Post by Lily on Oct 17, 2012 16:53:48 GMT -5
"There is a startling gap between the glamorous television world of CSI and the gritty reality of the forensic crime lab. With few established scientific standards, no central oversight, and poor regulation of examiners, forensics in the U.S. is in a state of crisis.
In "Forensics on Trial", NOVA investigates how modern forensics, including the analysis of fingerprints, bite marks, ballistics, hair, and tool marks, can send innocent men and women to prison and sometimes even to death row. Shockingly, of more than 250 inmates exonerated by DNA testing over the last decade, more than 50 percent of the wrongful convictions stemmed from invalid or improperly handled forensic science.
With the help of vivid recreations of actual trials and cases, NOVA will investigate today's shaky state of crime science as well as cutting-edge solutions that could help investigators put the real criminals behind bars."
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/forensics-on-trial.html
This is chilling. This type of evidence has been regarded as the Holy Grail for decades. And one good thing OJ's media circus trial did, is showed how evidence is often mishandled.
It is often misinterpreted as well. Men were wrongfully convicted in England for an IRA bombing, which took place while they were playing cards. An "expert" testified that there was traces of gunpowder underneath their nails. Years later it was discovered that handling playing cards can result in this same sort of substance. They were freed, of course, but not until they'd spend almost 20 years behind bars.
In "Forensics on Trial", NOVA investigates how modern forensics, including the analysis of fingerprints, bite marks, ballistics, hair, and tool marks, can send innocent men and women to prison and sometimes even to death row. Shockingly, of more than 250 inmates exonerated by DNA testing over the last decade, more than 50 percent of the wrongful convictions stemmed from invalid or improperly handled forensic science.
With the help of vivid recreations of actual trials and cases, NOVA will investigate today's shaky state of crime science as well as cutting-edge solutions that could help investigators put the real criminals behind bars."
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/forensics-on-trial.html
This is chilling. This type of evidence has been regarded as the Holy Grail for decades. And one good thing OJ's media circus trial did, is showed how evidence is often mishandled.
It is often misinterpreted as well. Men were wrongfully convicted in England for an IRA bombing, which took place while they were playing cards. An "expert" testified that there was traces of gunpowder underneath their nails. Years later it was discovered that handling playing cards can result in this same sort of substance. They were freed, of course, but not until they'd spend almost 20 years behind bars.