You know that a local scandal has hit the big-time when the New York Times finally notices it.
This NY Times article reports on the embarrassing scandal involving Houston’s Crime Laboratory, which was already relling from the requirement that it retest evidence that it provided in 360 cases, now faces a much larger crisis that could involve many thousands of cases over 25 years. In a report to be filed in a Houston state court on Thursday, six independent forensic scientists said that a crime laboratory officials — because they either lacked basic knowledge of blood typing or gave false testimony — may have offered “false and scientifically unsound” reports and testimony in thousands of criminal cases. The panel called for a comprehensive audit spanning decades to re-examine the results of a broad array of rudimentary tests on blood, semen and other bodily fluids.
Elizabeth A. Johnson, a former director of the DNA laboratory at the Harris County medical examiner’s office in Houston, estimated for the Times article that a conservative number of re-examinations required by the report would probably be 5,000 to 10,000 cases, but if cases involving examination of hair are added, the number of required re-examinations would be “off the board.”
A state audit of the crime laboratory dated December 2002 found that DNA technicians there misinterpreted data, were poorly trained, and kept shoddy records. In many cases, the technicians used up all available evidence, making it impossible for defense experts to refute or verify their results. Even the laboratory’s building was a mess, with a leaky roof contaminating evidence. The DNA unit was shut down soon afterward, and it remains closed.
What a mess. Stay tuned for more.