Author seb4yq

“High-sensitivity” DNA tests, also referred to as “low-copy DNA tests,” are being used in a growing number of criminal prosecutions. These tests take a sample of just a few human cells and amplify the samples for testing. Because the original… Continue Reading →

The Justice Department will begin conducting a review to see if experts are overstating their confidence in different areas of forensic sciences. The concerns stem from previous problems with experts overstating the reliability of microscopic hair comparison analysis. The Justice… Continue Reading →

The Texas Forensic Science Commission is recommending a ban on bite-mark analysis in criminal cases due to the subjectivity and lack of reliability of this type of analysis. While the Commission cannot outright ban all bite-mark evidence, it would encourage judges… Continue Reading →

George Perrot’s recent exoneration has prompted a review of other Massachusetts cases involving hair comparison analysis. George Perrot was recently released from prison after spending 30 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. Officials have not yet worked… Continue Reading →

Neal Robbins was convicted in the 1998 death of his girlfriend’s daughter. Robbins appealed after Texas passed a 2013 statute allowing for convictions to be overturned if “junk science” was used to convict the defendant. The question before the court… Continue Reading →

The Washington Post examines three cases to highlight the problems with unreliable bitemark evidence. The first is a murder case from Minnesota, where the judge allowed for a bitemark expert to testify, but would not allow the expert to say… Continue Reading →

Defendant George D. Perrot has been in jail for the past 30 years, serving two concurrent life sentences for a rape. Both Perrot and the victim of the crime have repeatedly asserted that Perrot was not the man who committed… Continue Reading →

While scientific evidence is often very compelling and can be a prosecutor’s “ace-in-the-hole,” the justice system needs to be on guard for experts who fabricate results, use shoddy testing techniques, or testify outside their areas of expertise. Recent problems with… Continue Reading →

In an uncontested motion, defendant John Flick moved to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence for a 1999 conviction of five counts of armed bank robbery and one count of the use of a firearm in a crime of… Continue Reading →

Johnny Lee Gates was convicted in 1977 of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Katharina Gertrude Wright. He initially confessed to the crime, although the confession was inconsistent with the physical evidence found at the crime scene. Also, a witness said… Continue Reading →