10 DNA analysts suspended during investigation.
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Scientists-suspended-as-State-Police-DNA-scandal-6194258.php
Not doing DNA disappoints juries.
Murder in Australia
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/04/11/11/41/a-sister-s-heartbreaking-wedding-poem
Police really messed up this “open and shut” murder case. Article
Another example of a botched forensic path health history diagnosis which led to mother spending 9 years in prison. Article
Here we go now with footprints “approaching uniqueness.’ The forensic trap of “belief” rather than fact based – empirically proven human ID evidence. This guy just told a bunch of DAs:
“Footprints are not legally unique but they approach uniqueness,” Nirenberg, who operates Friendly Foot Care in Crown Point,” he said.
“Each person’s gait is unique based on their weight, type of shoe, foot or back problems, height and a myriad other indicators specific to each individual,” he said.
“You put all of these factors together and it creates a foot impression on the ground that is distinctive,” he said. Article
Another stinky body-farm coming your way. This time in Florida. Article
Another example of CJ chaos resulting from forensic pathologists weak scientific bases of what they have said about SBS.
LA Weekly has just published an article titled ‘Is Shaken Baby Syndrome the New Satanic Panic?‘ The article highlights many frightening parallels between today’s SBS prosecutions and those of so-called satanic ritual child abusers in the 1980’s.
The article also features information from the recent documentary film by Susan Goldsmith ‘The Syndrome.’
Having closely followed the satanic ritual abuse panic of the 80’s, I found reading this story to be downright creepy. If you follow the SBS situation at all, this is a must read.
See the LA Weekly story here.
Just a note. The harassment of forensic dentists and researchers opposing the continued use of bitemarks i skin rather than DNA analysis continues. Its the same bunch as always within the bitemark advocates who have vested financial interests. The general membership of the ABFO remains curiously silent.
Absolutely the best example of contemporary forensic misconduct by an AAFS recognized group advocating their particular brand of “science.” See how their culture of rejecting their own reliability research passes from one generation to the next. This last happened in 1999.
Yesterday’s article from the Washington Post.
Absolutely the best example of contemporary forensic misconduct by an AAFS recognized group advocating their particular brand of “science.” See how their culture of rejecting their own reliability research passes from one generation to the next. This last happened in 1999.
Yesterday’s article from the Washington Post.
Links to the infuriating stories of how the CJ system works for its own purposes rather than being concerned about acting reasonably unbiased and fair.
Strange case involving Amanda Knox’s supposed defense team DNA expert.
Some folks get suspicious when a defense expert goes on the defensive after being VERY public in the press. A reporter tries to find out about how a DNA biologist claiming credit for “proving contamination” at the Italian crime scene did what he says. The expert’s academic employer claims a ‘trade secrets’ privilege blocks inquires for ‘research’ and documentation support his role. Article.
Ex-Brooklyn DA gets himself sued for failing to release man known to be factually innocent of murder during DA’s final years in office. Article
152 ex death-row inmates have been released from prisons since 1973. LA Times article on obvious consequences of such judicial and prosecutorial ‘inaccuracies.’ Article
An opinion piece pointedly discussing the exoneration cases where prosecutors continue to avoid legal consequences for dishonest acts such as perjury and other malfeasance. She makes SCOTUS ultimately responsible. Thanks to Phil Locke at the @wrongconvblog for this link.
A supposed peer reviewed ‘case report’ on a bitemark case from Portugal. The authors appear to be credentialed as odontology researchers but seriously lack scientific accuracy of what they claim to be present in this case’s evidence. In addition, their citations are mis-quoted or mis-interpret some of the literature they claim supports their conclusions. However, they do seem to use Adobe PhotoShop well to suit their purposes.
They present as if DNA profiling doesn’t exist in bitemark cases where a sexual assault has occurred.
In the Abstract, they have a great quote about how their findings will be immune to cross-examination by any defense counsel.
Seems like a rather nasty approach to me.
1500 “new” crime lab cases under review in San Francisco continues to boil over in the press.
Leticia Smallwood spending 42 years in prison for arson gets an appeal hearing. Her lawyer says “no crime was committed.”
Here we have Radley Balko on Louisiana’s two “hit men for the death penalty” who seem to have run aground on the reef of their own ambition and indifference to what most of us call “justice.”
This following article has implications in regards to forensic publications. The few existing journals on “forensics” have little to no readership and inconsistent peer oversight..
“The scientific community is facing a ‘pollution problem’ in academic publishing, one that poses a serious threat to the “trustworthiness, utility, and value of science and medicine,”according to one of the country’s leading medical ethicists. Full article
Hinton’s exoneration from 30 years on death row “No Guarantee of Justice.”
Monday’s Quick Clicks @wrongconvblog. Many topics linked here.
Omaha DA goes after answers about botched ballistics report in double murder case.
Indiana police chief signs on “bite mark comparing” dentists.
Cairo Forensic Medicine Authority’s doctors are under investigation for Islamic Brotherhood affiliations re: their having been hired by previous Morsi government.
US DOJ criminal drug “possession” lawsuit against FedEx is illusory and looking for large dollar penalties. War on drugs going the wrong way once more. Full article
