The separation of the US judiciary individual state court systems creates a systemic obstacle to curing past damage created by flawed CSI expert testimony. Montana is the example used in this article to put this in a sharper focus.
Dead bodies are the topic today. Researchers from UC of San Diego are talking about Time of Death determinations using bacteria. Considering the encironmental and physical factors that influence decomposition rathers, this research still has a longgg way to go.
http://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2015-12-10-decomp-study-tool-for-forensic-science.aspx
The lack of legit validation for the AAFS supported bitemark ID group was in plain sight during last month’s Texas Forensic Science Commission fact-finding hearing on this junk forensic science. This photo shows Innocent Project’s Director of Strategic Litigation Chris Fabricant (standing) with Steven Mark Chaney and his wife. Chaney spent 28 years in Texas prison from a now recanted bitemark opinion.
The TxFSC allowed a presentation of the bitemark believers to start in the morning with the first bitemark speaker taking a preachy POV with the Commission. He admitted some past “sins” of his faith-based “science,” rather than science-based colleagues who are now reveling in a newer perspective. Speaking of this rebirth, he brought forth a nearly indecipherable investigative check-list called “The Tree” combined with an emotional plea to protect abused children. He then ran overtime chipping away at the non-believers of bitemark matching being “a problem” and/or unqualified as “bitemark scientists” like he claims to be. This includes the US National Academy of Science.
But, he forgot to mention his financial interests in teaching unsuspecting aspirant forensic dentists these “new and improved” methods at his Texas university job and forensic meetings in the United States.
All of this hopefulness belies the cold fact that the Commission has identified 30 bitemark assisted cases in Texas which resulted in criminal convictions.
I know of two Texas executions the Commission should investigate as well.
This is the landscape of NGRI the defense (not guilty by reason of insanity or incompetent to be executed). Or lack thereof.
If nothing else, this open declaration by a forensic expert reveals a rationale of the “greater good” somehow strengthens him even when other experts disagree. This includes one particular death penalty case. He stands by his belief in the legal concept “reasonable medical certainty.” Not a few legal commentators wonder what that phrase actually means when a qualified expert opines this as an underlying source of reliability for the courts. He does mention some ethical guidelines of his profession. Whatever works for him, I guess.
“Working in the Metropolitan Police’s Sapphire sex crimes unit, he failed to send evidence including swabs and a condom for forensic and toxicological tests before recording “negative” results in the crime reporting information system (Cris).”
The opposing attorneys do battle with expert wits in a way that really highlights the entire legal adversary process in the US CJ system. The degree of physical impairment from the cervical injury is well described. The timeline of where and when the injury occurred is a point of major disagreement. The defense is claiming an accident occurred (therefore no homicide). The prosecutor argues “malice” and/or “disregard for human life” which is the prima facie case for a murder charge.
(What a crazy set of teeth. Awesome dental prosthetic from the “Nosferatu” silent film.)
This confirms that New Englanders always have had a strange way about themselves.
http://strangeremains.com/2015/11/01/the-vampire-slayings-in-19th-century-new-england/
This is about the Freddie Gray related trial of police officers in Baltimore.
Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a forensic pathologist and former chief medical examiner in San Antonio, said Gray’s injury was “so violent, it’s so high-energy” that it would have immediately caused Gray to lose control of his body and his diaphragm, which is critical for breathing and speaking.
The scenario: A “rush to justice” with considerable “war on drugs” overcharging of simple possession penalties leads to coerced plea bargains occurring months before definitive forensic testing is completed.
Noteworthy news about lab docs following the lure of getting paid from outside vendors for allowing them to cook-book medical DNA results. It is not limited to India by any means.
