Sessions perverting the course of justice and Two guys in the Suffolk – Norfolk gaol

Posted on May 13, 2017 by csidds

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Suffolk authorities and national police chiefs update the effect of bogus work in the Lancaster crime lab. 

USAG Sessions goes commando as he institutes 1990’s draconian sentencing for serious crimes including drug use. This has incredible economic and social impact. Session has plans to refill federal and private prisons with the products of his ‘justice’ whirlpool. Some call it “Tough on Crime” Ex-USAG Eric Holder calls it “Dumb on Crime.”

I’d expect Sessions to re-certify lie detectors and phrenology and promote predictive analytics of criminal predispostion and bitemarks to further erosion of scientific certainties for ‘police’ forensics.

 

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Crime experts go after Trump’s distain for rule of science and law in all things criminal

Posted on May 12, 2017 by csidds

Criminology Leaders Assail Trump for Uniformed Policy Initiatives

This multi-level rebuke covers: ( from the Crime Lab Report )

“In its statement [ASC] the board focused on the areas of immigration, crime trends, the federal government’s role in police reform, and “draconian punishments.”

The Washington Post article from March 23, 2017. (Obviously predates the current Comey/FBI/Trump contretemps

17 board members of the ACS (American Society of Criminology) are a bunch of heavy hitters. Their annual meeting is in Philadelphia November 2017 and is themed “Crime, Legitimacy and Reform: Fifty Years after the President’s Commission.”

Here is the ACS statement about Trump as a ‘policy maker’.

 

 

 

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Who will pay Bill Richards for 23 years in prison? Answer: California taxpayers

Posted on May 11, 2017 by csidds

The Richards’ Bitemark

Here is the latest video about how Bill Richards was rounded up and convicted of murdering his wife in 1993. DNA said otherwise and also debunked a litany of shoddy forensic work by the San Bernardino Sheriffs and Crime Lab. Add two bogus opinions from a couple of bitemark big wigs who recanted their ‘science’ in 2008 to this mix. On the Facebook page just click the video to view these interviews about “Fake Science in Policing.”

Bill has retained a civil rights firm in California to face off in federal court with SB District Attorney Michael Ramos, the California Dept of Corrections and Rehabilitation and various SB police agencies involved in his case.

Similar cases outside of California have resulted in compensation in the millions of $. Bill’s case could easily match those figures.

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Taking a look USAG Session’s anti-science forensics culture showing up on the internet

Posted on May 10, 2017 by csidds

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Much that is said in this Science 2.0 post are old derisions and hackneyed objections to 1) the advent of DNA establishing that wrong convictions do exist (since 1992) and 2) the rise of the at-large public’s knowledge of 1) and (3) the tidal wave of bad publicity about police forensics that has resulted.

More on ‘Science 2.0’

 

 

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We are entering the Twilight Zone: Bitemarks can now prove innocence?

Posted on May 9, 2017 by csidds

One of my favorites. The AAFS needs to stand up to the bitemarkers. In public and with no double-speak. Scientists needs to ‘rise-up’ despite Jeff Sessions and WH dogmatic medievalism.

csidds's avatarFORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends

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No one escapes the Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone is an American televisionanthology series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including psychological horror……….

The Politics of Forensics in the US is Alive and Well.Here are the players.

The NDAA is the US District Attorneys national group.

The AAFS  has a significant percentage of law enforcement crime lab employees in its membership.

The Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board FSAB makes forensic groups “official” and gatekeepers for their disciplines. The crime labbers and others need certifications to meet employment expectations. Each ‘specialty board’ is self governed. This org certifies the bitemarkers.

Hundreds of US crime labs are certified by the ASCLD and a few other ISO 17025 compliance businesses. Most of the examiners have a background with law enforcement. Unfortunately, many US crime labs noted in the media for various scandals have been certified.

What’s…

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UK outsourced forensic testing appears to be a flop – 6000 cases suspect

Posted on May 9, 2017 by csidds

 

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Police say scores of convictions may be overturned because of the suspected manipulation of forensic tests at a private laboratory in Manchester.

James Vaughan, the national police lead for forensic outsourcing, said two employees of the testing services company Randox were under criminal investigation after issues with test results emerged in January.

Vaughan said the investigation had grown, with 6,000 samples having to be re-examined. He said scores of cases could be referred to the court of appeal, including rape and murder cases as well as more minor cases such as drug-driving.

Murder and rape cases endangered

Previous warnings by the UK Forensic Regulator

UK protocol to charge defense experts to see prosecution testing and evidence

The 2011 decision to privatise forensics in the UK that led to a shambles of ‘cost savings.’

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Illinois Prosecutors Admit Junk Science Convicted Innocent Man in 1996

Posted on May 6, 2017 by csidds

Adam Gray speaking to BuzzFeed News in prison in Feb. 2016

This time it is arson ‘science.’ This is significant as it goes against some DAs and the US Attorney General who declare forensics is just fine. 

Here is the joint motion to release Adam Gray from prison. The State Attorney Office performed its own ‘thorough and independent’ investigation. At this point, most States and DAs do not have anything resembling a Conviction Integrity Unit.

Here is the eight page motion to vacate.  

This is the BuzzFeed May 3, 2017 review of  Gray’s case. “This Chicago Man Was Sentenced to Life On a Faulty Arson Conviction – Now He is Getting Out.”

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When defendants have to do their own evidence collection: in the police lab.

Posted on May 5, 2017 by csidds

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All of this is going on within an ASCLD certified police crime lab.  In Louisiana,of course.

The Innocence Project and the Baton Rouge District Attorney battle over how far the Innocence Project can go to locate evidence that may exonerate a man.  Roy Morgan is imprisoned for a rape based on the account of a single eyewitness and wants to perform DNA testing to prove his innocence.  The Baton Rouge District Attorney, whose office has a record of misplacing evidence, claims that the evidence is lost.  The Innocence Project wants a chance to search the evidence room to see if the evidence is truly lost or is, again, misplaced (New Orleans Advocate) Thanks to NY Legal Aid Society

Its history of lost and stolen crime lab evidence. 9WAFB 

Baton Rouge is not alone in the crime lab world of mistakes or worse. Houston

Bogus drug testing police kits. $2 from KMART.

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It is not enough to show that the officer made a mistake, acted negligently, acted by accident or mistake, or even exercised bad judgment.

Posted on May 5, 2017 by csidds

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The rarified federal rules that protect police involved in shooting citizens. Negligence or possible use-of-force alternatives to killing are not controlling. Lying helps some. Prosecutorial misconduct runs rampant.

The FBI report on the Alton shooting case. 

Read this Washington Post piece by Radley Balko about how, from the top down, law enforcement, in nearly every instance, protects its “own” in cases of police shootings. The absurd logic, failures to investigate and lies are shown in “How Jeff Sessions will enable more Michael Slagers.”

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Jurors Googling Wits, Experts and Defs Pose A Problem

Posted on May 5, 2017 by csidds

Here’s a spin about curious jurors doing their own smart fone research. What if they start Googling “prosecutor misconduct “? Thanks to Charles Smith Blog. 
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/legal-community-worried-about-influence-of-internet-on-juries-in-criminal-trials-1.3069161?mode=amp

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