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Two years after Michael
Bromwich was hired to lead an independent review of Houston’s
Crime Lab, the former U.S. Justice Department inspector issued
his
final report and recommendations. The Bromwich investigation
covered a 25-year period, included more than 100 interviews, and
involved the review of more than 3,500 forensic science cases
analyzed by the Lab.
The investigation was prompted by a public outcry following an
investigative media report in the Fall of 2002 which identified
significant discrepancies. Findings over the course of the
investigation led to the release of two men from prison, one who
had served 17 years for a rape that new forensic tests show he
did not commit.
The final report was specifically critical of the Lab’s DNA and
serology testing, citing hundreds of "serious and pervasive"
flaws in forensic cases ranging from poor documentation to
serious analytical and interpretive errors that resulted in
highly questionable results being reported by the Lab.
Bromwich found that the data was “frequently accompanied by
inaccurate and misleading statistics, that often suggested a
strength of association between a suspect and the evidence that
simply was not supported by the analyst’s actual DNA results.
Despite all these problems, the Crime Lab continued for a full
decade to perform DNA work under conditions that made the risk
of an injustice intolerably high.”
The investigation revealed that of the 135 sample DNA cases
analyzed by the crime lab between 1992 and 2002, 43 or nearly
one-third had "major issues." “The crime lab's substandard,
unreliable serology and DNA work is all the more alarming in
light of the fact that it is typically performed in the most
serious cases, such as homicides and sexual assaults," the
report stated. “Although most of the DNA results reported by the
Crime Lab have been confirmed in some fashion by independent
testing, 52 cases have not been, and, after more than four years
of re-testing, many of them probably will never be,” the report
added.
Problems at the Crime Lab were attributed to poor training and
supervision of employees as well as underfunding from the City
and Police Department as the workload grew substantially. While
the report concluded that many of the problems have been
eliminated, Bromwich recommended that a special master be
appointed to review 180 blood-analysis cases from the 1980s and
early 1990s involving convicts now in prison. This proposal was
rejected outright by Houston Mayor Bill White, Police Chief
Harold Hurtt and Harris County District Attorney, according to
the Associated Press.
The Police Department increased the crime lab's budget to $7.66
million in 2006, according to the Associated Press, more than
double its funding from earlier in the decade. There are new
supervisors in place, standard operating procedures have been
rewritten and morale has improved among a new crop of forensic
analysts, the report said.
Sources:
“Final
Report of the Independent Investigator for the Houston Police
Department Crime Laboratory and Property Room,” June 13,
2007.
“Houston Rejects Crime Lab Recommendation,” Associated Press,
June 14, 2007.
The official website of the Independent Investigator for the
Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory:
http://www.hpdlabinvestigation.org
“Independent
Probe Highlights Major Deficiencies at Houston Crime Lab,”
SATI e-News, January 2006.
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