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Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System
An insider's journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role junk science plays in maintaining the status quo.
From CSI to Forensic Files to the celebrated reputation of the FBI crime lab, "forensic scientists" have long been mythologized in American popular culture as infallible crime solvers. Judges and juries put their faith in "expert witnesses" and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are on death row today, condemned by junk science.
In 2012, the Innocence Project began searching for prisoners convicted by junk science, and three men, each convicted of capital murder, became M. Chris Fabricant's clients. Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System chronicles the fights to overturn their wrongful convictions and to end the use of the "science" that destroyed their lives. Weaving together courtroom battles from Mississippi to Texas to New York City, Fabricant takes the reader on a journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role forensic science plays in maintaining the status quo.
At turns gripping, enraging, and moving, Junk Science is a meticulously researched insider's perspective of the American criminal justice system. Previously untold stories of wrongful executions, corrupt prosecutors, and quackery masquerading as science animate Fabricant's astonishing true-crime narrative. The book also features a full-color photo insert that illustrates the junk science explored by the author.
From CSI to Forensic Files to the celebrated reputation of the FBI crime lab, "forensic scientists" have long been mythologized in American popular culture as infallible crime solvers. Judges and juries put their faith in "expert witnesses" and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are on death row today, condemned by junk science.
In 2012, the Innocence Project began searching for prisoners convicted by junk science, and three men, each convicted of capital murder, became M. Chris Fabricant's clients. Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System chronicles the fights to overturn their wrongful convictions and to end the use of the "science" that destroyed their lives. Weaving together courtroom battles from Mississippi to Texas to New York City, Fabricant takes the reader on a journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role forensic science plays in maintaining the status quo.
At turns gripping, enraging, and moving, Junk Science is a meticulously researched insider's perspective of the American criminal justice system. Previously untold stories of wrongful executions, corrupt prosecutors, and quackery masquerading as science animate Fabricant's astonishing true-crime narrative. The book also features a full-color photo insert that illustrates the junk science explored by the author.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published April 5, 2022
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April 15, 2022
Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System isn't the book I was expecting, but I did learn a bit from the book I got. I blame poor marketing on my expectations not being met. Can we rewrite the blurbs?
Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System is not a deep dive into how poor science and confirmation bias are used to wrongly convict, nor does it offer a plan to rise above. Instead it's a disjointed review of example cases where this “junk science” has been used by experts, their testimonies resulting in wrongful convictions and even executions. The author works for The Innocence Project, so I get that he has an axe to grind, but I was hoping for more answers and fewer "this crappy thing happened because bias" summaries.
M. Chris Fabricant can turn a phrase, though, as evidenced in an observation of a test regarding confirmation bias: "The fingerprints had not changed, only their minds."
I worked in genetics research for 13 years, so obviously I'm a strong advocate for forensic DNA evidence being treated as the only reliable and indisputable tool we currently have in our toolbox, both to convict and to overturn prior (erroneous) convictions. The author, M. Chris Fabricant, agrees with me on this point, but I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with this information.
Overall it's not a bad book, and it definitely raises awareness of issues with the use of expert testimony. Could Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System use an editor? Sure, but if you love forensics in general, you probably also love puzzles and this poorly organized book is a doozy.
Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System is not a deep dive into how poor science and confirmation bias are used to wrongly convict, nor does it offer a plan to rise above. Instead it's a disjointed review of example cases where this “junk science” has been used by experts, their testimonies resulting in wrongful convictions and even executions. The author works for The Innocence Project, so I get that he has an axe to grind, but I was hoping for more answers and fewer "this crappy thing happened because bias" summaries.
M. Chris Fabricant can turn a phrase, though, as evidenced in an observation of a test regarding confirmation bias: "The fingerprints had not changed, only their minds."
I worked in genetics research for 13 years, so obviously I'm a strong advocate for forensic DNA evidence being treated as the only reliable and indisputable tool we currently have in our toolbox, both to convict and to overturn prior (erroneous) convictions. The author, M. Chris Fabricant, agrees with me on this point, but I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with this information.
Overall it's not a bad book, and it definitely raises awareness of issues with the use of expert testimony. Could Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System use an editor? Sure, but if you love forensics in general, you probably also love puzzles and this poorly organized book is a doozy.
April 2, 2022
As a consumer of true crime media, I was excited to see this book available. I knew a little about the turning of ‘crime science’ and how its been disproven to be effective in a lot of cases. I was looking forward to this book in a way that told me ‘why’. Why doesn’t this science work? However, this book focuses much less on the why and more on the effects of what the ‘science’ has wrought mostly, false imprisonment cases.
The author works for the Innocence Project, so they already have a firm belief in the ‘junk’ of the science. I however, as an outsider of the system would have really loved a more in depth look at the why its junk first. As someone who was raised on CSI it was just a jarring realization that basically all of it was bunk. Of course, that’s just not the thesis of this book so you’ll just have to adjust your expectations.
I thought it was super interesting to hear the effects and stories that surround this system. How a faulty system was elevated again and again as factual to help prove cases. I did think this book could use some cut and paste editing. The stories didn’t flow very well, with us focusing on a few cases that would be picked up and dropped at random intervals. I had a hard time remembering the details between the cases.
The author talks a little about how many of these cases seem to be there to prove someone they already suspect and often suspected due to their race. It’s also a great argument against the death penalty when crimes are being disproven later.
Overall though, I thought this was an interesting non-fiction novel about something I knew very little about. Unlike a lot of non-fiction, I didn’t find my mind drifting or wishing there was a little less info. In fact, I often wanted more. There was a story of a dentist in a courtroom that was absolutely wild and worth the entire listen to this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The narration to this was absolutely great.
Apologies for any mistakes or whatever, I have the flu.
The author works for the Innocence Project, so they already have a firm belief in the ‘junk’ of the science. I however, as an outsider of the system would have really loved a more in depth look at the why its junk first. As someone who was raised on CSI it was just a jarring realization that basically all of it was bunk. Of course, that’s just not the thesis of this book so you’ll just have to adjust your expectations.
I thought it was super interesting to hear the effects and stories that surround this system. How a faulty system was elevated again and again as factual to help prove cases. I did think this book could use some cut and paste editing. The stories didn’t flow very well, with us focusing on a few cases that would be picked up and dropped at random intervals. I had a hard time remembering the details between the cases.
The author talks a little about how many of these cases seem to be there to prove someone they already suspect and often suspected due to their race. It’s also a great argument against the death penalty when crimes are being disproven later.
Overall though, I thought this was an interesting non-fiction novel about something I knew very little about. Unlike a lot of non-fiction, I didn’t find my mind drifting or wishing there was a little less info. In fact, I often wanted more. There was a story of a dentist in a courtroom that was absolutely wild and worth the entire listen to this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The narration to this was absolutely great.
Apologies for any mistakes or whatever, I have the flu.
April 9, 2022
This book was interesting, compelling, and is about a topic I am certainly interested in reading about. However, this book was very poorly organized and in desperate need of an editor (or at least somebody to tell the author to cool it with the overuse of scare quotes).
Let me get the good parts out of the way: a book like this is important, and more laypeople such as myself need to understand how broken the criminal justice system is in the US. I found myself constantly shaking my head over how such flimsy arguments can be used to incarcerate and execute human beings.
However -- I frequently found myself losing track of the thread, and just blamed it on my overtiredness until the seventh or eighth time thinking it, and then I realized the book just isn't organized cohesively. The author will discuss a topic, meander to something else, get off on a tangent, then maybe in a couple chapters, get back to the first topic, which by that time I'd forgotten about.
The author also uses a lot of legal terms and discusses legal arguments in ways that I'm sure make a lot of sense to lawyers, but made no sense to me. This was particularly the case when discussing the courtroom things that weren't trials -- I don't know the name for it because I'm not a lawyer. The author would bring up some nuance in the proceedings that I'm sure would be like "oh snap, that happened!" to a lawyer but to me I'm like "okay now why is he upset?"
I was also hoping for more of an analytical look into each of the forensic techniques outlined in this book. I mean, I understand they're junk science, so maybe there's nothing much to explain, but other than bite mark matching and the arson stuff, and a tiny bit about hair matching, there wasn't much of an explanation behind the techniques this book is about.
I came away with this book interested, but feeling like I'd read a rough draft. I'd be very interested in reading a well-edited and coherent revision.
Let me get the good parts out of the way: a book like this is important, and more laypeople such as myself need to understand how broken the criminal justice system is in the US. I found myself constantly shaking my head over how such flimsy arguments can be used to incarcerate and execute human beings.
However -- I frequently found myself losing track of the thread, and just blamed it on my overtiredness until the seventh or eighth time thinking it, and then I realized the book just isn't organized cohesively. The author will discuss a topic, meander to something else, get off on a tangent, then maybe in a couple chapters, get back to the first topic, which by that time I'd forgotten about.
The author also uses a lot of legal terms and discusses legal arguments in ways that I'm sure make a lot of sense to lawyers, but made no sense to me. This was particularly the case when discussing the courtroom things that weren't trials -- I don't know the name for it because I'm not a lawyer. The author would bring up some nuance in the proceedings that I'm sure would be like "oh snap, that happened!" to a lawyer but to me I'm like "okay now why is he upset?"
I was also hoping for more of an analytical look into each of the forensic techniques outlined in this book. I mean, I understand they're junk science, so maybe there's nothing much to explain, but other than bite mark matching and the arson stuff, and a tiny bit about hair matching, there wasn't much of an explanation behind the techniques this book is about.
I came away with this book interested, but feeling like I'd read a rough draft. I'd be very interested in reading a well-edited and coherent revision.
December 9, 2022
Nightmare fuel. Guaranteed to cause insomnia in anyone with a conscience.
The main focus of this book is how corrupt "science" was behind wrongful convictions obtained through bitemark "evidence."
Other tidbits that rose to the surface were prosecutors who double down on ridiculous theories despite overwhelming evidence, states that don't free the innocent, and the absence of honest professionals objecting to the so-called experts. I would like to read more about other cases (like the man at the end convicted based on tool mark evidence from a crap pair of mass produced pliers) and I'd like a deeper dive into the type of (abnormal) psychology that makes a group of boring rich dentists form a club to go around getting paid to testify about bs at trials.
The main focus of this book is how corrupt "science" was behind wrongful convictions obtained through bitemark "evidence."
Other tidbits that rose to the surface were prosecutors who double down on ridiculous theories despite overwhelming evidence, states that don't free the innocent, and the absence of honest professionals objecting to the so-called experts. I would like to read more about other cases (like the man at the end convicted based on tool mark evidence from a crap pair of mass produced pliers) and I'd like a deeper dive into the type of (abnormal) psychology that makes a group of boring rich dentists form a club to go around getting paid to testify about bs at trials.
July 27, 2022
This is one of the most devastating books I’ve ever read. I’ve been familiar with the innocence project for almost a decade but to read these cases and the horrific science and egos they hinged on made me physically ill. This will stick with me for a long time
May 26, 2022
I learned a lot from this book. It's amazing how the things we take for granted (without paying much attention to) like fingerprints, hair analysis, footprints, etc., actually turn out to be junk science, used to incarcerate the innocent. I guess I'm just naive, though I really should not be surprised by any failures of the "justice" system at this point. Only three stars because I found his writing confusing to follow (maybe it was the font?? Something just felt off). But definitely worth reading for the information.
December 29, 2022
Not the book I was expecting. As other reviewers have mentioned, I was anticipating a tour through the various "junk science" forensics admissible in court and popularized by crime media. Although there is some of that, the book is much more focused on several wrongfully convicted (and occasionally killed) individuals, and how pseudoscience played a tragic role in their conviction. In many ways, Junk Science feels like a sequel to Balko and Carrington's The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist. There's a lot dedicated to bike mark analysis and comparison, and the legal and social changes related to forensic odontology since multiple high profile conventions based on bite mark evidence have been overturned. The structure of the book can occasionally feel disjointed, but the subject matter is incredibly important, and the criminal trail sections of the book are *very* good.
September 2, 2022
Holy crap, I didn’t realize so many things we have been led to believe are science in criminal forensics are actually junk that either cannot be tested or have been proven to be incorrect. Bite marks, finger prints, blood spatter, fire patterns, shoe prints, basically everything but DNA just doesn’t have any basis in fact, and this book chronicles the Innocence Projects attempts to get junk science thrown out of court and get people out of prison and off death row. If you care at all about true crime, or even fictional crime shows on TV, read this book and learn about how messed up the whole system is. Dang.
September 30, 2022
An importance history lesson in why you should always be skeptical when the government says it's following the science
September 14, 2022
My fellow critics of the American “Justice” System will find this book fascinating. Learn about the evidence that has been used in the past to decide the fate of many unfortunate Americans.
August 10, 2022
I struggle to rate this book. I am enamored with the work that the Innocence Project does and frankly, the work of any post conviction attorney. I am constantly reading articles on Innocence Project attorneys and cases. So, I picked this book up thinking it would be totally up my alley. It was, and the content is extremely important and interesting. This is a topic that deserves national attention and should be required reading for every judge. I find the bite mark discourse fascinating, and I loved the anecdotes about other junk science such as arson detection (though, beware, this book is almost exclusively centered around the bite mark discourse. I didn’t mind but other reviewers seemed to).
My only complaint, and from the other reviews I see I am not alone, is really how the whole thing was told. I respect the creative process but the organization of this book was incredibly tough for me to follow and frankly became frustrating at times. I was constantly flipping back and forth to check names because there were so many people to keep track of and the stories of the exonerated would appear randomly throughout, after you’ve forgotten exactly what their story is, so I’d have to flip back and re-read.
I am not faulting Mr. Fabricant for the organization at all. It’s his book. This important and fascinating content trumps the organization. Hopefully this book sparks a few more Innocence Project attorneys and supporters. It’s really amazing work.
My only complaint, and from the other reviews I see I am not alone, is really how the whole thing was told. I respect the creative process but the organization of this book was incredibly tough for me to follow and frankly became frustrating at times. I was constantly flipping back and forth to check names because there were so many people to keep track of and the stories of the exonerated would appear randomly throughout, after you’ve forgotten exactly what their story is, so I’d have to flip back and re-read.
I am not faulting Mr. Fabricant for the organization at all. It’s his book. This important and fascinating content trumps the organization. Hopefully this book sparks a few more Innocence Project attorneys and supporters. It’s really amazing work.
April 30, 2022
Perseverance and Hope
I was stunned to read the truth being the hype of modern fake science and the tragedies of people's lives that were stomped on for other's greed and looking for prestige at any price.
I was inspired by the work of many lawyers in the Innocence Project seeking justice for the forgotten.
The author's writing style is riveting. I could not put the book down!
This book is definitely a Must Read!
I was stunned to read the truth being the hype of modern fake science and the tragedies of people's lives that were stomped on for other's greed and looking for prestige at any price.
I was inspired by the work of many lawyers in the Innocence Project seeking justice for the forgotten.
The author's writing style is riveting. I could not put the book down!
This book is definitely a Must Read!
July 18, 2022
This is a must read for anyone who takes forensic "science" at face value, or who is still questioning whether racism is pervasive in our justice system. Follow the money. Follow the power. The only question I'm left asking is how will we ever make it stop? Kudos to Chris Fabricant and everyone involved with the the Innocence Project.
October 18, 2022
I was interested in the premise of true crime and junk science. This is a very heart-rending look at the lives of people who were wronged by Junk Science.
The author has two important storylines to convey. One is the rise of Junk Science and the acceptance of it in the court of law. The other contains the stories of individuals who might have or were helped when the truth came to light about the evidence used to convict them in the first place.
It was fascinating and lived up to the title. There are two types of readers to whom this content will appeal, people who know something of the American justice system or those interested in it in the first place. A plain interest in junk science will not endear its content because of the routes it takes.
It is extremely scary to imagine being in the shoes of those innocent people who were put on death row or closed just because the lead officer decided it made sense. I have been a fan of American Crime shows before, and some of the takeaways I subconsciously gathered from them were highlighted in this story.
The narrator did a great job of bringing the incredulity on the part of the defence when 'scientists' spoke the way they did to the forefront. The only drawback with the format of the book was the back and forth when it came to the cases and the progression of the science. One has to remember who's who and their cases since their journey's conclusion is only discussed at the very end. Unfortunately, not all have happy endings.
It was an illuminating book, but I just wish it had been a little easier to follow or linear. I think much of this content will already be familiar to activists in this field. It is pretty heavy for an average consumer. That is something one must know going in. Heavy in terms of what is at stake for the people concerned!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
The author has two important storylines to convey. One is the rise of Junk Science and the acceptance of it in the court of law. The other contains the stories of individuals who might have or were helped when the truth came to light about the evidence used to convict them in the first place.
It was fascinating and lived up to the title. There are two types of readers to whom this content will appeal, people who know something of the American justice system or those interested in it in the first place. A plain interest in junk science will not endear its content because of the routes it takes.
It is extremely scary to imagine being in the shoes of those innocent people who were put on death row or closed just because the lead officer decided it made sense. I have been a fan of American Crime shows before, and some of the takeaways I subconsciously gathered from them were highlighted in this story.
The narrator did a great job of bringing the incredulity on the part of the defence when 'scientists' spoke the way they did to the forefront. The only drawback with the format of the book was the back and forth when it came to the cases and the progression of the science. One has to remember who's who and their cases since their journey's conclusion is only discussed at the very end. Unfortunately, not all have happy endings.
It was an illuminating book, but I just wish it had been a little easier to follow or linear. I think much of this content will already be familiar to activists in this field. It is pretty heavy for an average consumer. That is something one must know going in. Heavy in terms of what is at stake for the people concerned!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
April 4, 2022
😐
This is not the book I was expecting.
BACKGROUND: I am a lawyer and I went to law school for two reasons (or well, there were to legal things that motivated or inspired me) the first being Loving v. Virginia case and the innocence project— specifically I dreamed of working for the innocence project (I had been very moved as a young person when I heard a gentlemen speak who had been wrongly convicted and then freed thanks to DNA and the project)
Point is, I seem to be the bullseye 🎯 in the target audience (especially when you consider The Brain Defense is still one of my favorite nonfiction books) and yet I struggled with this.
Mostly I was expecting a book that discussed (a chapter for each) the various types of junk science (notably “expert testimony”, microscopic hair comparison, and bite marks) how they are employed/the history and why they are not credible or are extremely biased + real-life example cases that can demonstrate these points. (To be fair, there are 3 (?) cases the author worked on that are threaded through the book.)
Here there isn’t much “explaining” or “facts” about junk science, rather it’s more a short, cliff note summary of a few cases where “junk science” was used in court and it led to a wrongful conviction.
For example, there was DNA evidence on the victim, however that evidence wasn’t used to convict, rather bite marks were used to convict even though the person who was accused of making those bite marks didn’t match the DNA. the person whose DNA it was then, sadly, went on to harm many more victims.
Bottom line summary: anything that isn’t DNA evidence shouldn’t be used. Cases, particularly with life or death sentences cannot only rely on non DNA “evidence”
In other words, CSI isn’t really in the courtroom the way you think and often “forensic evidence” is used to convince minorities and worse still, objections to the “junk science” go unchallenged in trial and (basically) cannot be appealed.
Takeaway thoughts:
I have also found it odd (and maybe now troubling as well) that both sides can hire experts. In the UK, for example, the court appoints an expert. Seems less risk of bias and a stronger likelihood for truthfulness; after all of you’re being paid $10,000 a day, wouldn’t you feel motivated to agree with the point you’re being hired to make?
I’m also bothered that the FBI realized Microscopic hair comparison is very unreliable (dozens of cases were reviewed and overturned) and yet this evidence is still allowed!
Note: The Staircase (a documentary on Netflix) is a fairly good example of junk science by “expert testimony” — an agents testimony about what happened, what blood splatter, etc meant was a key aspect that led to a conviction. Many years later it was revealed this guy fabricated evidence, faked tests, lied on the witness stand, and did other things. Some 24 (?) cases he was involved with were reopened and many overturned because of his false “junk science.”
GOD BLESS THE GOOD HUMANS AT THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
Thank you netgalley for the ARC.
This is not the book I was expecting.
BACKGROUND: I am a lawyer and I went to law school for two reasons (or well, there were to legal things that motivated or inspired me) the first being Loving v. Virginia case and the innocence project— specifically I dreamed of working for the innocence project (I had been very moved as a young person when I heard a gentlemen speak who had been wrongly convicted and then freed thanks to DNA and the project)
Point is, I seem to be the bullseye 🎯 in the target audience (especially when you consider The Brain Defense is still one of my favorite nonfiction books) and yet I struggled with this.
Mostly I was expecting a book that discussed (a chapter for each) the various types of junk science (notably “expert testimony”, microscopic hair comparison, and bite marks) how they are employed/the history and why they are not credible or are extremely biased + real-life example cases that can demonstrate these points. (To be fair, there are 3 (?) cases the author worked on that are threaded through the book.)
Here there isn’t much “explaining” or “facts” about junk science, rather it’s more a short, cliff note summary of a few cases where “junk science” was used in court and it led to a wrongful conviction.
For example, there was DNA evidence on the victim, however that evidence wasn’t used to convict, rather bite marks were used to convict even though the person who was accused of making those bite marks didn’t match the DNA. the person whose DNA it was then, sadly, went on to harm many more victims.
Bottom line summary: anything that isn’t DNA evidence shouldn’t be used. Cases, particularly with life or death sentences cannot only rely on non DNA “evidence”
In other words, CSI isn’t really in the courtroom the way you think and often “forensic evidence” is used to convince minorities and worse still, objections to the “junk science” go unchallenged in trial and (basically) cannot be appealed.
Takeaway thoughts:
I have also found it odd (and maybe now troubling as well) that both sides can hire experts. In the UK, for example, the court appoints an expert. Seems less risk of bias and a stronger likelihood for truthfulness; after all of you’re being paid $10,000 a day, wouldn’t you feel motivated to agree with the point you’re being hired to make?
I’m also bothered that the FBI realized Microscopic hair comparison is very unreliable (dozens of cases were reviewed and overturned) and yet this evidence is still allowed!
Note: The Staircase (a documentary on Netflix) is a fairly good example of junk science by “expert testimony” — an agents testimony about what happened, what blood splatter, etc meant was a key aspect that led to a conviction. Many years later it was revealed this guy fabricated evidence, faked tests, lied on the witness stand, and did other things. Some 24 (?) cases he was involved with were reopened and many overturned because of his false “junk science.”
GOD BLESS THE GOOD HUMANS AT THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
Thank you netgalley for the ARC.
April 18, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!
As a true-crime enthusiast, I found this book to be rather fascinating. As a someone who believes that doing things the way we've always done them is usually a recipe for disaster, I found it rather insightful. I was fascinated by all of the cases the authors dug into, some of which I was already familiar with. And I found the author's conclusions and suggestions for improvement to be well thought out. Definitely a must-read for crime and punishment enthusiasts.
As a true-crime enthusiast, I found this book to be rather fascinating. As a someone who believes that doing things the way we've always done them is usually a recipe for disaster, I found it rather insightful. I was fascinated by all of the cases the authors dug into, some of which I was already familiar with. And I found the author's conclusions and suggestions for improvement to be well thought out. Definitely a must-read for crime and punishment enthusiasts.
December 12, 2022
Yes, we've all been hoodwinked by forensic "science" that really isn't. Yet the most disturbing part of this book is the wasted lives tortured by the application of this voodoo science. Do the perpetrators of this unsubstantiated baloney have any conscience at all? And preserve us from the backward states in this country that refuse to allow innocent people to be freed despite the clear miscarriage of justice.
Thank you to the Innocence Project for bringing out the truth. So many innocent people and so many criminals still at large... We live in a scary times. Just arrest the usual suspects to set people's minds at ease, and let the killers go on killing!
Thank you to the Innocence Project for bringing out the truth. So many innocent people and so many criminals still at large... We live in a scary times. Just arrest the usual suspects to set people's minds at ease, and let the killers go on killing!
May 26, 2022
Bite mark identification is the sole subject of this book and I noped out pretty quick cause the writing's not very good and the structure is terrible.
December 18, 2022
Fabricant works for the Innocence Project, devoted to using research and updated scientific techniques to free wrongly convicted prisoners. This book details some of the cases he has been involved in, particularly ones where people have been convicted based on pseudoscience.
The presentation makes it sound like a more detailed history of the use of 'junk science' in forensics (which it only somewhat touches on, focusing on the use of 'bite marks' to identify perpetrators). The books is also scattered in its presentation and could have used a stronger editor. Still, it's a powerful and informative book.
The presentation makes it sound like a more detailed history of the use of 'junk science' in forensics (which it only somewhat touches on, focusing on the use of 'bite marks' to identify perpetrators). The books is also scattered in its presentation and could have used a stronger editor. Still, it's a powerful and informative book.
December 23, 2022
Breathtaking
This was a fascinating, educational book. I couldn’t put it down. I worked for a fire department at one time and I was surprised to learn that all I knew about arson fires was wrong!!
This was a fascinating, educational book. I couldn’t put it down. I worked for a fire department at one time and I was surprised to learn that all I knew about arson fires was wrong!!
December 7, 2022
Compelling read. Frustrating and infuriating, you will not feel confident in our Justice system after reading.
September 11, 2022
I am new to the field of forensic science and this book was INCREDIBLE!!! It opened my eyes to so many wrongs that have been done in recent decades and years. This must change!!!
I don't often read books multiple times, but I'm ready to read this again with a group to discuss it.
I don't often read books multiple times, but I'm ready to read this again with a group to discuss it.
November 25, 2022
When reading this book I was reminded of the Wizard of Oz movie especially the scene in which Toto goes behind the curtain and pulls it back to reveal a fraud. Having been a reporter who covered dozens of murder trials I can recall many times when “forensic experts” testified about hair samples, bite marks, tool marks and other “evidence” that implicated a defendant. I was particularly impressed with the witnesses from the FBI labs who testified with such certainty about the results of their forensic tests. Unfortunately I now learn in this book that much of that testimony was at best educated guesswork and at worst outright fantasy. I feel sorry for the beleaguered defense attorneys who had to try to overcome this bogus science. Based on this book, I have to assume some of these defendants were wrongly convicted with the help of junk science. I thank God that at least in the states where I was a journalist there was no death penalty.
January 7, 2023
A 2022 staff favorite recommended by Natalie. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...
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March 1, 2023Really well done. Interesting. Depressing. Wonderful to hear how the Innocence Project works and the change they make for people.
March 10, 2023
There’s some interesting information here, but I don’t understand the structure. At one point I thought maybe my audiobook was shuffling the chapters at random.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2022
I’ve been litigating wrongful convictions for a long time. I’ve read a lot of books about it. This is the best one I’ve read in a long time and it is not close. Exceptionally crafted. It both sensitively tells a compelling story of three tragic miscarriages of justice yet at the same time dives deep into how these faulty forensic sciences were allowed to flourish. I’m an experienced litigator on these topics yet I learned a ton. At the same time it is eminently readable and I’m confident even those brand new to the subject would love it. This is a fantastic book that I plowed through.
November 21, 2022
This book is a fascinating expose' of the use and misuse of pseudo-science in the American criminal justice system. The only thing missing is a dissection of DRE procedure used in DUI prosecutions.
October 25, 2022
For my money, this is the most important book published in 2022.
It's the story of the role junk science plays in America's deeply flawed criminal justice system, the bad actors who profit from junk science, the innocent victims ensnared by it, and certain public servants trying to make things right.
Fabricant shows how techniques such as hair matching, pour pattern analysis, fingerprint matching, and comparative bullet lead analysis are scientifically dubious. One appalling example referenced in Junk Science involved a defendant who spent almost 30 years in jail for murder, the strongest piece of evidence against him hair evidence. DNA testing eventually proved the hair that prosecutors said belonged to the defendant actually came from a dog.
Arguably the most problematic junk science discipline, and the one that gets the most attention here, is bite mark evidence. It's the root of the three wrongful convictions that are the heart of this book's narrative. How a technique that one proficiency test revealed a 63% error rate among its supposed master practitioners is still allowed in the courts is absolutely appalling.
Along with junk science, other disheartening aspects of the criminal justice system are discussed: false confessions, faulty polygraph testing, systemic racism, cognitive bias, corrupt prosecutors concealing exculpatory evidence, false alerts from dogs, evidence tampering, and expert witnesses basically making stuff up.
Reading this should tick you off. That's the point. Things need to change. Fabricant has done a public service with this book. Highest recommendation.
It's the story of the role junk science plays in America's deeply flawed criminal justice system, the bad actors who profit from junk science, the innocent victims ensnared by it, and certain public servants trying to make things right.
Fabricant shows how techniques such as hair matching, pour pattern analysis, fingerprint matching, and comparative bullet lead analysis are scientifically dubious. One appalling example referenced in Junk Science involved a defendant who spent almost 30 years in jail for murder, the strongest piece of evidence against him hair evidence. DNA testing eventually proved the hair that prosecutors said belonged to the defendant actually came from a dog.
Arguably the most problematic junk science discipline, and the one that gets the most attention here, is bite mark evidence. It's the root of the three wrongful convictions that are the heart of this book's narrative. How a technique that one proficiency test revealed a 63% error rate among its supposed master practitioners is still allowed in the courts is absolutely appalling.
Along with junk science, other disheartening aspects of the criminal justice system are discussed: false confessions, faulty polygraph testing, systemic racism, cognitive bias, corrupt prosecutors concealing exculpatory evidence, false alerts from dogs, evidence tampering, and expert witnesses basically making stuff up.
Reading this should tick you off. That's the point. Things need to change. Fabricant has done a public service with this book. Highest recommendation.
November 3, 2022
Having been weaned on an entire lifetime of detective/cop shows, I had up until yesterday assumed that all that fancy courtroom science was absolute fact. This is a really eye-opening book about the so-called science used to convict innocent people; it’s appalling and terribly sad. Thank god for people like the author who work tirelessly to try and steer this behemoth of a justice system in the right direction. I strongly recommend this book. I would never have known about these sham forensics if my daughter hadn’t gifted me the book.
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