One day, many years ago, I went to the admin offices of the local community college to get a copy of my transcript. The woman that assisted me didn’t ask for my name. While I thought it odd, I chalked it up to either the fact that it was a small campus or perhaps she shopped at the grocery store where I worked part-time.

She came back moments later with another man’s transcript, a guy (let’s call him Gary) that was in my graduating class in high school.

A few months after this mix-up, I was in line at a fast food joint near a university campus when a female student gave me a big hug from behind while saying a hearty “Gary!” as she did so. Once she saw me from the front, she realized I wasn’t Gary.

Now Gary and I did share some physical characteristics with one another, but if you put us side by side, you would note a lot differences too.

Two points –

1) People can mis-identify people they know, and sometimes it’s people they know well.

2) If “Gary” ever commits a crime, I’m screwed.

Thank God for the development of forensic science. It’s still far from perfect, but it goes a long way toward removing the armchair psychology that takes place in the jury deliberation room.

Why has this changed for a prostitution case to a drug case?
Why is the “Narco” squad involved if they were looking for prostitutes? It still sounds a little fishy to me. The story has changed.

No doubt the kid sounded like a brat, as alleged in the police reports. Any, aggressive, behavior after she got to her father, was uncalled for. She does, allegedly, need to learn a little about lawful behavior. I suspect, with that attitude, she is headed for many other “run-ins” with the cops. I do not condone her, alleged, behavior, either. But, she was a, kicking , screaming, 12 year old girl! Probably, one of the most fearsome adversaries, of any male, on the planet! She could not even listen to her parents’ commands. That should tell us something.

I guess that is why it ended with a hung jury. It all seems fishy! Surely they can’t expect the jury to believe the cops word as gospel! I think, it is well past those days in our society!

Remember Dymond Milburn, the 12-year-old that was arrested after beating up four cops in Galveston? The same geniuses who claimed she was a white prostitute? Her second trial has again ended in a hung jury, in February. I don’t think it was here.

A friend emailed a link to me:
http://policenewsonline.com/default.aspx?act=newsletter.aspx&category=News%201-2&Startrow=14&MenuGroup=Home&NewsletterID=12137&

That includes the original police report. Not surprisingly, their version differs substantially, but apparently someone who lives down the street claims that her father was dealing drugs out of the house, using the kids to deliver the goods. He called the police when he saw it (this was when the parents say she was flipping the breaker) and the van happened to be there. He showed up in court and, from reports I’ve read, didn’t help the prosecution much. Anyway, that’s the cops’ story.

Isn’t that covered in “provided the samples are handled correctly?”

Non-contaminated DNA allows the measurement of allele frequencies and their comparison to the general population/suspect. Unless deliberately corrupted it’s pretty precise.

As you know, results of DNA testing are only as good as the testing facility’s procedures, training, and a disconnect from the legal system and its representatives (prosecutors and cops) to be as unbiased as possible. Even under the best conditions, DNA testing is not a perfect science and can result in false positives.

Fortunately, I have never been put to the test, but suppose I had. I wonder how much pressure it would have taken to convince me to choose someone from a picture line-up even if I wasn’t sure. Back then I was steeped in the mythology that the police always do the right thing.

Pretty scary. I bet it happens all the time.

One problem is that there are few things more sincere and convincing to the average person than a credible eyewitness. I believe most people don’t realize that our eyes and brain just don’t work like a video camera, recording details accurately, as you indicated in links and your article. Our brains actively fill in details about what we think should have been there, even if it wasn’t.