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Major U.S. Report Calls for "Massive Overhaul" of Forensics
Posted: February 18, 2009 6:43 pm
The National Academy of Sciences released a report this afternoon that could transform forensic science in the United States.
The report, released by a diverse committee of scientific and legal experts who have spent two years studying these issues and holding public hearings at Congress’ request, recommends the creation of an independent, science-based federal entity that would direct comprehensive research and evaluation in the forensic sciences, establish scientifically validated standards and oversee their consistent application nationwide.
Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld, who testified before the panel at two of its five hearings, said today’s report is a “major breakthrough.”
“For too long, forensic science professionals have not had the support or management needed to identify the real strengths and weaknesses of different assays and techniques,” Neufeld said. “This report provides the roadmap for rectifying that problem, and we look forward to working with Congress and other key stakeholders to implement the report’s recommendations.”And members of Congress reacted to report in the hours after its release.
"People’s lives hinge on the results of these forensic tests and scientific rigor must be applied in each and every case to make sure that justice is truly served,” said U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “I will study the National Academy’s recommendations very carefully and propose legislation to address the need for standards, including best practices and certification and accreditation of forensic professionals.”Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the U.S. House of Represenatives Judiciary Committee, called the report a “wake up call.”
“Our nation’s forensic science community needs our increased support and direction in order to ensure that criminal justice is more science-based, more reliable, and ultimately more just,” Conyers said.Read more reaction from exonerees, crime victims, forensic experts and others here.
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Media Coverage of NAS Report
Posted: February 18, 2009 6:40 pm
Below is a sample of media coverage of today’s groundbreaking forensics report from the National Academy of Sciences. We’ll post more coverage tomorrow.
LA Times: Report Questions Science, Reliability of Crime Lab Evidence
Associated Press: Real World CSI's Lack Consistent Standards
CNN: Crime Labs Need Major Overhaul, Study Finds
MSNBC: Crime Labs Are Seriously Deficient, Report Finds
ProPublica: Government-Funded Study Calls for Overhaul of Nation’s Crime Labs
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
More Media Coverage of Forensics Report
Posted: February 19, 2009 5:36 pm
We posted yesterday some feedback and media coverage of the watershed forensics report released by the National Academy of Sciences. Here are some more stories running around the world today. We’ve noted which stories allow comments, so you can click through and join the discussion:
NPR On Point: Crime Labs and Dismal Science - One-hour radio show with Judge Harry Edwards (the co-chair of the committee that published the report), Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck, L.A. County Crime Lab Director Barry Fisher and John Jay College Prof. James Doyle. (Allows comments)
New York Times: Study Calls for Oversight of Forensics in Crime Labs
USA Today: Report: Real-world Police Forensics Don’t Resemble ‘CSI’
LA Times Op-Ed: Clueless ‘Science’
LA Times: Report questions science, reliability of crime lab evidence
NPR Morning Edition: Call for Forensics Overhaul Linked to 'CSI' Effect (Allows Comments)
Simple Justice: National Academies of Science: Trust Nothing (Allows Comments)
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Votes for Reform
Posted: February 23, 2009 11:38 am
An editorial this weekend in the New York Times praised the National Academy of Sciences on its “sensible suggestions” for improvements to forensic science practices in the United States, and called for research into unvalidated disciplines.
The academy’s panel makes sensible suggestions for improvement, such as certification of forensic professionals, accreditation of laboratories, uniform standards for analyzing evidence and independence of the laboratories from police and prosecutors who might bias judgments. In the long run, research is needed to determine the accuracy of forensic methods. For now, judges, lawyers and juries are on notice that high-tech forensic perfection is a television fantasy, not a courtroom reality.And writing in the Austin American-Statesman, author Joyce King (a member of the Innocence Project of Texas Board of Directors) writes that “lawmakers should not ignore” criminal justice reforms proven to prevent wrongful convictions – especially in the wake of Timothy Cole being cleared posthumously.
Read the full editorial here. (New York Times, 02/21/09)
Read King’s op-ed here. (Austin American-Statesman, 02/22/09)
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
New Study on Forensics and Wrongful Conviction
Posted: March 18, 2009 11:15 am
A new law review article by Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld and University of Virginia Law Professor Brandon Garrett finds that forensic analysts often overstated evidence in wrongful conviction cases. The pair spent over a year reviewing 137 DNA exoneration cases in which a forensic analyst testified at trial, and found that in 60 percent of these cases, the forensic expert gave invalid testimony.
Watch a video with Garrett discussing the paper, and download the full Virginia Law Review paper.
While conducting the research for this paper, both Garrett and Neufeld testified before the National Academy of Sciences committee that recently released a report on the need for forensic reform in the United States. The NAS report called for a new federal agency to oversee and support forensic sciences in order for the disciplines to play a more reliable role in the American court system.
The Innocence Project also recently completed a review of the role of forensic science in wrongful convictions. The review went beyond transcripts of testimony to analyze all forensic science evidence used in the cases, and found that in more than 50% of the first 225 DNA exonerations, unvalidated or improper forensics played a role in the wrongful conviction. Learn more about the Innocence Project study here. (PDF)
Garrett said studies like these are rare, despite the fact that the systematic review of wrongful conviction cases can reveal a great deal about the causes of wrongful conviction.
“These trial transcripts were fascinating to read, because in retrospect we know that all of the defendants were innocent,” he said. “Yet few have looked at these records. Even after these wrongful convictions came to light, crime laboratories rarely conducted audits or investigations to review the forensic evidence presented at the trial.”
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
An Overhaul of the Forensic System
Posted: March 18, 2009 5:51 pm
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from the co-chairman of the National Academy of Sciences committee that recently released a report calling for the creation of an independent agency to oversee and support forensic science in our criminal courts.
Former Judge Harry Edwards told members of the Judiciary Committee that the committee was “thoroughly convinced” that it was time to move from the current forensic science system, “which is dysfunctional.”
“The principal point of our report is simple,” Edwards said in his testimony today. “There’s an obvious need to overhaul the existing system of forensic science in the United States. …Unfortunately, adversarial approach to the submission of evidence in court is not well-suited to the task of finding scientific truth. Judicial review alone will not cure the ills of the forensic science community.”Watch a video of Edwards’ testimony and questioning from Senators.
Download the National Academy of Sciences report and learn more about unvalidated or improper science as a contributing cause of wrongful convictions.
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Friday Roundup: Seeking A Clean Slate
Posted: March 20, 2009 5:19 pm
It was another busy week in the innocence movement – with testimony on forensics before the Senate Judiciary Committee and Mississippi adopting DNA access and evidence preservation laws. Here are some more stories on wrongful convictions and forensic evidence from around the world in the last few days:
Sean Hodgson was freed this week in England after serving 27 years in prison for a rape and murder DNA now proves he didn’t commit. He petitioned for DNA testing more than a decade ago but was told – falsely – that evidence in his case had been destroyed. Testing on that evidence finally proved his innocence this year.
Two Illinois men who were pardoned in the 1990s after serving years in prison were dealt a setback in court this week. Stanley Howard and Dana Holland were seeking to expunge their records of wrongful convictions, but the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that gubernatorial pardons based on innocence do not automatically clear criminal records. Holland was exonerated by DNA testing in 2003 after serving more than 10 years. Howard was sentenced to death based on a confession he says was coerced through torture. He was cleared based on non-DNA evidence.
The Georgia House of Representatives approved a bill today that would compensate John Jerome White with more than $700,000 for the years he spent in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate and signed by the Governor before White is compensated. Georgia is one of 25 states without a statewide compensation law; but the legislature has passed bills in recent years compensating individuals.
A story on National Public Radio’s Day to Day this week explored the fallibility of eyewitness identification evidence. In a guest post on the Innocence Blog yesterday from Erin Torneo explored the story behind the new book “Picking Cotton” and the ripples of injustice still felt 11 years after a wrongful conviction.
And the Los Angeles Times considers questions raised about fingerprint evidence by the recent National Academy of Sciences report on forensics.
Tags: Dana Holland, John Jerome White, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Scent Lineups and Unvalidated Science
Posted: June 30, 2009 5:16 pm
Dog scent evidence has contributed to at least three wrongful convictions later overturned by DNA testing, and two new lawsuits in Texas allege that three police dogs working with the Fort Bend County’s Sheriff’s Department implicated innocent people in failed “scent lineups.” Both men have been cleared, but the controversy over the validity of dog scent evidence continues. A new USA Today article examines the Texas lawsuits and the controversy over whether dog scent evidence should be allowed in criminal trials:
The legal challenges are "a first for us," says Randall Morse, an assistant county attorney who is representing (dog handler Keith) Pikett. He says the hounds have worked about 2,000 cases across the country, including the search for Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph.Unvalidated forensic science such as dog scent evidence has been involved in about half of the 240 wrongful convictions overturned to date in the United States. A National Academy of Sciences report released this year calls for the creation of a federal agency to support and oversee forensics to prevent wrongful convictions and ensure public safety .
Defense lawyers say the (scent lineup) technique smacks of forensic voodoo and casts further suspicion on the broader use of scent dog evidence.
"It's a fraud on so many levels," says Jeffrey Weiner, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Read the full story here. (USA Today, 06/30/09)
The Innocence Project supports the creation of a federal Office of Forensic Science Improvement and Support
and thousands of people have joined the campaign by signing the Just Science Coalition’s petition calling for federal forensic oversight. Add your name now.
Read more about the three men who were wrongfully convicted based in part on dog scent evidence and then exonerated by DNA testing:
Wilton Dedge, Florida
William Dillon, Florida
James Ochoa, California
Tags: Wilton Dedge, William Dillon, James Ochoa, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Forensics in the News
Posted: August 17, 2009 3:42 pm
CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" launches a new series tonight investigating faulty forensic science around the United States and proposed reforms that could prevent wrongful convictions. Tonight's episode is expected to feature an interview with Innocence Project client Ernest Sonnier. Tune in at 10 p.m. EST.
In another case involving faulty forensic testing, The Oregon Attorney General's office recently said prisoner Philip Scott Cannon should be freed while prosecutors consider a new trial. He was convicted of three murders based in part on bullet lead analysis, which has since been discredited.
Read more about forensics in the news and take action to support federal forensic reform.
Tags: Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Forensics Series Continues Tonight on CNN
Posted: August 20, 2009 3:15 pm
CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” has been investigating questions about forensic disciplines in a special series on forensics this week. Last night, CNN contributor Sanjay Gupta visited the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab to report on hair analysis, bullet analysis and DNA testing practices. Watch video of his visit here.
And CNN medical producer Stephanie Smith posted on the AC360 blog today about Innocence Project client Steven Barnes and the role of unvalidated forensics in wrongful convictions.
The show continues tonight at 10 p.m. ET with a report on Dr. Steven Hayne in Mississippi, who has been accused of reaching conclusions that go beyond science to fit what prosecutors need to secure convictions. Tonight's broadcast will feature an interview with Tyler Edmonds, who was sentenced to death row partly as a result of Hayne's testimony. Edmonds was released after the Mississippi Supreme Court threw out his conviction -- in a ruling that called Hayne's testimony "scientifically unfounded."
Two Innocence Project clients were exonerated last year after Hayne's testimony contributed to their wrongful convictions; read more about their cases here.
Learn about recommendations for forensic reform and take action at the Just Science website.
Tags: Steven Barnes, Kennedy Brewer, Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
The Wrong Prints: Man Arrested for a Robbery he Didn’t Commit
Posted: September 3, 2009 5:26 pm
Dwight Gomas spent 17 months in jail in New York awaiting trial for a robbery he didn’t commit before detectives discovered that his fingerprints didn’t match crime scene evidence. He was set free after the error was uncovered and recently settled a lawsuit against the city for $145,000.
A New York detective conducting a routine review of crime scene evidence discovered that fingerprints allegedly tying the Georgia native to the robbery were actually not a match. Gomas was more than 800 miles away, in Atlanta, when the crime happened.
"It's just a nightmare knowing that someone that's innocent can be picked up off the street and held," Gomas said in court papers. "That scares me now. It's like I'm walking on eggshells. I try to cover my tracks for everywhere I go."Another man, Stephan Cowans, spent more than five years in Massachusetts prisons after a false fingerprint match led to his conviction for a crime he didn’t commit. A report from the National Academy of Sciences released this year found that fingerprint analysis was among the forensic disciplines that has not “been rigorously shown to have the capacity to consistently, and with a high degree of certainly, demonstrate a connection between evidence and a specific individual or source.” Learn more about the NAS report and recommendations for federal forensic reform at the Just Science Coalition website.
Read the full story. (New York Daily News, 9/3/09)
Tags: Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Watch Live: Senate Judiciary Hearing on Forensic Reform
Posted: September 8, 2009 5:56 pm
Watch online tomorrow at 10 a.m. EST as Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for a National Institute of Forensic Science. He will be joined by Law Professor Paul Giannelli, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt, a lab director and two prosecutors.
Visit this link at 10 a.m. EST to watch live.
The Innocence Project has called for the creation of an independent federal agency to support and oversee forensic science practices across the country. Learn more and voice your support for forensic reform at the Just Science Coalition website.
Tags: Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Senators Consider Federal Forensic Reforms
Posted: September 9, 2009 5:42 pm
Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today about the need for federal standards and for research in forensic science. And Neufeld and other witnesses found bipartisan support for a federal role in stimulating research, training forensic analysts and setting standards.
Forensics have been a central part of the criminal justice system for decades. Defendants are regularly convicted of crimes based on analysis of fingerprints, hair samples or blood spatters from a crime scene. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences said many of those techniques have never been scientifically tested.With Neufeld at today’s hearing was Roy Brown, who spent 15 years in prison in New York for a murder he didn’t commit. He was convicted based in large part on faulty bite mark analysis.
That report "is one of the most important developments in forensic science since the creation of the first crime laboratory in the 1920s," Case Western Reserve professor Paul Gianelli told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MI) called the report's conclusions "damning" and "terrifying."
"The forensic dentist [at Roy Brown's trial] used what was then the prevailing method of comparing bite marks found on a body with the dentures of a suspect," said Neufeld. "He examined them and decided that he had a match with Roy's bite. He so testified in court, and Roy was convicted."
Read (and listen to) the full story. (NPR All Things Considered, 09/09/09)Watch a webcast of the full hearing.
Take action today: Tell Congress you support the creation of the National Institute of Forensic Science.
Tags: Roy Brown, Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
Deadline Extended: Help Us Pay for DNA Testing
Posted: September 24, 2009 2:05 pm
We have been honored and moved by the strong interest in our campaign this month to raise funds for client DNA testing. We deeply appreciate the generosity of hundreds of people from all over the world who have given so far this month. It is thanks to your support that we are able to free the innocent.
We have just $5,470 to go in order to reach our goal of $25,000 and we think we can make it. That’s why we extended the deadline to September 30. For one more week, you can donate here and 100% of your gift will go to support DNA testing.
Spreading the word about this work is critical as well - click here to post this campaign to Facebook and here to post on Twitter.
Thank you from all of us at the Innocence Project.
Tags: False Confessions, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics, Informants/Snitches, Bad Lawyering, Government Misconduct, Eyewitness Misidentification
Police Dogs and Unvalidated Forensics
Posted: November 4, 2009 1:57 pm
Two lawsuits being filed today in federal court allege that a Texas dog handler used unreliable methods to “justify police agencies’ suspicions” and falsely accuse two men of crimes they didn’t commit.
The cases come as dog scent evidence – and “scent lineups” in particular (where dogs examine a group of scents including a suspect’s) – are under fire in several states across the country. Testimony from dog handlers has played a role in at least three wrongful convictions overturned through DNA testing to date. It is one of the forensic disciplines used in American courtrooms despite a lack of scientific validation to determine whether it is accurate.
The New York Times reports today on scent lineups and police dog evidence, pointing to a recent study on the issue by the Innocence Project of Texas, which estimates that 10 to 15 people are in prison solely on the testimony of one sheriff’s deputy – Keith Pikett – who is named in the federal lawsuits filed today.
Critics (of scent lineups) say that the possibilities of cross-contamination of scent are great, and that the procedures are rarely well controlled. Nonetheless, although some courts have rejected evidence from them, the technique has been used in many states, including Alaska, Florida, New York and Texas, said Lawrence J. Myers, an associate professor of animal behavior at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.Earlier this year, the National Academy of Sciences released a groundbreaking report showing that many forensic disciplines – such as bite marks, fiber analysis and toolmarks – lack scientific rigor. The report calls on Congress to create a federal entity to stimulate research, set standards and enforce those standards.
Read the full story here. (New York Times, 11/4/09)
Visit the Just Science Coalition website for more on the NAS report and progress implementing its critical reccomendtations.
Tags: Unvalidated/Improper Forensics, Dog Scent