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Forensic Science
Inside Story
October 3
Discredited Hair Analysis Is Fueling Efforts to Overturn Convictions
Rapper Common talks about his work bringing music into prisons, and incarcerated people fight their convictions from debunked forensic science.
By
Lawrence Bartley
and
Donald Washington, Jr.
Feature
December 15
Old-School Hair Analysis Is Junk Science. But It Still Keeps People Behind Bars
The technique, developed before DNA testing, can’t definitively tie suspects to crime scenes. Try explaining that to juries — or some judges.
By
Rene Ebersole
Death Sentences
September 15, 2023
He’s Facing Execution For His Daughter’s Death. Now, Science Suggests It Was An Accident.
Robert Roberson is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine “shaken baby syndrome” and the state of forensic science.
By
Maurice Chammah
Feature
March 17, 2022
He Teaches Police “Witching” To Find Corpses. Experts Are Alarmed.
At the National Forensic Academy, crime scene investigators learn to dowse for the dead, though it’s not backed by science.
By
Rene Ebersole
Looking Back
January 26, 2021
This Scientist Helped Free the Innocent Using DNA. Now Biden Wants Him in the Cabinet.
Some experts hope Eric Lander, the president’s choice for new science adviser, will crack down on bad forensics in courtrooms.
By
Eli Hager
Feature
April 19, 2018
Framed for Murder By His Own DNA
We leave traces of our genetic material everywhere, even on things we’ve never touched. That got Lukis Anderson charged with a brutal crime he didn’t commit.
By
Katie Worth
News
December 12, 2016
Was the Robber 6-foot-3 or 5-foot-6?
Testing the reliability of video analysis.
By
Maurice Chammah
News
January 20, 2015
‘My Fellow Americans’
Reimagining the president’s State of the Union speech.
By
Andrew Cohen