Crime Labs Revisited – More Reason for Skepticism
An earlier post, CSI Vermont, urged skepticism regarding conclusions of forensics laboratories and mentioned the previous inquiry into the operations of the FBI lab. Apparently the FBI learned nothing. Following a joint investigation, 60 Minutes and the Washington Post reported the FBI’s use of bullet lead analysis to tie crime bullets to a specific box of (usually 50 handgun or 20 rifle) cartridges was junk science, as concluded by the National Science Foundation. The Post has a nice, layman’s description of the problem.
Confronted with this finding the FBI did not come clean, but rather sent out a letter to lawyers that the agency planned to stop reliance on bullet lead analysis, even though the agency “still firmly supports the scientific foundation of” the test, the same scientific foundation that had been discredited by the NSF study. Beware.
Comment from Tom B
Date: December 27, 2007, 10:08 pm
How is it possible that this junk science was the basis for criminal convictions for three decades? Thanks for doing your part to keep the people informed. Awesome blog. Keep up the good work.