Tag Archives: American Academy of Forensic Science

Real talk about forensics and real science: ex AAFS president is interested about forensic mistakes, DNA from bitemarks, + more.

This blog has reached 6,000 hits since its inception. Thank you all for being involved!  Cheers Mike Bowers  Please consider subscribing to this blog. ====================================== Real science POV. Forcing Change In Forensic Science.  http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i19/Forcing-Change-Forensic-Science.html … via @cenmag A world apart is the … Continue reading

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Bitemark Case Law: The Judicial failure by accepting bitemark experts as “qualified to identify” defendants

“Bitemark Identification” acceptance stems from this list of appellate cases starting in 1975 (Marx). This is a short list of the seminal cases (allowing the jury of decide the evidence declared to be science) that flowed from this first appellate … Continue reading

Posted in Bitemarks, forensic science reform, junk forensic science, National FOrensic Science Commission | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Ray Krone’s Exoneration from bitemark evidence: THE INSIDE STORY @csidds

Photo by: Heidi Huber/AP This picture has Ray Krone ( left) immediately after his release from AZ prison in 2000. Part of his story is below, which develops the persona of the Prosecutor Noel Levy who put Ray on  death … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, Bitemarks, Exoneration costs, junk forensic science, Ray Krone bitemark case, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A brilliant cautionary tale on Fingerprints and their Scientific Uncertainty | The AAFS/ABFO dentists should read this | @csidds

  Fingerprints and a “bitemark” used to convict Bill Richards in 1997 in California.   The partnerships between the AAFS and police sciences are very strong and professionally intertwined in the US criminal justice system. The organization was originally founded by … Continue reading

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Based on a notorius bitemark case: CA legislation plans to reject use of junk and outdated forensics in court @csidds

Radley Balko at the Washington Post’s “The Watch” announces California Senate Bill (SB1048) intent to direct the courts to consider scientific progress and reject junk opinions of debunked forensic methods and prosecutorial bias favoring “finality of verdicts.” He speaks to the … Continue reading

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Bad science from the AAFS/ABFO dentists | Media responses from the past | Forensics in Focus @csidds

Making positive news about bitemark evidence for media reporting is a tough job. I thought that I should make a short list of articles that have appeared in major media sources over the decades.   Some predate the news about bitemark experts … Continue reading

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Bias in Forensic Science: Affirmed and described by another retired forensic scientist | Forensics in Focus @csidds | April 1

The “new topic” of undue influence and cognitive bias (its been around for decades mostly from outside the insular forensic community) by forensic examiners gets some air in this editorial by a retired senior scientist from a Los Angeles crime lab. … Continue reading

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Forensic Science Misconduct: A Dark Cautionary Tale @csidds

Let’s start with  a quick review of a few cases related to the subject of  forensic science failure and accompanying misconduct (Section 1). This  involves law enforcement officers, CSIs, prosecutors and prosecutorial experts in the multiple criminal justice systems: All … Continue reading

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, criminal justice, CSI, exoneration, Exoneration costs, expert testimony, Forensic Science, junk forensic science, National FOrensic Science Commission, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forensics in Focus @csidds | Feb 26 |Good stuff + a bitemark dentist doubts his own reliability to the Judge who then does his own investigation.

Here’s more on the sketchy progress towards the normalization of forensics into a “science.” The Good with the Bad. The “unsure” bitemark dentist is at the end. CRIME LABs OHIO: A rocky road during murder trial for an ex-toxicology examiner … Continue reading

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Bitemarks and Wrongful Executions: Law Prof Considers the Connection

A law professor has an impressive blog post that elaborates on the dangers of bad forensic science leading to executions of innocent defendants.  Read it here. He also has a few things to say about bitemark identification. A recent bitemark … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bitemarks, Forensic Science, National FOrensic Science Commission, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments