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Forensics (DNA, Ballistics, Arson)

Eric Lander, left, who was just appointed to be President Biden’s science adviser, showing Peter Neufeld, right, who went on to co-found the Innocence Project, how to look at DNA in 1988.
Looking Back January 26, 2021
This Scientist Helped Free the Innocent Using DNA. Now Biden Wants Him in the Cabinet.
Some experts hope Eric Lander, the president’s choice for new science adviser, will crack down on bad forensics in courtrooms.
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Case in Point March 18, 2019
A DNA Test Might Help Exonerate This Man. A Judge Won’t Allow It.
North Carolina judge denies testing in a 1992 murder case, but lawyers want shell casings examined.
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Feature April 19, 2018
Framed for Murder By His Own DNA
We leave traces of our genetic material everywhere, even on things we’ve never touched. That got Lukis Anderson charged with a brutal crime he didn’t commit.
By Katie Worth
Case in Point February 13, 2018
Doesn’t Anyone Want to Know Who Killed Louise Cicelsky?
New York prosecutors object to new DNA testing that might answer questions left unanswered at a murder trial.
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Victor Rosario was convicted in 1983 of starting a fire that killed eight people in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 2014 that conviction was overturned. He is awaiting a prosecutor’s decision about a retrial.
Case in Point August 8, 2017
The Weakest Link Standard
A Massachusetts case suggests a different way of judging evidence.
By
Jose Aguasvivas, pictured with his wife, Honelia, was able to return to the United States after being deported to the Dominican Republic for six years.
News January 18, 2017
24,000 Defendants Get a New Chance at Justice in Drug-Lab Scandal
Some deportees gain, too, but no one knows how many are affected.
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The Texas Forensic Science Commission asked analyst Grant Fredericks to review a surveillance video from a 2008 Texas robbery. His findings showed that the robber, caught in the surveillance video, was much shorter than the man convicted of the crime.
News December 12, 2016
Was the Robber 6-foot-3 or 5-foot-6?
Testing the reliability of video analysis.
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Feature October 6, 2016
This Machine Could Prevent Gun Violence — If Only Cops Used It
A system that can link gun crimes through shell casings is hobbled by skepticism and lack of manpower.
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Case in Point September 26, 2016
The DNA Tests That Came Too Late to Save Two Men
Percell Warren and Nathaniel Epps died while fighting a rape conviction — but their battle still goes on.
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News February 25, 2016
Listen to Our First Collaboration with “This American Life”
“An Anatomy of Doubt,” a young woman’s story of rape and redemption, debuts Friday.
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