QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Emma Mclean-Riggs, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Colorado, previously said that "this misconduct brings CBI's entire forensic operation into question, and a thorough, independent audit, followed by full disclosure of the results to stakeholders and the public is essential."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Groups like the ACLU and the Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado's Law School, as well as several defense attorneys in Colorado, have also called for a transparent and independent audit of cases Woods worked with or may have impacted. A number of cases.
STORY: "Former Colorado DNA analyst accused of manipulating data pleads not guilty, trial date set," by Reporter Austen Erblat, published by CBS Colorado, on February 11, 2026. (Austen Erblat is a digital producer and assignment editor at CBS News Colorado and is Covering Colorado First. Originally from South Florida, he's been working as a journalist in Denver since 2022.)
GIST: Yvonne "Missy" Woods, a former DNA analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the 102 charges she's facing related to allegedly mishandling or manipulating data in dozens of criminal investigations.
Woods, 65, was charged in Jefferson County Court in January 2025 and posted a $50,000 cash or surety bond the day after her first appearance. She's been charged with the following:
- 52 counts of forging of government-issued documents
- 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant
- 1 count of first-degree perjury
- 1 count of cybercrime
Woods and her attorney declined to comment on the case for CBS News Colorado on Wednesday.
CBI says it launched an investigation into over 1,000 cases in which Woods had some sort of involvement. The agency said it looked at cases from 1994 to 2023, when she was placed on administrative leave and then retired.
In a 35-page arrest affidavit, investigators said Woods intentionally left DNA samples out of tests or reports and sometimes would test samples until the results showed what she wanted. CBI asked the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation to conduct an outside investigation into the case since it involved one of its own employees.
Groups like the ACLU and the Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado's Law School, as well as several defense attorneys in Colorado, have also called for a transparent and independent audit of cases Woods worked with or may have impacted. A number of cases she was involved with have already been challenged.
Emma Mclean-Riggs, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Colorado, previously said that "this misconduct brings CBI's entire forensic operation into question, and a thorough, independent audit, followed by full disclosure of the results to stakeholders and the public is essential."
A five-week trial was set to begin on Sept. 24. She's due back in court on Aug. 27 for a status hearing.'
The entire story can be read at:
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 AMFINAL 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 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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