Tx Forensic Sci Commission gets kudos for driving bitemark analysts to ground

Forensics-Opener

Well, its not just the bitemarker zealots being scoured by the Tx Commission as mentioned in the January issue of Texas Monthly. But, its title is “False Impressions” and its headpiece image is the above closeup of some badly busted up dental models.

The article runs the details of this non-regulatory panel’s rise to new prominence in Criminal Justice news for its stance on junk arson investigations, DNA and the pesky 4 remaining bitemark dentists bold enough to showup at the TCFSC proceedings to defend themselves.

The defending dentists totally missed (intentionally of course) the Commission’s oft-published charge to them to present legitimate scientific data behind their belief-based “system” of dental identification. This Texas article gives them short-shrift.

The are numerous quotes from the panel and one outstanding member, general counsel Lynn Garcia, who at the outset of the Commission’s bitemark journey, took alot of objectionable flack from the very same dental bunch described in the article.

Thanks to http://gritsforbreakfast@gmail.com

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Outspoken Innocence Project detractor runs pricey Forensic Science ethics training course

Wrongful convictions and almost daily news reports of exonerations have spurred a new industry in forensic science. These events have created a new theme in forensic science, namely “forensic science reform,” where government agencies, CJ institutes, academia and private parties have amplified their focus onto ethics and anti “cognitive bias” training in varied curricula. A curious outlier within all this education includes John A. Collins.

A pre-paid PR notice on Collin’s offerings regarding forensic ethics training just came out here. Connected to this is his business of forensic training here, which leads to the plethora of courses Collins offers to LE and crime lab folks for a pretty penny.

Collins is a multi-credentialed ex-crime lab director who has become rather notorious in the hard-core police crime lab community as an out spoken self-published debunker of wrongful convictions litigators and Criminal Justice meta-data analysts like the Innocence Projects and the National Registry of Exonerations. A closer look at his opinions are reflected here.

I’m reluctant to express much more than confusion regarding this confluence of Collin’s recent PR blast and his past public statements considering forensic science, in its practice, as being “nearly flawless.”

 

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Forensic Research: Necrobiomes from Body Farm experiment

"black and white bacteria closeup"

A mini study makes researchers optimistic about body fluids and such.

http://www.regaltribune.com/necrobiomes-and-their-effects-on-forensic-science/24464/

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Forensic Anthro in Central Park

Forensic Dig is No Mere Walk in the Park

Professor Angelique Corthals of the Department of Sciences set up a crime scene in the composting area of the park near the 102nd street entrance after receiving a permit from the Central Park Conservancy to perform the exercise. “The permit process took a few months. I wanted to make sure we could perform it without damaging any of the landscaping of Central Park,” said Corthals. “The composting facility was a perfect place to organize this, as it is not landscaped and it’s vast enough to hide a body.”

http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/news/forensic-dig-no-mere-walk-park

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Forensic Medicine Used to Convict for Moral Crimes In Tunisia

Junk forensic science and its misuse in criminal proceedings occurs wherever human rights and fairness are absent.

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Missouri Forensic Science program is told they can help prevent wrongful convictions

“I’m not here to bash the judicial system,” Barry Beach ( over 30 years in prison ) told a forensic science class at the University of Montana on Friday. “I’m here to say, ‘Let’s do what we can to make it better.’

Someone should educate them about ethics problems with police and prosecutors as well. No offense meant. A few unscrupulous people exist in all walks of life.

http://missoulian.com/news/local/beach-tells-um-forensic-science-students-they-can-prevent-wrongful/article_357235e3-632e-5978-93c4-fc1987fa9286.html

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Crime lab event collects missing girl’s family’s DNA. Body later ID’d.

The identification was made based on DNA samples given from family members at the Attorney General’s event to raise awareness for and help loved ones locate missing persons, Never Forgotten: Arkansas Takes Action.

http://txktoday.com/news/never-forgotten-event-helps-identify-missing-persons-remains/

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Forensics: How human bitemarks should be used by prosecutors.

(photo credit: C. Michael Bowers and Raymond Johansen. From Digital Analysis of Bitemark Evidence. c 2004). This is an experimentally produced bitemark  on a deceased pig ear. The bitemark was made by Dr. Johansen biting the specimen. Unfortunately, this amount of dental detail is not seen in actual casework which involves human skin.

Would someone please send the following article to the American Board of Forensic Odontology?  I think its leadership could use it to save their organization from total forensic disgrace and future public humiliations. The case has nothing to do with bitemark “matching” to a criminal defendant.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/authorities-man-sentenced-to-18-years-after-bite-marks-tied-him-to-assault/2015/12/18/9c40096c-a5df-11e5-b53d-972e2751f433_story.html

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Dialogue about Science Peer Review in the Courts : Scientific American : Faigman

This is a “how to do it” from Law Professor David L. Faigman at Hastings of UCBerkeley. He shows an extensive review on where the US courts are on this subject and why they are not always reliable. He has some interesting proposals on “gatekeepers” and experts’ testimony.

(excerpt)

“Properly done, peer review nearly always involves some level of anonymous evaluation by scientists actively engaged in similar research. If the law could access a similar system of independent evaluation to assess the methods and principles underlying expert testimony, it would produce a host of benefits.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/putting-scientific-peer-review-in-the-courtroom/?WT.mc_id=SA_BS_20151218

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, Forensic Science | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Harvards’ epic article on Innocence Litigation and the woman who exec directs the IP

Screen Shot 2015-12-18 at 10.31.21 AM

A true Xmas season story about Maddy deLone who is the heartbeat of the NY  Innocence Project. The challenges of the innocent in prison are described in vivid detail. A worthy and valuable read for those unaware of what “incarceration” does to our society with 2.2 million in prison. @maddydelone.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/conviction/

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