Monday, January 9, 2017

Flawed FBI hair matching analysis: Timothy Bridges; (North Carolina); Forensic Magazine reports on the on-going flawed FBI hair analysis review - says criminal cases in a dozen states over several decades featuring the hair assessments are now being combed through... Nine prisoners were executed in the United States based on cases based at least partly on hair evidence. Another five died while behind bars. However, the Innocence Project, the NACDL and the FBI are not identifying those prisoners, and are instead relying on surviving relatives to decide whether to speak to media.........A series of exonerations, retrials, and multimillion-dollar lawsuits have resulted in DNA testing of cases featuring the hair evidence. One of the foremost cases was that of Timothy Bridges, who served 25 years in prison based on two hairs found at a rape scene; he was released in 2015, given a full pardon by the North Carolina governor last month, and has a major lawsuit pending.""


STORY: "Hair Analysis Review: Dozen States Looking at Criminal Cases,"  by Senior Science Writer Seth Augustine,  published by Forensic Magazine on January 6, 2016.

GIST: FBI examiners had presented scientifically-flawed hair analysis at criminal cases nationwide for multiple decades, occasionally resulting in innocent people being convicted for crimes they did not commit, the Bureau admitted in 2015. Nearly two years later, criminal cases in a dozen states over several decades featuring the hair assessments are now being combed through, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers told Forensic Magazine. Groups in Iowa, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Texas, California, New York, Washington, Virginia, Washington D.C. are currently reviewing criminal cases involving the hair-analysis techniques, said Vanessa Antoun, senior resource counsel with the NACDL, which is keeping track of the efforts, which are done on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction level. Coupled with other states monitored by the Midwest Innocence Project, the number of states is roughly a dozen, she added. But not all those efforts have yet been made public, she told Forensic Magazine in a recent interview. The vast majority of the cases in which FBI hair examiners testified were at the state as opposed to federal level, according to Antoun. But some states did have their own examiners trained at a two-week hair and fiber school run by the Bureau, she added. One of those states was Florida, which had its own experts testifying in cases statewide. (Some 48 states had sent experts to the FBI training in the years it was held). Approximately 3,000 cases involved the flawed FBI hair analysis from 1985 to 1999. The FBI is still reviewing those cases for errors by examiners, who were using subjective measures in testimony and determinations about matches from suspects to crime scenes. That announcement was made by the Bureau in April 2015. But from the outset, the Innocence Project and other defense advocates said the pool of potentially-related criminal cases could be much larger than the initial 3,000. The Bureau said it had difficulties identifying cases prior to 1985, when it started its computer system – and the federal agency initially started its hair analysis program in the 1930s  FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to U.S. governors in June 2016 in which he assured the states that after 1999, the FBI had added mitochondrial analysis to further validate the testimony of experts. Comey asked the governors to ask state and local crime labs to review their own cases to validate the hair evidence presented at courts before 2000. “We want to make sure there aren’t other innocent people in jail based on our work,” Comey wrote. “Unfortunately, in a large number of cases, our examiners made statements that went too far in explaining the significance of a hair comparison and could have misled a jury or judge.” Nine prisoners were executed in the United States based on cases based at least partly on hair evidence. Another five died while behind bars. However, the Innocence Project, the NACDL and the FBI are not identifying those prisoners, and are instead relying on surviving relatives to decide whether to speak to media.........A series of exonerations, retrials, and multimillion-dollar lawsuits have resulted in DNA testing of cases featuring the hair evidence. One of the foremost cases was that of Timothy Bridges, who served 25 years in prison based on two hairs found at a rape scene; he was released in 2015, given a full pardon by the North Carolina governor last month, and has a major lawsuit pending."

The entire story can be found at:
http://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/01/hair-analysis-review-dozen-states-looking-criminal-cases?et_cid=5766777&et_rid=979655504&type=headline&et_cid=5766777&et_rid=979655504&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.forensicmag.com%2fnews%2f2017%2f01%2fhair-analysis-review-dozen-states-looking-criminal-cases%3fet_cid%3d5766777%26et_rid%3d%%subscriberid%%%26type%3dheadline

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;