Ray Krone’s exoneration story is at the bottom of this … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, Civil rights, Crime, criminal justice, CSI, DNA mixtures, exoneration, Exoneration costs, expert testimony, Forensic Science Bias, forensic science misconduct, forensic science reform, forensic testimony, junk forensic science, Ray Krone bitemark case, wrongful convictions | 1 Comment

More on what damage junk forensic science brings society

After 36 years…… http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/dc-man-imprisoned-by-flawed-fbi-forensic-evidence-exonerated/2015/05/23/ed382f70-00c6-11e5-8b6c-0dcce21e223d_story.html

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, Civil rights, costs of wrongful convictions, Crime, criminal justice, CSI, DNA profiling, exoneration, Exoneration costs, expert testimony, Forensic Science, forensic science misconduct, forensic testimony, junk forensic science, National FOrensic Science Commission, police crime labs, wrongful convictions | 1 Comment

Unprecedented review of faulty forensics starts state by state

A great example of what happens when amateur and self validated forensic opinions get loose in the US court system. And runs amok for decades. Massachusetts sets up its own review board. Just 49 states to go. http://m.wcvb.com/news/state-launching-review-of-convictions-to-find-faulty-hair-forensics/33031382

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, CSI, forensic science misconduct, forensic science reform | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making use of their personal experiences of multiple injustices, Exonerees now come to court as lawyers

From the ABA Journal magazine FREED AND PAYING BACK Wrongly imprisoned, these men spent many years behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Plenty of convicted felons claim to be innocent; too many of them actually are. The criminal … Continue reading

Posted in costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, exoneration, Forensic science misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Highlights of the 2015 US Innocence Conference held this last weekend

For those less likely to be following what is happening in civil rights and exoneration litigation, this meeting in Orlando FLA was the gathering to see the impressive depth of dedication, legal expertise and energy present in this growing movement. … Continue reading

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Another forensic disaster : secret forensic “science”experts allowed to coerce crime suspects into plea deals.

  I am rarely shocked about nefarious dealings or subterfuge in the ecosystem of forensic ‘science’ and the criminal justice arena. But I just read that a police department has a cadre of 3 “anonymous” dentists in Indianapolis, Indiana, who provide … Continue reading

Posted in Bitemarks, Civil rights, criminal justice, Identification DVI, junk forensic science | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI legacy. What a veteran FBI crime lab whistle blower says about the “science” in forensics

J. Edgar Hoover’s legacy of “we always get our man” has a dark side. Dr. Frederick Whitehurst explains in this piece that, gut feelings, amateur research, cultural expediency and arrogance has been in the FBI’s DNA for decades. The Marshal Project … Continue reading

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