From Human Rights Defense Center:
Instead of subjective personal experiences, a new report by experts urges prosecutors and forensic experts to rely more on hard data and statistics to back evidence in a criminal case. A defendant’s life might rely on it. Literally.
“If you’re overstating or understating the value of the evidence, there are several harms that can occur,” said Hal Stern, vice chairman of the American Statistical Association (“ASA”) Advisory Committee on Forensic Science. Concerns about the use of forensic evidence, such as shoe prints, bite marks, fingerprints, and hairs and fibers, which have contributed to numerous documented wrongful convictions, prompted the ASA to issue a report pushing for more reliance on stats and data, rather than assumptions based on past practice.
“Forensic practitioners are well-meaning,” Stern said. But, “they’re trying to assess the relevance or value of that evidence for prosecuting a crime.” Continue reading >>>
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