It would seem Congress has finally taken up hearings on the NAS report written months ago. Congress seemed to agree to allocate more funds for training, research in the field, and federal standards should be created for labs and analysts.
They didn’t agree on setting up a federal agency.
…the federal government shouldn’t “try to micromanage every burglary, robbery and rape case” in America.
Also there was testimony from Peter Neufeld:
Peter Neufeld, director of the Innocence Project, introduced a guest: Roy Brown, who was convicted of murder based largely on testimony from a forensic dentist
Once again, crime laboratories don’t employ dentists. The use of a “forensic dentist” was most likely something the prosecutor did in order to help them win their case.
The article also underscored a lack of understanding of forensic science, and its relevant organizations:
He noted that one in five labs does not meet accreditation standards set by the National Academy of Crime Lab Directors. “We cannot allow these nationwide deficiencies in forensic sciences to continue,” Leahy [committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT)] said.
There is no National Academy of Crime Lab Directors. But perhaps the most laughable contribution to the article was the fact that NPR found comic-turned-politician Al Franken quotable:
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) called the report’s conclusions “damning” and “terrifying.”
Al Franken (D-MN) (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)
I guess Senator Franken hasn’t given up his “day job.”
Read the whole NPR report on the Congressional hearings on the NAS forensic report here.
