The DNA cure-all? Law Prof. Peter Barger says the sheer volume of uncovered wrongful convictions puts the lie to the widespread belief that our criminal justice system has solved its most basic problems thrugh DNA testing and other innocence proving technology, in a commentary called "A justice system overwhelmed."

COMMENTARY: "A justice system overwhelmed," by Colin Starger, published by the Baltimore Sun on February 3, 2015.  (Colin Starger is a law professor at the University of Baltimore, a special assistant district attorney with the Dallas (Texas) Conviction Integrity Unit and a former staff attorney at the Innocence Project in New York;)

GIST: "The rising number of overturned convictions tells the tale of an overwhelmed justice system. Let's call 2014 "the year of the wrongfully convicted." Why? According to figures released last week by the National Registry of Exonerations, at least 125 wrongful convictions were overturned in 2014. This smashed the previous single-year exoneration records of 91 (in both 2012 and 2013 according to recently revised numbers) and has serious implications that we should not ignore.........But beyond individual stories, 2014's record-breaking number of reversals tells the tale of a system overwhelmed. The sheer volume of uncovered wrongful convictions puts the lie to the widespread belief that our criminal justice system has solved its most basic problems. After all, DNA testing has been routine for more than 20 years. Many predicted that this innocence-proving technology would in short order clear all the nation's wrongfully convicted. Yet the reversals keep on coming. How is this possible? At one level, the answer is that DNA was never the cure-all some expected. In 2014, only 18 percent of the reversed convictions (22 out of 125) occurred after DNA testing proved innocence. This reflects the reality that relevant DNA is available only in a tiny minority of cases. CSI dramas are fantasy; in real life, science can't solve most crimes. At the same time, risk factors that we now know lead to wrongful conviction — eyewitness misidentification, junk science, false confession, ineffective assistance of counsel and police misconduct — are present in thousands upon thousands of cases that pass through our system every year."

Colin Starger is a law professor at the University of Baltimore, a special assistant district attorney with the Dallas (Texas) Conviction Integrity Unit and a former staff attorney at the Innocence Project in New York; his email is cstarger@ubalt.edu.

The entire commentary; can be found at:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-wrongful-convictions-20150203-story.html

 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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.
 
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;