'Betrayed': Forensic science failures undermine justice as labs fail to adopt standards

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Published 5:03 a.m. ET Nov. 18, 2024 | Updated 5:03 a.m. ET Nov. 18, 2024


Kathy Eppler had waited seven years to see the man who murdered her two brothers and sister-in-law be punished for his crimes. Garrett Coughlin was sentenced to life without parole in the triple murder, but failures in a forensic lab contributed to the derailment of her long-sought justice.

A forensic scientist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation manipulated hundreds of DNA test results – including those in the 2017 killings of Eppler's family. So prosecutors offered Coughlin a deal allowing him parole after 24 years. "All of us feel betrayed," Eppler told USA TODAY.

Colorado's crime lab is one of manyacross (sic) the country that have come under fire in recent years as the ripple effects of misconduct and lab errors came to light. Colorado authorities have pledged to review DNA testing practices, but Eppler believes fixing the system will require a complete overhaul of the lab, greater transparency and more outside oversight. "Where the heck's the checks and balances for this? There's nobody regulating," she said.

It has been 15 years since a scathing report blasted scattershot practices at forensic labs across the country, including shoddy analysis of bite marks and blood splatter, and five years since federal researchers began issuing exacting new standards designed to make forensic science more reliable. But only half of the more than 400 largest crime labs across the country have publicly adopted the standards.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/18/forensic-science-crime-lab-police-dna-test/75823347007/

[Irish_Dem]

1. There has been more than enough time for the ethics/laws to catch up to the science.

There is no excuse for this.

[canuckledragger]

2. There is an exuse though, just not a very honest one.

It's about using whatever underhanded means available to crucify and convict innocent people in order to make the LE look good, regardless of actual proof.

It's why junk science like blood splatter, bite marks, lie detectors, etc have lasted so long.

Add to that Law Enforcment scammers like Tracy Harpster, whom founded '911 call analysis' which is used to try and turn 911 emergency callers into criminals based on the listeners bias, etc. with not much recourse for the person accused to dispute it.

It's all about the scammers and what they make from the scam, whether it be selling useless equipment, (Lie detectors) attending paid seminars hosted by the scammmers, (as is how the '911 call analysis gets pushed) etc. They don't care how many innocent people get up in it, they care only about the results that make them look good. ( and justify more taxpayer money funding these crooked schemes.)

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking/caller-killer-911-call-analysis-cant-give-you-right-answer

[Irish_Dem]

3. I work on cold cases as a hobby and have been horrified to read about the 911 call nonsense.

As a trained mental health professional of course some 911 calls raise questions.
But some of the analysis makes no sense and is not based on science.

[canuckledragger]

4. The scammer that started it is pretty sensitive too.

He has a Facebook page, and the only responses I ever get from him are 'Fuck you"

Disclaimer: I ask him questions like, "Does it feel good to railroad innocent people in distress, you piece of shit?"

[Irish_Dem]

5. People in crisis often act in ways considered odd.

Some of it we now know is brain wiring and DNA.
Some of it is learned behavior.

[IbogaProject]

6. I blame the war on drugs is partly to blame

These "labs" are overworked and a lot of the criminal justice sysyem is focused on winning cases rather than having truth adjuicated.

[slightlv]

7. You'd have a hard time convincing me that "truth"

matters in this country on any subject at all... but especially "justice." We supposedly have a system where Justice is paramount... not retaliation and retribution. However, all that's ever considered is how much "punishment" is meted out. Not whether the person is actually innocent or not. I know there's not an easy answer to an adversarial system, but when prosecutors and others are known to withhold truth or exculpatory evidence, there's just something wrong clear down into the fundamentals, IMO.

But I'm still so mad at all the turncoating and voter suppression (if not outright fraud) of this election, that I'm really wanting to see someone give the IOKIYAR excuse when caught... and then push that as far as they can push it. We either have laws or we don't. We don't have laws for one person and not for the other person. And yet, it seems that's exactly where we're at -- even when we're talking about treason.

[electric_blue68]

8. Not CSI TV so much. Shameful