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They never said we wouldn’t get our hair mussed

They never said we wouldn’t get our hair mussed

by digby

Hey, it’s not really that many innocent people on death row, right?

A review of death penalty convictions by the federal government has turned up 27 instances in which “exaggerated scientific testimony” from FBI forensics experts may have played a role. It’s unclear how many times such testimony led to false convictions or could nullify correct convictions the Washington Post reports. However the assessment did lead to a last minute stay of execution in May.

The testimony is the “once-widespread practice” where experts said that hair found at crime scenes could be used to identify suspects:

Since at least the 1970s, written FBI Laboratory reports typically stated that a hair association could not be used as positive identification. However, on the witness stand, several agents for years went beyond the science and testified that their hair analysis was a near-certain match.

A college professor told me many years ago that we needed the death penalty and that we just have to accept that a few innocent people were going to be killed along with the guilty.  And I guess we must have. Because no sentient being can possibly believe that our justice system only convicts guilty people. It’s ridiculous on its face.

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