[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/faulty-science-resulted-in-flawed-conviction-of-dallas-man-for-double-murders\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/faulty-science-resulted-in-flawed-conviction-of-dallas-man-for-double-murders\/","headline":"Faulty Science Resulted in Flawed Conviction of Dallas Man for Double Murders","name":"Faulty Science Resulted in Flawed Conviction of Dallas Man for Double Murders","description":"Many forensic science methods used for years to convict people of serious crimes have unraveled under closer scrutiny. Bite mark evidence was used to secure scores of convictions before it was debunked as junk science in 2016. In December, the state\u2019s highest criminal court declared a Texas man innocent of two murders he served more...","datePublished":"2019-01-03","dateModified":"2022-08-31","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/author\/kissprblog\/#Person","name":"Broden & Mickelsen, LLP","url":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/author\/kissprblog\/","identifier":11,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd70e3cfe21ebfb97a169f95da73c8b9fdb6accce8b9ecb2173146feb882a8ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd70e3cfe21ebfb97a169f95da73c8b9fdb6accce8b9ecb2173146feb882a8ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Broden, Mickelsen LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Broden-and-Mickelsen-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Broden-and-Mickelsen-Logo.png","width":378,"height":77}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/faulty-science-resulted-in-flawed-conviction-of-dallas-man-for-double-murders.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/faulty-science-resulted-in-flawed-conviction-of-dallas-man-for-double-murders.jpg","height":194,"width":259},"url":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/faulty-science-resulted-in-flawed-conviction-of-dallas-man-for-double-murders\/","about":["Criminal Charges","News"],"wordCount":500,"keywords":["bite mark evidence","criminal defense attorney","junk science law","murder charges"],"articleBody":"Many forensic science methods used for years to convict people of serious crimes have unraveled under closer scrutiny. Bite mark evidence was used to secure scores of convictions before it was debunked as junk science in 2016.In December, the state\u2019s highest criminal court declared a Texas man innocent of two murders he served more than a century in prison for.Steven Chaney was exonerated of the murders of John and Sally Sweek in Dallas in 1987, the Texas Tribune reportedChaney claimed he was innocent of the murders. He was given relief by the court. The exoneration was partially based on questions raised about the testimony of two odontologists\u2019 who told the trial bite marks found on John Sweek\u2019s left forearm matched Chaney\u2019s teeth.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found the bite mark evidence implicated Chaney in the murder. The judges said his conviction largely stemmed from the testimony of the odontologists.They noted the science of bite mark evidence has changed since Chaney\u2019s conviction. Judge Barbara Parker Hervey wrote in the decision:\u201cEach piece of the state\u2019s trial evidence is questionable \u2018or has since been undermined or completely invalidated.\u201dTexas has a so-called \u201cjunk science law.\u201d It allows the state\u2019s courts to overturn a conviction if the scientific evidence that led to the conviction has been discredited or amended.Chaney was released from prison in the fall of 2015. He spent more than two years awaiting the decision of the appeals court.Bite mark analysis became discredited about three years ago. The President\u2019s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology concluded in 2016 that this evidence is not scientifically valid and it will likely never be properly validated.The report represented a scathing critique of bite mark analysis. It concluded:\u201cAvailable scientific evidence strongly suggests that examiners cannot consistently agree on whether an injury is a human bite mark and cannot identify the source of [a] bite mark with reasonable accuracy.\u201dBite mark evidence became popular in the 1970s when it was a tool used in the conviction of the serial killer Ted Bundy.However, bite mark evidence has been discredited in recent years along with other forensic methods like hair analysis.Chaney\u2019s case was reviewed by the Dallas County district attorney\u2019s Conviction Integrity Unit. The judges decided Chaney was innocent based on the defense that it was not possible to match bite marks on a person\u2019s skin. The court also discounted other circumstantial evidence used at trial, including that Chaney\u2019s partial fingerprint and shoe marks in the Sweek\u2019s apartment.The Tribune reported Cynthia Garza, the head of the Dallas Conviction Integrity Unit said \u201cjustice was done\u201d for Chaney, three years after the Innocence Project asked her team to reinvestigate the case.If you are accused of murder in Texas you will likely face spending the rest of your life behind bars or even the death penalty. Please call our Dallas criminal defense lawyers today for assistance at (214) 720-9552."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faulty Science Resulted in Flawed Conviction of Dallas Man for Double Murders","item":"https:\/\/www.brodenmickelsen.com\/blog\/faulty-science-resulted-in-flawed-conviction-of-dallas-man-for-double-murders\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]