Misapplied forensic science is frequently a contributing factor to wrongful conviction.
“Misapplication” covers a range of failures, not just outright fraud.
A 2016 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) reviewed the evidence behind commonly used forensic disciplines and called for stronger validation standards and better judicial training.
45%
of DNA exoneration cases involved misapplied forensic science.
Some forensic disciplines, like bite mark comparison, have never been shown to produce consistently accurate results.
A method may be sound in theory but untested at the scale needed to trust it in court.
Experts sometimes overstate how significant a match really is, or omit a method’s known error rate.
Mixed-up samples or contaminated specimens, even in well-run labs.
In rare but damaging cases, analysts have fabricated results outright.
All forensic labs should be reviewed regularly by an external agency, with licensed technicians.
State panels to review accepted forensic methods and investigate misconduct or negligence.
Many states accept federal Coverdell forensic science funding without complying with its built-in independent-investigation requirement.
Because forensic errors are often only discovered years later, inmates need a real path to testing that can confirm guilt or prove innocence. An effective law should:
Florida permits anyone convicted of a felony at trial to apply for post-conviction DNA testing at any time; those who pled guilty before July 1, 2006 may also apply, with more limited circumstances for pleas after that date. (Effective 2001; amended 2006.)
