Scientists claim New York police forced them to fake DNA

Scientists claim New York police forced them to fake DNA
tests to convict more suspects

entists Shannon Morris, Melissa Lee and Kevin Rafferty are suing the crime lab that they were fired from at New York State police department. When the two tried to correct errors they saw in the lab, they say they were silenced and others retaliated against them because the errors were working out in their favor to garner more prosecutions.

The department was working to implement a computerized DNA analysis system called TrueAllele which would guarantee results of the tests are correct. But because of pressure from the police to get more convictions, the use of the system was scrapped.

Their attorney John Bailey explained, “there are people that are very pro-prosecution. They were putting pressure on scientists to reach conclusions that were not scientifically valid. That’s what my clients were objecting to.”

The three scientists have worked for the department for over 20 years with otherwise unblemished records. Of the 37 total staffers that were trained using the TrueAllele system, Morris, Lee and Rafferty were the most vocal in their criticisms of the department’s old analysis method. They explained that it wasn’t long before they were singled out in an “internal investigation” and accused of ethical violations. It served as a pretense to silencing them and blocking the program’s full implementation.
www.rawstory.com...

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Just when you think hard science should be the final say along came grey men to cloud it all, science should not be art, open to interpretation something is either is or is not, it's about letting the chips fall where they may, if prosecutors cannot prove their case without cheating then they didn't have a case to begin with.

But ...but ...anyone caught up by a sloppy, lazy, mean spirited law enforcement machine must be guilty by association!

I mean, you never see white 'pillars of the community' having evidence manufactured to imprison them ... so the ones having the wheels of (in)justice roll over them must be guilty... otherwise this system might be a pay-to-play sham or a one-off oppression machine, or something.

I wonder how much this is going to cost the taxpayers of New York when they have to retest and/or retry everyone convicted by use of DNA during the time period in question.

Good catch Spider.

a reply to: Spider879

they always do this

people still believe these guys to be trustworthy?

Where is the part that says DNA results were faked?
Where is it said that anyone was forced to fake DNA results?

a reply to: Spider879

People have no idea how the world works in NY.

I see living there as practice for the federalized future we will have.

Its not that bad if you keep your head down.

Stick it up, and life gets real, real quick. Its not a city for the fake and BS laden.

If you want to fight the NYPD, you could die, be locked up, or worse.

There is a kickass aspect to it though. The BS that is outright wrong gets solved real quick.

It works, and then is terrible in order to work.

originally posted by: Phage
Where is the part that says DNA results were faked?
Where is it said that anyone was forced to fake DNA results?

i think it refers to this statement:

Their attorney John Bailey explained, “there are people that are very pro-prosecution. They were putting pressure on scientists to reach conclusions that were not scientifically valid. That’s what my clients were objecting to.”

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Yes. I know what the attorney says. Where is anything about anyone being forced to fake results?

The lawsuit is actually an attempt by some employees of the New York state police to retroactively claim that whistleblower statutes should prevent them from being fired for cheating on their qualification tests.

www.timesunion.com...

You can't trust a lot of science anymore when they're bought and paid for. I ran across this article:

State crime lab in Clackamas under investigation

Posted: Mar 10, 2016 12:30 PM CST
Updated: Mar 10, 2016 1:03 PM CST

By The Associated Press

CLACKAMAS, OR (AP) -
Authorities are investigating a third Oregon state police crime lab after they say an analyst underreported some tests.

The Bend Bulletin reports that the state police forensic division says a former Clackamas lab analyst missed drugs or other substances in urine he tested.

A different forensic analyst is suspected of mishandling evidence in the Bend and Pendleton labs. Those labs have suspended drug testing while authorities investigate.

The former Clackamas analyst left the division in January. So far the division has re-examined 120 of his cases and 10 showed potentially unreported compounds, but scientists didn't find that he reported anything that wasn't present.

Forensic division Capt. Ted Phillips wrote a letter to district attorneys, informing them of the discovery. He wrote that the division did not find the analyst's conduct to be criminal.


www.kptv.com...

a reply to: StoutBroux

You can't trust a lot of science anymore when they're bought and paid for.

You have posted a case of a police department revealing shoddy work on the part of a worker at a lab. That's sort of different from the claims brought in the lawsuit in the OP.

BTW, Who bought the worker you're talking about?

Wednesday, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said he was told Kyes had missed drugs in two samples from Deschutes County, but because the charges were for drug possession, it didn’t affect the cases.

www.bendbulletin.com...#

a reply to: Phage

It almost seems as if the news would take the public services' party

are the news directed by interests served by public services above those of the public?

some think so

a reply to: wisvol

I have no idea what you said or what you intended to say.

a reply to: Phage

I say in other words, OP's title is correct, and news stories are railroaded

originally posted by: wisvol
a reply to: Phage

I say in other words, OP's title is correct, and news stories are railroaded

So, which scientists were forced to fake DNA results?

Can't be the one's who are bringing the lawsuit because they were fired before they were qualified to present any results at all. They were fired for cheating on the test which would have qualified them.

a reply to: Phage

They were fired for cheating on the test which would have qualified them.

and maybe their cheating was influenced by men at arms, the OP's point

a reply to: wisvol

Did you even read the article posted by the OP?

a reply to: Phage

Partly did, source doesn't ring too true to me.

I participate because I know people who were forced to change their conclusion by public services in scientific settings

a reply to: wisvol

Partly did, source doesn't ring too true to me.

But, it's the basis of the OP.

a reply to: Phage

I was under the impression that the OP was an analysis of that story, and still am

originally posted by: Phage
Where is the part that says DNA results were faked?
Where is it said that anyone was forced to fake DNA results?

That's the basis of their law suit , being pressured to force a conclusion , not that they actually did do that which would make them criminals, and why would anyone even side with the scientist in the first place?? because overzealous police and prosecutors have a history of withholding evidence, that's how reps are built.

DNA evidence exonerates 300th prisoner nationwide

articles.latimes.com...
If this keeps happening then some will take issue with the above.