Following revelations the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent
innocent people to prison using flawed hair forensics, Massachusetts is
launching its own review of cases to see if state crime lab technicians
made similar errors. "I
think it is quite possible that innocent people are in prison due to
flawed forensic testimony that came out of the Massachusetts State
Police Crime lab," said Lisa Kavanaugh of the Massachusetts Committee on
Public Counsel Services. The plan, revealed first to 5
Investigates, is for the Massachusetts State Police to analyze cases
between 1980 and 2000, before the advent of modern DNA testing, where
the state used microscopic hair analysis to help win convictions. Cases
where the hair analysis was used would then be reviewed by prosecutors
together with the state's public defender's office and the Innocence
Project. So far the Suffolk and Middlesex DA's office have agreed to
review cases with defense attorneys.
http://m.wcvb.com/news/state-launching-review-of-convictions-to-find-faulty-hair-forensics/33031382