It's Not Like CSI
Forensic science got a big shot in the arm from the CSI shows, and even shows like NCIS present forensic scientists in a way that doubtless has encouraged a lot of people to go into that line of work. But there are grubby aspects to how the FBI's forensic scientists went about their work detailed in this 1997 report from the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, examining the allegations by Frederic Whitehurst, who worked for the FBI. The FBI's analytical work and testimony under oath in a number of high profile cases was at flawed--and in some cases, a bit more than flawed--is detailed in this report. They aren't prepared to admit that it changed the results of any trials--but it creeps me out how many of these cases were capital crimes.
In case you were wondering: I was looking for data on Presidential assassination attempts for a Shotgun News article that I was writing, and ran into this report.
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