Innocence Blog
February 2, 2007
Federal audit finds more problems at Mass. crime lab
A federal inspection of the State Police crime laboratory completed in September found problems with the handling of DNA evidence that go beyond those that prompted the agency to suspend a civilian administrator and led to two sweeping reviews of the lab.
Read the full story here. (Boston Globe - 02/01/07)
Read more on crime lab oversight in our Fix The System pages.
CSI isn’t like real world crime labs
An op-ed piece appearing today in the LA Times by Innocence Project co-founders Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld makes clear that the bulk of work in crime labs across the U.S. today is not DNA testing - it involves disciplines like pathology, serology, hair microscopy, fingerprints, bite marks and arson analysis. Some of these are more art than science.
DNA IS THE HOT TOPIC in forensic science, but such evidence isn't used in most criminal cases. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, for instance, reports that only 10% of its lab's work involves DNA, and a national study found that DNA accounted for just 5% of crime lab work. In most courtrooms, verdicts are still being swayed by methods that have undergone very little scientific scrutiny.
Continue reading...(LA Times, free subscription required)
- Read our previous posting on the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice.
- Visit our Fix The System section to learn why crime lab oversight and innocence commissions are important reforms for your state.
- Legislators: Review model legislation enacting these reforms.
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