See related Grits posts:
- Houston PD property room failing at customer satisfaction
- Dallas DNA exonerations expose evidence retention flaws
- Senate bills encourage retention, testing of old DNA evidence
- 'The DNA's over there ... right next to the jelly': Problems with evidence preservation in Texas
- Using DNA in nonviolent offenses would swamp crime labs, evidence rooms
- 'Missing evidence among military crime labs new problems'
- Big D: Shopping Mecca
- Sex toys, guns walk away from Houston evidence room
- Nueces County cleaning up evidence room mess; how many others are just as bad?
- Police evidence rooms are 'red-headed stepchildren' of law enforcement, Integrity Unit told
- Galveston, Brazoria Counties react wisely by dismissing cases after evidence thefts
- Evidence retention failures thwart pursuit of innocence claims
- Enough weapons missing from Houston's property room for a 21-gun salute
- 500 guns missing from TX police evidence room in 'illegal firearms trafficking scheme'
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3 comments:
How much can Texas REALLY expect from forensic agencies responsible for handling and storing evidence that also make the following callously indifferent statements,
"...Smears [from rape kits] are not processed in a way that is intended to preserve them for later DNA testing. As an illustration, smears are fixed and stained using various solutions. However, none of these solutions are subjected to QC testing to determine if they are contaminated with human DNA...
...following analysis, smears are not stored in the freezer in a way that would maintain their testability using DNA analysis methods. They are stored at ambient temperature, where it is known that the DNA will ultimately degrade and become untestable...
...In the case of the smears, they are retained and not discarded because they are a stable record of the test result - they can be reexamined microscopically at a later time. They are not retained because they are suitable for DNA testing..."
Except that they can be, and are.
I don't get it. If the evidence has been analyzed, there should be documentation of the analysis, and the evidence should be returned to the owner.
Are PDs seizing evidence, NOT analyzing it, and keeping it? If it is a large item, swab it and store the swabs. No need for the PD to hold onto large, bulky items.
And can anyone explain what "to secure convictions" means? Do appeals require re-analysis of evidence? I think not.
"Do appeals require re-analysis of evidence?"
Sometimes habeas claims do
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