GIST: "In two courts, half a country apart, judges last month grappled with the reliability of testimony and forensic hair evidence analysis that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents provided in criminal trials decades ago. John Norman Huffington, imprisoned nearly 32 years in Maryland, had his conviction overturned by a judge after DNA testing revealed that the hair that was presented as key evidence against Mr. Huffington did not belong to him. Willie Jerome Manning, mere hours from death, won a stay of execution from the Mississippi Supreme Court to give his lawyers time to conduct DNA testing, which they believe could exonerate him. FBI testimony in both cases provided key evidence that led to their convictions......... If FBI forensic analysts and agents knowingly relied on flawed forensic evidence for decades, it is alarming. If men and women such as Messrs. Huffington and Manning still remain in prison, and in some cases on death row, it is intolerable. I commend the FBI for taking the necessary steps to inform defendants and prosecutors in every case where unreliable hair analysis was used. Moreover, I urge state prosecutors and judges who are aware that the FBI provided potentially unreliable evidence or testimony to work with defense counsel in those cases to ensure the accuracy of the verdicts, including allowing for additional forensic testing of evidence, especially DNA testing, and the pursuit of wrongful conviction claims. When evidence used to convict an individual is discovered to be unreliable, justice requires that we review that case, no matter how long ago the conviction occurred. For John Huffington, unreliable forensic evidence led to 32 lost years; for Willie Manning, it may lead to far more grievous harm. The DOJ has taken steps to remedy reliance on repudiated hair analysis techniques. Unfortunately, there are many individuals still in jail, possibly convicted wrongfully due to faulty, and highly influential, FBI testimony. These individuals, like Messrs. Manning and Huffington, must be afforded the opportunity to prove their innocence."

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