Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Flawed bite-mark evidence: Bulletin: Radley Balko lays out developments related to this much maligned - and rightly so - forensic discipline, for lack of a better word, in his Washington Post account of the "most-read posts, series, favorite posts and reactions to headlines from the world of criminal justice and civil liberties in 2016, in his worthy column "The Watch."



POST: "It’s the last week of the year. So in keeping with Internet tradition, here’s a look back at 2016 here at The Watch, including most-read posts, series, favorite posts and reactions to headlines from the world of criminal justice and civil liberties..."Lots of news from the world of bite marks: Disgraced bite-mark expert Michael West lost his mind during a deposition for a death penalty case (and afterward, Mississippi officials not only defended West, they also bizarrely attacked the defendant’s attorneys). The Texas Forensic Science Commission recommended a moratorium on bite mark evidence. Manhattan prosecutor (and defender of bite mark matching) Melissa Mourges conceded defeat (sort of). Meanwhile, there were more exonerations and, somehow, still more cases in which bite mark evidence was upheld by the court."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2016/12/28/the-watch-year-in-review/?utm_term=.f0af9492b150