"Stories about evidence planting, false reporting, forensic errors and wrongful convictions of innocent people provided the energy for a review of police and forensic procedures. As a result, Congress mandated the National Academy of Science to evaluate forensic science. The academy's report, "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward," will drive future improvement efforts. We must take heed to meet demanding changes in forensic science, evidence handling and ethics.
While we focus on allocating sufficient resources to improve crime scene procedures and forensic analytical competence, we must ensure that checks and balances, as well as management controls, are in place so that justice is served. I believe that we must be fair and square if we expect the guilty to be convicted and the innocent to be exonerated..."
FRANK ISHIZAKI; GUAMPDN.COM; (Frank Ishizaki is a retired FBI agent; and a former CSI, Governor's Homeland Security Advisor, Chief of Police, Director of Corrections, and Senator in the 29th Guam Legislature. He can be contacted at friendscrimelab@live.com.")
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"Hello armchair CSIs. For this "Guam Forensic Forum," I want to talk about the importance of building a good forensic science system for Guam and discuss problem investigators and examiners who have violated their sworn duties to serve and protect their communities," the commentary by Frank Ishizaki published on GUAMPDN.COM under the heading, "Honesty, ethics key in forensics," begins.
"Progress is being made to improve the crime lab thanks to the collective efforts from all three branches of government. For a long time I felt like the "Lone Ranger" who pressed for improvements and support. Well, my squeaky-wheel efforts have increased awareness and have resulted in community support. Thank you for listening," the commentary continues.
"As progress is made, it is important to know why forensic science must be improved and how vital it is to the criminal justice process.
Honesty and ethics are just as important as competence. Recently much has been reported pertaining to deficient crime labs across the country and of dishonest cops and examiners who violated the public trust by compromising their integrity in order to convict the innocent.
The San Francisco Police Department drug lab was closed recently because of sloppy evidence control. The lab was tainted after long-time technician Deborah Madden was accused of using the cocaine evidence that she was assigned to analyze. "Questions about her testing ... have led prosecutors to scuttle 500 narcotics cases and to consider dropping another 1,400," the San Franscisco Chronicle reported.
David Kofoed of the Omaha Police Department was convicted of evidence tampering after it was discovered he planted evidence. His actions caused two innocent men to be arrested in a murder case. A Wisconsin couple later confessed to the double murder and has since been convicted.
Kofoed is an example of a corrupt CSI. We do not need unscrupulous individuals like him.
The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., reported recently that a U.S. Army Crime Laboratory drug analyst botched years of drug evidence testing which impacted 465 military court martial cases for the Army, Navy and Air Force. The 30-year veteran forensic scientist, Phillip Mills, resigned after he was informed that his employment was about to be terminated.
So far, fortunately, Guam has not had questionable forensic cases. We have had corrupt police employees and are not immune to similar indiscretions. While we must support forensic improvements, we must also demand professionalism and accountability from all criminal justice employees.
The lessons learned from bad evidence management must not be forgotten. Employees responsible for the storage of money, weapons, valuables, contraband, and other evidence need to be held answerable to ensure integrity and accountability of evidence.
Former GPD evidence custodian Harvey Candaso was discovered to have been using "ice" that was in his custody. He was convicted and fired.
Former GPD Lt. Anthony Ascura was convicted of ice smuggling years ago. He claimed to be working an undercover investigation but the savvy jury did not buy his fabricated story. He was convicted and is serving his federal sentence.
I can't help but reflect on a situation many years ago when two trusted officers made a great heroin bust. We had received a large quantity of heroin evidence as a result of their investigative work. The officers were bribed by the suspect to compromise the case. These two officers attempted to swap the evidence with bogus white powder.
Because criminalist Rey Hormillosa had taken great pains to immediately analyze and repackage the evidence, the attempted trickery was aborted. I learned of the wicked plot from the late director of Public Safety, Greg Perez. Boy was I relieved to hear that the integrity of our evidence was intact. I learned a valuable lesson that day. It makes me think of the famous quote from President Ronald Regan who once said, "Trust but verify."
Stories about evidence planting, false reporting, forensic errors and wrongful convictions of innocent people provided the energy for a review of police and forensic procedures. As a result, Congress mandated the National Academy of Science to evaluate forensic science. The academy's report, "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward," will drive future improvement efforts. We must take heed to meet demanding changes in forensic science, evidence handling and ethics.
While we focus on allocating sufficient resources to improve crime scene procedures and forensic analytical competence, we must ensure that checks and balances, as well as management controls, are in place so that justice is served. I believe that we must be fair and square if we expect the guilty to be convicted and the innocent to be exonerated."
The commentary can be found at:
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20110502/OPINION02/105020313
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 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
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
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