Body parts forgotten in crime lab over 7 years
A bag of human remains were discovered in a refrigerator at the Delaware Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. “All we know about the remains is that they were found in a wooded area in Kent County and have been in the refrigerator since 2006.” This shows us how uncontrolled and lax procedures are at the OCME’s Controlled Substances Laboratory. A judge is considering filing a motion that could potentially effect well over 200 pending drug cases. These cases could be thrown out and many more closed drug prosecutions could result in being overturned due to the lack of following procedures at the state’s only drug testing lab.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/09/21/body-parts-ocme-went-unnoticed-six-years/16020999/
[Abstract written by Mercedes Quick, ForensIQ Intern, 9/23/14]
Lab Uses Wrong Chemical in 2,500 Methamphetamine Test in Santa Clara County
Earlier this year Mark Burry, crime analyst at Santa Clara County Lab, used the wrong chemical to conduct preliminary methamphetamine tests on the blood samples of 2,500 arrestees.
In January, Burry apparently grabbed the wrong solution off a shelf and loaded a machine with a more sensitive compound. Another analyst discovered the mistake in March and after retesting the samples, only seven tests had shown a false positive. Fortunately no one is in custody because of a mistaken test. The Santa Clara County Lab is taking extra precautions to better label it chemicals and is conducting a wholesale review of procedures.
Because of his mistake, Mark Burry is no longer assigned to drug testing at Santa Clara County Crime Lab. District Attorney Jess Rosen stated, “Human error will always exist within the criminal justice system; however, it is vital that we quickly find any mistakes and quickly fix them. We did that in this case.”
Interested in reading more? Click here to view the entire article!
Source: San Jose Mercury News
[Abstract written by Noel Andres, ForensIQ Intern, 5/8/14]
