Tag: junk science
Thousands of prisoners have been exonerated in recent years for wrongful convictions, amounting to almost 25,000 lost years behind bars. Texas leads the nation on exonerations. In 2019, the most recent year figures are available for, Texas had the joint second highest number of exonerations in the country. However, the state leads the table of…
Psychological and IQ tests can play an important part in criminal trials. Juries, judges, and lawyers are not experts in psychology and these tests often prove persuasive. However, recent research suggests courts are failing to properly screen out this evidence, allowing ‘junk science’ to influence court proceedings. A study published in February in the journal…
In recent years, many forensic techniques have been discredited as new information cast doubt on their reliability. Texas has a trailblazing state law allowing courts to overturn convictions in cases where the scientific evidence that led to the original verdict has since changed or been discredited. Although the law is not often used, it has…
Many of the forensic analysis techniques used to secure convictions in the 1980s and 1990s have been debunked as ‘junk science.’ Blood-stain pattern forensic analysis is the latest technique to be undermined in a case involving a Texas educator. Joe Bryan, a former school principal from Texas, has spent more than 30 years in prison…