Innocence Blog

Detroit Prosecutor Calls Crime Lab Findings 'Appalling'

Posted: October 30, 2008 4:03 pm

After an audit last month found a 10% error rate on gun testing in the Detroit Police Department crime lab, city officials shut down the entire lab so problems could be investigated. With the lab still closed, the Detroit City Council held hearings on the lab yesterday. County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told council members that she was not happy with the lab’s performance.

"I cannot have anybody convicted based on this kind of evidence that's inaccurate," said Worthy, who received the report Wednesday. "An error rate of zero is the only acceptable rate."

Council members called for an independent audit of the entire lab and five years of cases, a review that Worthy said would cost $800,000. And a Detroit police commander said the problems found in the ballistics section were “indicative of a systemic problem.”

Read the full story here. (Detroit Free Press, 10/30/08)