Category Archives: Forensic Science Bias
Forensics: A compendium on the failure of the US death penalty.
On societal, legal and moral grounds. By Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith. https://theintercept.com/series/the-condemned/
#Forensics: Police crime labs looking worse and worse.
Hiding evidence? Never….almost. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/02/nicholas-mcguffin-manslaughter-charge-leah-freeman-potentially-set-free/
#Forensics: Cop DUI machines busted.
…..and the police want to do their DNA rapid and inhouse. Yikes. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/business/drunk-driving-breathalyzer.html
#Forensics: read the difference between hanging vs strangulation. Special focus on the hyoid bone, cartilage, and vertebral fractures.
By Judy Melinek MD One might infer from this lit review, that the Epstein family’s medical expert has gone WAY OUT on a limb. https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/working-stiff/83087
#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
Posted in AAFS, Crime, criminal justice, CSI, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias
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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/
Forensics: Botched digital measurements led to 11 years in prison. New trial ordered.
DAs expert used a fancy software program to analyze a robbery vid. He botched it. The perp is short. This man is 6’3″. A jailhouse snitch lied during his trial. The DA was mute during all of it. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/09/12/texas-man-subject-of-netflix-doc-ordered-released-after-11-years-behind-bars/
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
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
Forensics: Physics makes important inroads to outdated blood spatter expertise.
This is a well referenced look at BPA. The perspective is clearly science-based and unfettered by practitioner assumptions and biases. Rather refreshing, to put it mildly, and it also uncovers how BPA experts don’t agree with each other on basic … Continue reading
