STORY: "When crime labs go criminal," by Vince Beiser, published by Pacific Standard on November 25, 2013.
SUB-HEADING: "Annie Dookhan, the forensic scientist sent to prison last week for falsifying evidence, is just the tip of the iceberg."
GIST: As the New York Times sums up: “Prosecutors say Ms. Dookhan declared drug samples positive that she had not bothered to test, tampered with evidence, forged signatures and lied about her credentials to enhance her standing in court as an expert witness. In all, her actions may have tainted more than 40,000 drug samples involving thousands of defendants.” As a result, said the judge who sentenced Dookhan to three to five years in prison, “Innocent persons were incarcerated…. Guilty persons have been released to further endanger the public, millions and millions of public dollars are being expended to deal with the chaos Ms. Dookhan created, and the integrity of the criminal justice system has been shaken to the core.” More than 300 people convicted partly thanks to Dookhan’s work have since been released. Thing is, this kind of thing happens all the time. At least 11 prisoners have been released in Texas in recent months because a state crime lab worker was caught falsifying test results. Faked evidence and shoddy tests have been discovered again and again at the Houston Police Department’s crime lab. Just last week, police in Orange County, California, admitted they may have gotten blood-alcohol test results wrong in some 2,200 DUI cases. PrisonLegalNews.org has a long, long list of other examples. Something to keep in mind next time you're watching CSI.
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.psmag.com/science/crime-labs-go-criminal-70638/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com
