Category Archives: criminal justice reform

Look-back and breaking news on why crimes labs should have independent oversight

This all blows opposite to what the cop crime labs are saying and its a good thing. Here’s the latest from California about botched lab false-positive semen testing results that goes back decades. A hearsay statement has the Santa Clara … Continue reading

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American Academy of Forensic Sciences asks public for bitemark validation studies

In an equitable move [probably in the face of all the LEO crime labs complaining] requested by the President’s Council of Science and Technology chairman, Eric Lander, the AAFS is asking its membership to provide more information not mentioned in … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, Crime lab scandal, criminal justice reform, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Utter silence from over 400 individual US crimes labs after @PCAST forensic report

The US crime lab communities that receive public funding were said to number over 400 (see below) in the 2009 Bureau of Justice Statistics report.  Its striking to me that NOTHING has been in the news about what they think … Continue reading

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Chummy crime labber gets close scrutiny.

Not exactly PC in today’s hyper sensitive awareness of cognitive bias in police crime lab environments   http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/19/do-thank-you-notes-hint-at-impropriety.html

Posted in criminal justice reform, CSI, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias, forensic science misconduct, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Anti-PCAST District Attorney Says Bitemark Analysis Opponents Are “Flawed”

This National DA Assoc president works in San Bernardino County, among other things a place where bitemarks helped put an innocent Bill Richards in prison for 23 years. Ramos (campaigning for California’s Attorney General post and pro death penalty) has … Continue reading

Posted in criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, Ray Krone bitemark case, William Richards Exoneration Case, Wrongful Conviction | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Taking decades to uncover lost DNA: California will execute in 5 years

Needle-in-a-haystack hunt for evidence in old Virginia murder case required endurance, luck But what may prove the toughest obstacle was overcome two years ago by a private investigator and a persistent University of Virginia Hospital employee who scaled warehouse ladders … Continue reading

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Exonerations in the News: the myth of “worst of the worst”

Justin Brooks and Brian Banks From the WrongfulConvictionsBlog Michigan Radio: Poor and black more likely to be wrongfully convicted… Star Tribune: Innocence Project questions Thomas Rhodes’ murder conviction in wife’s death near Spicer… Nebraska Radio Network: Kirk Bloodsworth brings his … Continue reading

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Jury looking at exaggerated forensic opinions – a strong bias results

A law prof tries a simple way to explain what PCAST is concerned about. He also includes the following: [Brandon Garrett at Va. Law’s Faculty Q&A] Few studies had been done examining how jurors appreciate some of the most commonly … Continue reading

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Controversial use of familial DNA searches helps lead to finds in cold cases

A broader look at familial DNA use within criminal investigations. Some good, some bad. What appears in all examples, is that ‘presumptions’ of guilt can be incorrect and send prosecutors off in the wrong direction. What’s also apparent is that … Continue reading

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Netherlands Forensic Institute ranks high in world-wide successful investigations

I hear that the NFI ( located at the Hague ) also has an excellent physician/forensic anthropologist traveling the world on these cases. I love those loupes! This article highlights the world-wide scope of a national crime lab.  I haven’t seen … Continue reading

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