FBI errors throw forensic convictions into question

Hadn't seen this before and a quick search of the forum didn't show anything so here it is. I put it in the SI & CE section because the science isn't the important thing here, the social issues are.

Quote:

Holding your hands up and saying "we got things wrong" is a difficult thing to do. But that's exactly what the FBI and US Department of Justice have had to do this week, as the initial results were released of an ongoing review of thousands of criminal cases in which FBI scientists' testimony may have led to wrongful convictions – including for some people now on death row.

Quote:

This week it was reported that of the 10 per cent of cases reviewed so far, the "vast majority" contained errors. As a result, 136 defendants, including two on death row, will receive letters informing them of their right to DNA testing as a means of proving their innocence. This is in addition to 23 letters that went out last year, including to 14 people on death row.

:eye-poppi



http://ift.tt/1qUfrrv

via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/1nLpDOn