forensic-science

CHAPTER 14. DISHONEST FORENSIC SCIENCE

Here is a quote from the book The Guardians, by John Grisham, published by Hodder, 2020, pages 69 to 70:-

“In the 1980s and 1990s, expert testimony proliferated in the criminal courts - - - - thousands of criminal defendants were convicted and put away by SHAKY THEORIES about blood stains, blood spatter, arson, bite marks, fabrics, glass breakage, scalp and pubic hair, boot prints, ballistics, and even fingerprints - - - - - always implicating the defendant. And ALWAYS FOR A NICE FEE. Then DNA testing arrived - - - - - - it brought a fresh and devastating scrutiny to THE JUNK SCIENCE - - - - In at least half of the DNA exonerations of innocent men and women, BAD FORENSICS have been the cornerstone of the prosecution’s evidence. (My capitals.)

Here is a quote from the magazine Crime Monthly, Issue 7, October 2019, pages 48 to 49, Article:- Hair Under The Microscope.

“In 1994 Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, a supervisor at The FBA crime lab, reported worries to his superiors about lab practices, including “ALTERATION OF REPORTS, ALTERATION OF EVIDENCE, AND FOLKS TESTIFYING OUTSIDE THEIR AREA OF EXPERTISE IN COURTS OF LAW” - - - - - - In 2015, the bureau formally admitted that NEARLY EVERY EXAMINER IN THE FORENSIC LAB HAD GIVEN FLAWED TESTIMONY. “Of 28 examiners with The FBI - - - - 26 OVERSTATED FORENSIC MATCHES in ways that favoured prosecutors in more than 95 per cent of the 268 trials reviewed so far.” (My capitals.)