tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post6973561759286922828..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Former Austin crime lab scientist says reports issued without testingGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-5282014741668635612012-01-14T12:51:33.795-06:002012-01-14T12:51:33.795-06:00Last I checked, lots of uncommon things had names....Last I checked, lots of uncommon things had names.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-32405165918389559202012-01-14T10:43:17.891-06:002012-01-14T10:43:17.891-06:00Dry-labbing? It is frightening that this is such a...Dry-labbing? It is frightening that this is such a common practice that people in the field have given it a name. Years ago I thought Ralph Erdman was an anomaly when he wrote autopsy reports without ever doing a Y incision. Apparently there are many people who are willing to send others to prison on false information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-83306288784605422462012-01-13T22:48:40.418-06:002012-01-13T22:48:40.418-06:00While I do applaud Stephens for attempting to brin...While I do applaud Stephens for attempting to bring to light in Texas the plague of corruption in the Medical Examiners' offices, I would be surprised if Stephens's claim goes anywhere seeing as though her request for an investigation will be reviewed by Vincent DiMaio. Highly questionable and even suspicious rulings of DiMaio as Chief Medical Examiner for Bexar County remain unresolved and yet, he by appointment now serves on the Forensic Science Commission. Talk about a red flag.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-45719396655650301702012-01-13T09:27:48.208-06:002012-01-13T09:27:48.208-06:007:54 - We are assuming here that the allegation of...7:54 - We are assuming here that the allegation of dry-labbing is true. Maybe it is not true. <br /><br />Given the timing and content of the letter, I think some degree of skepticism is warranted.<br /><br />If you are going to request open records, I would include Stephen's personel file in the request.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4508954682156993142012-01-13T07:54:50.999-06:002012-01-13T07:54:50.999-06:00Anon 11:58-
The FSC only investigates allegations...Anon 11:58-<br /><br />The FSC only investigates allegations submitted by the Innocence Project or the lab directors themselves. It doesn't investigate allegations submitted from the analysts because a well-trained analyst knows how to keep his/her mouth shut.<br /><br />Case in point, who were the analysts that wrote the lab reports for the cases mentioned in D. Pat Johnson's letter? Why didn't they speak up about the alleged "dry-labbing"?<br /><br />Anon 7:23-<br /><br />Each level of the hierarchy above the analyst will drag their feet towards addressing these types of issues, hoping that the issues will be forgotten (That is, once the analyst has been terminated from their position and no longer has access to those pesky confirming tell-all documents hidden in the case folders). We've only seen two documents so far. Who else did she alert to her concerns before January 2012? It sounds like the Forensic Science Commission already knew (the John Bradley legacy of concealing information continues...).<br /><br />Anyone want to send a request for Open Records to APD?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-89589187800503717892012-01-13T07:23:29.736-06:002012-01-13T07:23:29.736-06:00Maybe I'm more skeptical than most. When I re...Maybe I'm more skeptical than most. When I read the letter she sent to the DA's office it struck me as peculiar. If her intent was to communicate that dry-labbing was being practiced (reporting of tests not performed), then it is odd that it is mentioned in passing, hidden away in the body of the letter. Dry-labbing is a bfd. It is absolutely the worst, most egregious misconduct that you could accuse someone of. Moreover, dry-labbing would be falsification of a government record, which is a state felony when it relates to crime lab records. So it is a bfd. Yet, when you read the letter, her major concern is with the qualification of the lab's management. And then she was fired in April, and waits until December to notify the DA's office of improprieties that would constitute criminal behavior. Who does that??? <br /><br />Personally, I'm not convinced at this point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88322217628242826802012-01-13T06:04:42.947-06:002012-01-13T06:04:42.947-06:00I don't understand why this is such a surprise...I don't understand why this is such a surprise. Corruption in government agencies has been there for an extremely long time. The only difference is that now it's getting a lot more blatant and whistle blowers are fired for bringing up things that others want swept under the rug. <br /><br />I say hooray for Debra Stephens for standing up for what she thought was the right thing to do. And since she was fired shortly afterward, there must be some truth to her allegations.<br /><br />If there were more people like her, lots of underhanded, corrupt things wouldn't get swept under the rug. Too many people these days are so afraid of losing their job that they close their eyes to illegal, immoral and just plain wrong things going on where they work.RSO wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125370082588943280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26068844164448071142012-01-12T13:56:53.811-06:002012-01-12T13:56:53.811-06:00"...I suspect that there may be more records ..."...I suspect that there may be more records in these two case folders and those should be reviewed before deciding whether this is a problem..."<br /><br />Holy Crap! Did Pat Johnson actually put this statement into print?<br /><br />For those of you not in the biz, this is code for "Hey guys, make sure that you create CYA documents and stuff them into the case folders so they can be 'discovered' during your review."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-27935091970453630122012-01-12T11:58:10.329-06:002012-01-12T11:58:10.329-06:00"...About the time she was fired, Stephens ma..."...About the time she was fired, Stephens made other complaints about the lab to its national accrediting agency and the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Mannix said..."<br /><br />So the FSC knew, but decided not to report on it, not to take action? No info to the public...until now?<br /><br />transparencyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-6715377739671626562012-01-12T10:15:40.199-06:002012-01-12T10:15:40.199-06:00Even if Stephens's claims can't be proven,...Even if Stephens's claims can't be proven, what DPS has already found should call for significant changes in how the crime lab does business. Not required to show dates of testing? That alone is a major red flag.gravyrugnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73711322641084452462012-01-12T09:34:36.545-06:002012-01-12T09:34:36.545-06:00The FSC is specifically forbidden from investigati...The FSC is specifically forbidden from investigating breathalyzer technology in their governing statute, or I would be suggesting precisely that, for the same reasons.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-49223568885570757662012-01-12T08:12:47.415-06:002012-01-12T08:12:47.415-06:00And how, exactly, do you believe this is any diffe...And how, exactly, do you believe this is any different from the BAT van controversy going on right now in Harris County? I haven't noticed you calling for the Forensic Science Commission to investigate that matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com