PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Wuensch denied intentionally altering or deleting data, attributing any discrepancies to potential mistakes in using Excel, the release stated. “After a comprehensive review of all the evidence and circumstances, it is clear that the anomalies found in Ms. Wuensch’s work do not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges,” Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke stated in the release. “The evidence does not support a finding of criminal intent, and therefore, it would be inappropriate to pursue charges in this matter.”
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STORY: "Weld County will not criminally charge forensic scientist over anomalies in DNA casework", The Denver Post, (Reporter Lauren Penington) reports, on June 13, 2024.
SUB-HEADING: "An internal review of Chiara Wuensch’s work revealed only five anomalies among thousands of DNA entries."
The Weld County District Attorney’s Office will not file charges against a former forensic scientist with the sheriff’s office over anomalies discovered in her DNA casework, officials announced Thursday.
Chiara Wuensch was fired from the Weld County Sheriff’s Office in March after
At the time, the sheriff’s office said they planned to pursue criminal charges against Wuensch over the problems with her work, but the Weld County DA said Thursday that was not the case.
“A review of Ms. Wuensch’s work revealed only five anomalies among thousands of DNA data entries,” the DA stated in a news release.
The abnormalities fell into three categories: the alleged deletion of data indicating a small amount of male DNA, the alleged addition of the word “undetermined” to a cell in a spreadsheet and the alleged alteration of values related to potential contamination, according to the release.
Wuensch denied intentionally altering or deleting data, attributing any discrepancies to potential mistakes in using Excel, the release stated. “After a comprehensive review of all the evidence and circumstances, it is clear that the anomalies found in Ms. Wuensch’s work do not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges,” Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke stated in the release. “The evidence does not support a finding of criminal intent, and therefore, it would be inappropriate to pursue charges in this matter.”
According to the DA’s office, the anomalies could be seen as intentional acts to avoid additional work and testing required by CBI’s standard procedures.
However, there was no reason for Wuensch to intentionally change the data, as she still performed the extra DNA amplification required by those procedures, the DA’s office said.
CBI agreed, confirming the anomalies did not impact any DNA identification or elimination in criminal cases, the release stated."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.denverpost.com/2024/06/13/weld-county-forensic-scientist-no-charges-chiara-wuensch/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
---------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
————————————————————————————
YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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