An independent investigator has found that to fit police theories, crime lab analysts in Houston have regularly ignored results that conflicted with the expectations of police. Investigator Michael Bromwich wrote, “We have found a clear and troubling pattern of reluctance in the serology and DNA sections to report typing results that were not consistent with the blood types or DNA profiles of either the victim or a known suspect; in many such cases the results were reported as inconclusive.” Bromwhich’s team also found that tests and comparisons of evidence from crime scenes in the 80’s was never done by crime lab analysts in the vast majority of cases. In fact, complete lab tests were only run in 2 percent of cases from 1980, and less than 30 percent of cases in 1987. Such tests could’ve prevented the prosecution of innocent people.

“To date, investigators have identified 93 cases involving DNA or serology analysis with ‘major issues’ that raise doubts about the reliability of work and the accuracy of analysts’ conclusions.

Efforts to determine what went wrong in those cases were hampered by a lack of cooperation from former lab chief Donald Krueger; James Bolding, who led the DNA and serology divisions; and analyst Christy Kim, the report says… ‘Our inability to gather information from them in connection with our case reviews has hampered our ability to determine whether any of the most troubling cases we have found were the product of intentional scientific fraud,’ Bromwich wrote.”
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Sadly, this is not a unique case. Beyond moral hypocrisy, prosecution of the innocent is the secondary reason why capital punishment has no place in civilized societies. It has been estimated that around 100 innocent death row inmates have been executed. This number comes from the number of people executed since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated in the United States, divided by the ratio of people we are finding innocent through DNA testing, which is 1 in 7. Also, the vast majority of states are refusing to reopen cases where a conviction was handed down before DNA testing. In cases where DNA testing was used it is often destroyed after the trial. This is because the courts do not want the fallibility of the legal system exposed by overturning 1 in every 7 cases.