Innocent men in prison!

[gofaster]

She lied about DNA evidence in 100's of cases.  How many innocent people went up the river because of her?  Nobody really knows, but I would suspect that the inmates will be filing appeals left and right now; at least those that haven't been whacked on Death Row.

I wonder how she was caught...

====AP News======

Ex-FBI Lab Worker Guilty, Falsified DNA

Tue May 18, 7:46 PM ET  Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo!
 

By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A former biologist in the FBI (news - web sites) laboratory pleaded guilty Tuesday to submitting falsified DNA analysis reports in over 100 cases.

   

Jacqueline A. Blake, 40, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to a single count of making false statements on official government reports she prepared. Blake faces a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine at sentencing scheduled for Sept. 20.


Blake admitted that from August 1999 to June 2002 she wrote and submitted more than 100 reports containing false statements about her DNA analysis work. In particular, she falsely certified that she had performed certain control tests designed to ensure the reliability of the DNA analysis.


DNA evidence has increasingly become crucial in prosecuting criminal cases and in appeals of old criminal convictions that occurred before the sophisticated analysis techniques were used. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) has launched a project to create a national DNA database for law enforcement to use.


The Associated Press reported in April 2003 that Blake had resigned from the FBI amid a probe questioning her work on 103 cases. Blake worked for the FBI as a DNA biologist from 1988 until she quit in June 2002, according to court documents.


According to her plea agreement, Blake knew her certifications were false and submitted them even though she knew her work might be used in criminal investigations and in trial testimony. It was unclear Tuesday, based on the court documents, whether any of those cases were compromised.


The case is part of a broader investigation by Glenn A. Fine, the Justice Department (news - web sites) inspector general, into the FBI lab unit in which Blake worked. A Justice Department statement said Fine's findings and conclusions will be issued "in the near future."


The current FBI lab director, Dwight Adams, has said changes have been put in place in the DNA section to address past problems and ensure that quality analysis is done. The FBI's DNA database has helped law enforcement officials solve more than 11,000 cases in the past few years, officials say.

[StabbyTheIcePic]

Originally posted by gofaster
She lied about DNA evidence in 100's of cases.  How many innocent people went up the river because of her?  Nobody really knows, but I would suspect that the inmates will be filing appeals left and right now; at least those that haven't been whacked on Death Row.

I wonder how she was caught...

====AP News======

Sad. Maybe oj wasn't guilty

[rpm]

Blake faces a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine at sentencing scheduled for Sept. 20.

That's all???? She screwed up DNA tests and innocent men may be locked up. They should make her serve the remainder of the sentences that will be overturned. I hope Big Rhonda is her cellmate.

[Chairboy]

I was having a discussion about capital punishment with someone once.  I was arguing that capital punishment is not a good idea because occasionally, innocent people died.

Her response, which boggles my mind to this day, was that "well, if they end up in prison, they probably did SOMETHING to deserve the death penalty somewhere.  You don't just show up in prison, that's what evidence is for."

I still don't know for sure what my stance on capital punishment is, it's just too complex of an issue to bless with a pronouncement of 'fry 'em!' or 'save 'em!', but stories like this makes me a little queasy.

[jamusta]

Now if people were executed based on her false reports shouldnt she be put on trial for manslaughter or something?

[Eagler]

and none of her results were ever 2nd guessed or verified by someone else? seems a bit odd ...

[rpm]

Originally posted by Eagler
and none of her results were ever 2nd guessed or verified by someone else? seems a bit odd ...

Why? It's the FBfreakinI crime lab. They WERE above reproach until this scandal. Now every defense lawyer in America will have a "reasonable doubt" about  their work.

[Mini D]

The chances of someone guilty getting off because of this is infinitely greater than the chance of someone getting falsely imprisoned because of it.  Mistrials open up a pandora's box.

That said, just introducing the shadow of doubt to the case by outright lieing on the reports is completely reprehensible.  I'd be curious to see what types of trials she usually lied on (did she pick and choose or was it random/consistant laziness).  She deserved more jail time.  Now, she's going to do a year and then go on Oprah.

MiniD

[Hortlund]

In particular, she falsely certified that she had performed certain control tests designed to ensure the reliability of the DNA analysis.

Blown way out of proportion this is.

It is not the DNA analysis or the DNA evidence that was falsified. She just didnt do one or more of the control tests to ensure the results were correct. For example, she might have only run the sample through the DNA screener (dunno right word in english)
 once instead of twice. Or she did not do a by-the-book-45-step-calibration of the screener before each test. That does not mean the DNA evidence is false or flawed. It just means that she checked the box "calibrated equipent before sample" even though she didnt.

[Red Tail 444]

Sounds like Affirmative Action f---ed up again, hiring ill-equipped workers.

Free James Brown (again...and again...and again....)

[midnight Target]

I agreee with Hortlund. She was more lazy than dishonest.

[Mini D]

She was both MT.  I think laziness may have drove the lack of data, but dishonesty caused her to say she did it.  The dishonesty is a given, the ammount of laziness can only be assumed.

MiniD

[capt. apathy]

the sentence is outrageous.  I'd like to see her get all of the time that was sentenced to people in cases where she pulled her 'evidence-fraud' (is that even a word).

stories like this are one of the main reasons I'm against the death penalty (though some cases do make me waver on that position a bit)

there was another story in OK city, a few months back, that was very similar.  in that case she was even found to have gone back and altered her original findings and disposed of remaining evidence, in an effort to help get convictions.

the weird thing is that when the OKC story was on our local news sites here, my wife got curious and checkd some OKC news sites to see if she could get more info, and found no mention of the story in their local news.

[Capt. Pork]

Is the Ben Affleck/Renee Zellwigger film based on this scandal out yet?

[spock]

Sentence her boss that forced a doubleing of her case load on her without hiring any extra help.