Washington Post Editorial takes on DC's inadequate crime lab: “Insufficient and inadequate.” "That biting assessment of the District’s crime lab by independent auditors puts to rest any suggestion that federal prosecutors overreacted when they stopped sending DNA evidence to the facility on the grounds that it was making serious mistakes."

EDITORIAL: "D.C.'s inadequate crime lab," published by the Washington Post on April 29, 2015;

GIST: “Insufficient and inadequate.” That biting assessment of the District’s crime lab by independent auditors puts to rest any suggestion that federal prosecutors overreacted when they stopped sending DNA evidence to the facility on the grounds that it was making serious mistakes. The finding also raises the questions of why officials in charge of the lab were so dismissive of prosecutors’ concerns and what that says about their ability to remedy the problems. A national accreditation board commissioned by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) to assess complaints raised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office ordered the Consolidated Forensic Laboratory to immediately halt all DNA casework after concluding that analysts “were not competent and were using inadequate procedures.” ........The work of this lab has a direct bearing on the fair administration of justice — who goes to jail and who goes free. Having invested a quarter-billion dollars in a state-of-the-art crime lab, District residents shouldn’t have to wonder about the competence of the work or the accuracy of the analysis......... Among thequestions that need to be answered: why it was federal prosecutors, and not city officials, who recognized the problems — and what would have happened if the feds hadn’t noticed."

The entire editorial can be found at;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bad-science/2015/04/29/88f649d6-ed28-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html?wprss=rss_opinions

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;