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In The News

2016-11-28 | After lab closure, daunting questions on DNA-based convictions remain
The shuttering of the Austin Police Department’s forensics lab after an audit found unscientific protocols and contamination of evidence has delayed pending cases and led to a debate about how the lab should be operated. Now, the Travis County district attorney’s office is faced with another chunk of the problem: Figuring out how many cases were resolved using possibly bad DNA evidence.

2016-11-28 | Debate rages over quality of science in crime labs
In 1992, a jury convicted the Air Force veteran, who had no previous criminal record, in a three-day trial and sentenced him to die. He spent more than a decade in prison, including three years on death row, until DNA testing proved his innocence and pointed to the real killer in 2002. “They were going to kill me using this junk bite-mark science,” said Krone, 59, who now lives in Tennessee. “The system is set up so that mistakes will be made. That’s why it’s beyond important for scientists to make sure what they are saying about evidence is true and can be backed up with scientific proof, not guess work. You guess wrong and people can die or lose chunks of their life behind bars.”

2016-11-23 | Nearly 9 In 10 Crime Labs Were Accredited In 2014, Up From 2002
At the end of 2014, 88 percent of the nation's 409 publicly funded forensic crime laboratories were accredited by a professional forensic science organization, which was up from 82 percent at yearend 2009 and 70 percent at yearend 2002, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board, International, was the most common type of accreditation in 2014.

2016-11-21 | 20K DWI cases up in the air after officer accused of records tampering. What's next?
Officials from the state Division of Criminal Justice, which brought the charges against Dennis, said in correspondence obtained through a public records request that the temperature check — while legally required under a decision known as State v. Chun — is not scientifically necessary.

2016-11-21 | In a National First, HFSC Begins Blind Testing in DNA, Latent Prints
The blind testing program goes beyond the demands of accreditation, which require analysts to undergo periodic proficiency testing. In every crime lab in the nation, however, analysts know when they are taking a proficiency test. Under HFSC’s blind testing program analysts in five sections do not know whether they are performing real casework or simply taking a test. The test materials are introduced into the workflow and arrive at the laboratory in the same manner as all other evidence and casework.

2016-11-20 | How to keep up with the scientific literature
Few aspects of scientific work may be as crucial—and yet as easy to neglect—as reading the literature. Beginning a new research project or writing a grant application can be good opportunities for extensive literature searches, but carving out time to keep abreast of newly published papers on a regular basis is often challenging. The task is all the more daunting today, with the already vast literature continuing to grow at head-spinning speed.

2016-11-16 | New plan to fix Austin’s DNA Lab after closure due to widespread issues
In a letter obtained by KXAN, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt carefully explains to the legal community, including the incoming district attorney and sheriff, the “major downstream effect” caused by the problems uncovered at the Austin Police Department’s DNA lab. The widespread issues at the crime lab led to its closure in June.

2016-11-14 | ‘Junk science’ law exonerates woman of murder
Later evidence found the toxicologist’s report was faulty and that the fire was started accidentally. Cacy was released from prison on parole, but was never exonerated and had to report to a parole officer once a month for 17 years.

2016-11-07 | State Crime Lab improving, but police still need to fill gaps
The State Crime Lab economizes in some ways. Starting last year, the lab suspended a long list of services like testing guns used in suicides. It also tests just enough evidence. In the recent conviction of Rontel Royster for cocaine trafficking, for instance, there were several large bags of white powder. The lab tested enough to meet the legal standard for trafficking. The rest of it, Royster’s lawyer could claim, was just untested white powder. “When the lab does not test some of the evidence, it looks like a shoddy investigation,” Johnson said.

2016-11-03 | Questions about ex-BCI scientist may cast doubt on convictions
Their concerns included that she presented evidence in the best light for prosecutors instead of objectively, used suspect methods while examining trace evidence from some crime scenes, and made mistakes that, as one former attorney general put it, “could lead to a substantial miscarriage of justice.”