famous cases where evidence was mishandled

In the meantime, the criminal justice system will be left to clean up the countless messes caused by a single person with too much incentive to lie and too little oversight. Erdmann also testified about the forensic examination of a 14-year-olds brain, but when the body was exhumed, police discovered that the skull had never been cut open. The government has since identified nearly 3,000 cases for review, based on questionable hair analysis testimony.[8]. A Question of Character Even their spouses seemed to tolerate the affair, until the night that Edward and Eleanor were found murdered near Lovers Lane. In 2006, he faked DNA evidence that was used to solve the murder of Jessica OGrady. A criminalist collects, documents, preserves, and examines the physical evidence at a crime scene, which could be something as huge as a bus, or as tiny as a pollen grain; criminologists, on the other hand, study why crimes occur, how they can be prevented, and the effects they have on a society. One of the few witnesses brave enough to testify against Mrs. Hall was Jane Gibson, a swine herder who became known as the Pig Lady in the press. On May 3, 2007, 3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family's vacation apartment in Praia da Luz, in southwest Portugal. Machine Gun Kelly George "Machine Gun" Kelly was a notorious criminal during the Prohibition era, taking part in bootlegging, kidnapping and armed robbery. B efore he became a true-crime celebrity, forensic scientist Henry Lee took the stand at a wildly bloody murder trial in Connecticut. Guede was given a 16-year sentence after a plea bargain. Forensic analyst James Bolding demonstrated overwhelming incompetence and willful dishonesty in his work, appearing not to grasp even the basics of blood sample analysis, while providing courtroom testimony that wrongfully imprisoned men like George Rodriguez, who languished behind bars for 17 years for a rape he didnt commit, and Josiah Sutton, who was wrongly incarcerated for four years. Rachelle Jackson. It will depend on the judge and whether the mishandled components are enough to throw out the case. For example, the Innocence Project aims to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. Founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, it has helped to free 350 people on DNA evidence and identified 149 alternative perpetrators as of June 2017. Over the course of this three-year period, Coleman-Farrow not only neglected to interview suspects, but also forged victim statements, allowed video evidence to remain untouched, and failed to bring forensic evidence to the proper channels. Jurors, infuriated by evidence of racism within the LAPD, questioned whether the missing blood was a result of planted evidence on the part of the detectives. When she testified on the witness stand to voice her certainty of a defendants guilt in a drug case, no one suspected that she was sometimes adding cocaine to evidence samples to produce incriminating results. Eleanors tongue had been removed, a horrifying insult to her love of singing. Joseph Sledge, for example, served 36 years for a crime in North Carolina, but he could have been out decades earlier if police hadnt misplaced evidence from his trial. H.E. The Ford Heights Fourall black menwere tried by an all-white jury. Filomena Romanelli, the third roommate, returned home following a phone conversation with Knox. Simpsons Bronco truck, his driveway, the foyer of his home, and his bedroom. The murder victim, Raveesh Kumra, was a 66-year-old investor who lived in Monte Sereno, a Silicon Valley enclave 10 miles and many socioeconomic rungs away. Throughout the investigation, there were issues with how evidence was secured. The new figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal the total number of people whose trials have ended or the charges against them dropped due to a failure to disclose evidence . And, from what is known, its clear that Zains dissembling reach was tremendous. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. How many innocent people are serving sentences for crimes they didnt commit? March is National Criminal Justice Month. Even before the shoddy evidence testing began, samples were often contaminated via a leaky roof. During the trial, all of the missteps of the forensic team came to light, including the possibility of evidence tampering (and obvious evidence mishandling), as well as the glaring absence of evidence security. On June 13, 1994, the bodies of Ron Goldman and the ex-wife of OJ Simpson, Nicole Brown, were found outside of Browns home. Dubbed "The Phantom of Heilbronn," the anonymous woman's genetic material was detected at the scene of more than forty crimes over a two-decade period. According to an examiners study, at least 90 percent of trial transcripts in their Microscopic Hair Comparison Analysis Review contained erroneous statements. The newer mitochondrial testing of hair is more expensive, but it does exactly match hair to a suspect through DNA. They added that a trace of Sollecito's DNA on Kercher's bra clip, the vital piece of evidence linking him to the murder scene, could have got there by contamination, as the defence team said at the trial. The defense team stated that EDTA was found in the samples of blood that were collected at the crime scene. One can only hope that, in time, his legacy will evolve into one of wrongs righted by a wiser justice system, rather than the virulent injustices he authored. Lauren. Cameron Todd Willingham Simpson that led to his acquittal? In hindsight, one might characterize the scandal as a logical offshoot of the very system which condemns its criminality. As a private contractor, he performed more than 3,000 autopsies in 41 jurisdictions spread out over West Texas. Ironically, the work of a man determined to secure criminal convictions, regardless of innocence, may allow an apparently guilty man to go free. When his son failed to respond, he called 911. 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Cases involving computer forensics that made the news. This blatant falsification of a crime report, the IPCC found, was part of a concerted effort by senior officials in the Sapphire unit to improve the rate of solved rape cases in part by recording a higher number of non-offenses. An investigation revealed that Dookhan had been dry labbing many of her assignmentsreporting results without performing the actual tests! Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. On November 2, 2007, American college student Amanda Knox returned to her flat in Perugia, Italy. [10] No one can say for certain how many innocent prisoners have been executed, died in prison, or served time for crimes that they did not commit. When asked if he had falsified police reports or planted evidence in the Simpson case, he invoked his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Among those convicted on fraudulent evidence are 32 defendants sentenced to death, 14 of whom have either died in prison or already been executed. When the prosecution presented hairs found in the back of Williamss car, Podlecki claimed they were consistent with the victims. The mistakes of a single unidentified lab technician forced the New York medical examiners office to review 843 rape cases for DNA evidence which could have been improperly processed. Both Kercher and her American flatmate, Knox, were studying at the time at Perugia's University for Foreigners. With the crime scene ransacked, the only fingerprint compromised, and most of the witnesses missing, this simple case ended up becoming a huge forensic fail for the prosecution.[1]. But, according to law enforcement, those drugs were being used to pay informants for information that would lead to major arrests in a case of noble cause corruption. Three years later, the public was blindsided by the news that the tale of evil woven by New Yorks finest was also a cover for the intentional arrest of innocent people. (Evans, 2003) A two-day appeal hearing which was due to take place next month has now been put. The bulk of Lowrys offenses entailed checking out drugs stored at the FBI lab as trial evidence, and returning them with altered weights after days, and sometimes months, of delay. A graduate of West Virginia State College, Zain had only managed to pass some of his chemistry courses by the skin of his teeth, while utterly failing in others. The grim implications of such a callous disregard for the law were clear: In order to improve the Sapphire units image, these three men were willing to deny victims justice and permit violent predators to roam free among the vulnerable. The multitude of forensic science scholarships available to students is a testament to the viability of this academic profession, demonstrating promise within the field. Forensic scientists can be part of the solution. Lowrys unchecked indiscretions fly in the face of claims that the FBI has a rigorous drug testing policy and raise numerous questions about why the length of time he held onto evidence wasnt questioned, ultimately implicating the FBI as an irresponsible actor. Jimerson was not initially convicted because Gray had withdrawn her testimony, although she later testified against him in a plea deal with the prosecutors and he was sentenced to death. Conspiracy theorists helped spread the rumor that a racist cop had killed both Nicole and Ron to frame O.J. You can get free samples of her books here or watch free tarot videos on her YouTube channel here. In 2015, the FBI admitted to decades of relying on faulty hair analysis in trials, a grave error in criminal proceedings. The dropped charges. 1. In the face of brazen inaction by Scotland Yards sex crimes investigators, a drastic rejiggering of the force followed. All of this compelling evidence was called into question by mishandling of a comparison sample of O.J.s blood, which wasnt immediately turned over for processing by the police. If evidence with Simpsons blood showed traces of EDTA, the defense claimed, then that blood had to have come from the lab, which meant that it was planted. We. The person who drew the blood could only guess he had taken 8 mL; only 6 mL could be accounted for by the LAPD. Key pieces of evidence left by the killer were passed around by reporters. The Austin Police Department, for example, stores at least 600,000 items, with approximately 60,000 new pieces of evidence being processed each year. Dookhan was indicted on 27 charges, including obstruction of justice for tampering with evidence, perjury, and even falsifying her university degree. But, in truth, the lab had been plagued by corruption long before those thefts ever occurred. Gerald M. LaPorte Westend61, Getty Images (see reuse policy). Police misconduct is any action done by a police officer that is illegal, inappropriate, or against police policies. had been cut on his left hand, and Nicoles fresh blood was found on his socks. Oscar Pistorius' defence team accused a South African police photographer of mishandling the crime scene during day 12 of his trial in Pretoria. California O.C. Boney ultimately claimed it was Camm who murdered the family. Camm was charged once againthis time as a co-conspirator with Boney. [7] More than 400 terrorist investigations may have been compromised by evidence lost in the fires. Securing the Evidence For people seeking careers that are simultaneously challenging, meaningful, and exciting, it is tough to beat becoming a crime scene technician. A press release given by the FBI in 2015 revealed one of the biggest fails in forensic science history. The victims were from one jurisdiction, but their bodies were found in another, leading to disagreements about which department should collect the forensic evidence. While some of those men were exonerated, the exact number of cases influenced by Zain is unknowable. In January 2014mere weeks after the world welcomed a new year with celebratory optimismprosecutors throughout Delaware faced a legal nightmare that would haunt the foreseeable future. From the beginning, there were issues involving evidence collection. However, EDTA is also a chemical found naturally in human blood and chemicals such as paint. A sixth officer, situated in Troop F, had long known the other five perpetrators and undoubtedly shared in their criminal nonchalance, even planting evidence in one instance where a conviction would have been secured without it. Understanding Forensic Science The defense noted several items that had gone missing, including a vial of blood from OJ Simpson. In addition to spending more than two years in prison for his misdeeds, Kofoed was slapped with a lawsuit for playing God with Sampsons and Liverss lives. The first point in every trial, is to establish the facts of the case; for he who fails in his proof, fails in everything. The discovery is the latest twist in one of New York's most famous cold cases, and it also revealed a major flaw in the way that evidence can be mishandled by one of the most prestigious police departments in the world. Both Knox and Sollecito were arrested and charged with Kerchers murder due to trace amounts of Knoxs DNA found on the kitchen knifethe presumed murder weaponand Sollecitos DNA found on Kerchers bra clasp. The expert's affidavit merely referenced to a homepage link and did not specify nor attach any webpage to be presented as exhibits. Forensic data storage is also a problem. In the state of Texas, Americas death penalty capital, forensic analysts weighing in on cases of rape and murder literally tip the scales in favor of life or death for a defendant. She could pass through borders with no apparent problems and was linked crimes in at least three countries. Meanwhile, trees, grass, and rocks from the area were snatched up by onlookers to be sold as souvenirs of the tragic slaying. In 2014, a group of police officers was apprehended after executing a vicious extortion plot that involved kidnapping, threats, and even holding criminal suspects out of windows. But, when an agent like Matthew Lowry is caught getting high on heroin that he stole from an FBI crime lab, that credence suffers greatly. But, like so many corruption cases, Lowrys greatest crime may not be one which exists on any US law book. Justice Kennedy, with whom The Chief Justice, Jus tice White and Justice Blackmun join, dissenting. With the rate of laboratory malfeasance far outpacing the capacity of authorities to address it, we may never fully ascertain just how many lives were ruined or potentially lost thanks to the Houston Police Departments forensic infractions. William A. As the search continues for missing Hampton 4-year-old Codi Bigsby after he was reported missing two weeks ago, Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot revealed on Monday that his department mishandled the case by not honoring Codi's father's request for legal representation. Erdmann pleaded no contest to seven felonies regarding false evidence and botched autopsies. In the months that followed, investigators revealed a pattern of malfeasance and unprofessionalism that would tax and tarnish Delawares criminal proceedings. grimm's geometric stacker famous cases where evidence was mishandled It began during the trial of a suspected Oxycontin dealer, when the court discovered that confiscated drugs had vanished and been replaced with heart medication. The role of the jury is to listen to both sides of the case (prosecutor and defense). Updated on May 25, 2022 When a person goes to trial for a crime, he or she is represented by a criminal defense attorney. A state forensic analyst claimed that Camms t-shirt had been stained with the wifes blood in patterns suggesting he was the perpetrator. Hearn said Pinholster, 58, is the only known example of evidence destruction in a case of a living death row inmate convicted in L.A. County. Manuel Vasquez, a state deputy fire marshall, took the stand and testified to seeing puddle configurations (i.e., areas of rapid burning) suggesting the use of accelerants in the fire and indicating arson. The FBI fries the big fish of the criminal world, relying on resources that exceed the capacities of local law enforcement. Method used to test air for decomposition made its courtroom debut in this trial. Coupled with confessions from the murderers and DNA evidence, Williams, Adams, Rainge, and Jimerson were finally exonerated after 17 years in prison. With examples of misconduct extending into the 1980s, the Houston crime lab precipitated a lengthy reign of errors that has led to two mandatory shutdowns. Erroneous convictions can have immeasurable consequences for exonerees, original crime victims, and families. But a small number of cases around the country have . Advocates from the Innocence Project are now working with the Department of Justice to develop a set of evidence storage guidelines that will hopefully be standardized across the nation in the future.[6]. The judge made some good points and some that made it obvious that they aren't tech savvy but still a good read. And, in another case of negligence, Callery failed to fire a chemist who had failed required proficiency tests. IDAHO, PETITIONER v. LAURA LEE WRIGHT. To add to the problem, the blood was not immediately turned over as evidence but was carried around for several hours before it was entered into the chain of custody, allowing for speculation of when and how the 1.5 mL of blood may have disappeared. California. 6 captivating court cases that had Americans glued to their screens 1. Two Rome University professors said there was no certainty that traces of DNA, found on a knife allegedly used in the murder, belonged to Kercher. 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Wildly bloody murder trial in Connecticut innocent people are serving sentences for crimes they didnt commit local law enforcement had! Horrifying insult to her flat in Perugia, Italy can have immeasurable consequences for exonerees original! Of malfeasance and unprofessionalism that would tax and tarnish Delawares criminal proceedings failed required proficiency.... Was charged once againthis time as a private contractor, he faked DNA evidence that was used to the. Thefts ever occurred which condemns its criminality in the back of Williamss car, claimed! The Chief justice, Jus tice White and justice Blackmun join, dissenting release given by FBI... The killer were passed around by reporters Amendment rights against self-incrimination join, dissenting,... Enough to throw out the case month has now been put join, dissenting through DNA the that. Missing, including a vial of blood from OJ Simpson was often.! 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