New Partner for Computer Forensics and Cyber Security

ForensIQ, Inc has a new partner!  Paul Woodie, who recently retired from the US Department of Defense, is a Computer Forensic Expert and Consultant with years of experience in the field. He also teaches a three-day, hands-on course that delivers information about identity theft, viruses, malware, and cyber intrusions into our critical infrastructures (e.g., power grid, financial systems, etc.).  Most criminal offenses today have a computer involved somehow either directly in the crime scene or indirectly associated with the criminal behavior.  Too often, the contents of the computer is overlooked by investigators, or the capabilities of an experienced computer forensics expert is unknown.  ForensIQ now has this expertise,  and they are excited to have Mr. Woodie as a partner.  Welcome Paul!

Justice Dept., FBI to review use of forensic evidence in thousands of cases.

The Justice Department and the FBI have launched a review of thousands of criminal cases to determine whether any defendants were wrongly convicted or deserve a new trial because of flawed forensic evidence, officials said Tuesday.

The undertaking is the largest post-conviction review ever done by the FBI. It will include cases conducted by all FBI Laboratory hair and fiber examiners since at least 1985 and may reach earlier if records are available, people familiar with the process said. Such FBI examinations have taken place in federal and local cases across the country, often in violent crimes, such as rape, murder and robbery. Read more…

By Spencer S. Hsu, Published: July 10 – The Washington Post

“Convicting the Innocent” not just a title of a book – Its happening too often!

Brandon L. Garrett in his book, “Convicting the Innocent,” examines the first 250 innocent people exonerated by postconviction DNA testing.  It was not until Sir Alec Jeffreys developed the first DNA profiling test in 1984, that we ever realized that our system of justice in America may be convicting innocent people.  Today, we have DNA to thank for throwing this failure in our faces,… and rightfully so.  But I do not see anyone asking the hard questions like, …Why is this happening?  What went wrong?  What is going wrong?  What can we do to fix it?   Garrett found that of the 250 exonerees, 76% (190) were misidentified by an eyewitness.  Are we placing too much credence in eyewitness testimony?  You bet ya!  Most recently, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Forensic Science has disclosed DNA test results for more than 70 persons where testing of biological evidence discovered in forensic case files from 1973 to 1988, failed to identify the convicted person.  Read more on this issue.

It is my opinion that there is a significant lack of training for police investigators (not mandated in most states, if any at all); the pressure for them to clear cases; forgetting that they should be looking for the truth, not simply finding evidence that satisfies their initial beliefs in an investigation; not treating the investigation as a process involving multiple players; and prosecutors not willing to admit maybe they were wrong about a case, has caused this travesty to have been brought to the forefront by the advent of DNA.  Was this happening before Dr.  Jeffreys’  DNA profiling turned the investigation process upside down?  I believe so.  It was easy to remain pompous when all you had to do was accept the decision of the 12 people not smart enough to get out of  jury duty (the jury) as being infallible.

Killer Insects or Humans?

Dr. Stefano Vanin is focused on being able to pinpoint whether damage to a dead body was caused by the killer during the attack or by insects after the crime.  Insects can disturb the crime scene by leaving marks on the body that can mimic bruises and other injuries, which can affect the investigation.  Dr. Vanin is studying the effects that insects can have on dead bodies and is reporting his findings in Forensic Science International.

Check out the full article.

Date of Article: May 9, 2012

[Abstract by Carrie Wells, ForensIQ Student Intern, June 12, 2012]

False Positives and Negatives

False positives and false negatives in DNA testing and criminal investigations can cause the innocent to suffer and the guilty to be free.  Some of the possible errors and solutions are examined and discussed.  Don’t forget the reality that the prosecution never wants to admit they were wrong.  This is a serious problem in our criminal justice and it cannot be ignored.  Thirty-five years ago when I began teaching, I used to tell my students that 99.9% of the time a suspect is arrested and the case goes to trail, that defendant probably committed the crime.  I don’t believe that anymore, and DNA evidence has proven it for us.  (TOMM)

Learn more here.

Date of Article: May 16, 2012

[Abstract by Carrie Wells, ForensIQ Student Intern, June 14, 2012]

Nanotechnology Finds World’s Oldest Blood

Wondering if your forensic evidence could still have usable biological fluids?  Check this out.  Red blood cells have recently been detected in a 5,000 year old ice mummy named Ötzi.  These are the oldest traces of blood to ever be found.  Scientists used an atomic force microscope to examine tissue from the ice mummy and found “doughnut-shaped” red blood cells as they would in a healthy person today.  This new finding may possibly lead to major breakthroughs in forensic science.

To learn more, check out this article.

Date of Article: May 3, 2012

[Abstract written by Carrie Wells, ForensIQ Student Intern, June 11, 2012]