Science News

A New York crime lab destroys evidence in criminal cases, a new technology to identify bullets to a gun is stymied, and a Michigan man’s conviction is overturned due to outdated arson science. Here’s this week’s round up of forensic news:

The New York State Inspector General’s Office

released a report

that found the Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory destroyed evidence in 270 criminal cases, which included key evidence in cases that had not exceeded the statute of limitations.

Legislation on the application of

microstamping technology

to track guns using bullets continues to be controversial.

In a

guest column

in the American Statistical Association’s newletter, a scientist and contract writer for the National Institutes of Justice  write about the need for statisticians in its efforts to establish scientific foundations for forensic science disciplines.

The Georgia State Crime Lab

halted

handwriting comparison analysis until its examiners pass a proficiency test.

A Michigan man who spent 26 years in prison for murdering his wife and daughters in a house fire was

freed

after prosecutors agreed he was convicted with faulty evidence and outdated arson science.