Justice unraveling
Imagine you and hundreds of others were convicted and sen- tenced to years behind bars for committing serious felonies based largely on questionable forensic findings. That’s the case in Colorado now, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into a veteran DNA scientist.
Suddenly you learn the integrity of all the laboratory evidence this woman is reported to have analyzed and testified to at trials during her 30-year tenure is under scrutiny for alleged omissions and manipulations of evidence in her official results.
CBI released the findings of its investigation into laboratory specialist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, concluding that Woods’ questionable handling of DNA testing data, including posting incomplete results in some cases, affected 652 cases between 2008 and 2023.
Now her 1994-2008 work is under review as well, according to the CBI. Talk about a field day for that state’s aggressive defense attorneys.
“This discovery puts all of her work in question, and CBI is in the process of reviewing all her previous work for data manipulation to ensure the integrity of all CBI laboratory results,” the agency said, according to CNN. “CBI brought in third-party investigative resources to protect the integrity of the inquiry.”
CNN reported that CBI collaborated with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation on the inquiry, and did not find that Woods actually falsified DNA matches or fabricated data. Rather, “It revealed Woods had omitted material facts in official criminal justice records, thus tampering with DNA testing results, and violating agency policies ranging from data retention to quality control measures, the agency said.”
“Public trust in our institutions is critical to the fulfillment of our mission,” said CBI Director Chris Schaefer. “Our actions in rectifying this unprecedented breach of trust will be thorough and transparent.”
Woods’ attorney said the findings support Woods’ earlier statements that “she’s never created or reported any false inculpatory DNA matches or exclusions, nor has she testified falsely in any hearing or trial resulting in a false conviction or unjust imprisonment.”
He said his client has been a “loyal and dedicated forensic scientist” at the agency and had worked with and trained “generations” of prosecutors, scientists and law enforcement agents.
CBI said its forensics team discovered Woods deleted and altered data, CNN reported, “that served to conceal evidence of her tampering, as well as her failure to ‘troubleshoot issues within the testing process.’ The agency said Woods’ manipulations ‘appear to have been the result of intentional conduct.’”
It was reported the state will have to spend more than $7 million to rectify the resulting legal problems. This scandal reminded me of the extensive investigation I undertook with reporter Clay Bailey into corruption within the Arkansas State Crime laboratory during the mid1970s where one body after another was being exhumed only to discover serious mistakes had been made in original lab conclusions about their deaths.
Those included a woman with an obvious bullet hole through her head that had been overlooked at autopsy.
And many of us remember Dr. Robert Levy, the Arkansas VA pathologist who worked while impaired, leading to more than 3,000 misdiagnoses. At least 15 of those patients died, and in 2021, Levy was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for involuntary manslaughter on one of those deaths, and mail fraud.
It all goes to show just how completely justice in our nation relies on the impartiality, competence and integrity of forensic scientists. Just one bad egg can easily be enough to cast doubt and wreak havoc on the entire system.
Burglary and us
There were just three states other than our own where residents were most likely to be burglarized, according to 2022 data.
Yes, valued readers, yet another dubious distinction we’d much prefer belong to California, (which ranked No. 9). Washington with 548.4 burglaries for each 100,000 citizens, New Mexico with 481.1 and Oklahoma with 456.3 led the nation, while our Arkansas with 433.6, came in fourth.
The least-burglarized state, at 77 citizens per 100,000, was New Hampshire, according to Suzuki Law Offices of Phoenix, which evaluated FBI crime data on burglaries committed in 2022 to create a map ranking. Deadbolts and alarm systems may be in order.
Lying with impunity
A lifelong friend wrote the other day to say he’d been perusing the Internet out of boredom and had happened across a supposed biography of me he realized had to be mistaken.
He understood that those who came across that site in search of accurate information obviously were looking in the wrong place.
So I took a look. Sure enough, whoever wrote this nonsense obviously creates lots of fiction using a wild imagination. In fact, he knew nothing about me except, indeed, I’m married to a “beautiful woman” (in more than one way) named Jeanetta.
Among the litany of falsehoods, the article said I began my career in Chicago (far cry from Newport, Ark.) and laughingly put my net worth at a whopping $2 million. Great Scott! I haven’t earned close to that after 60 years of paychecks.
It was a jarring reminder what a mistake we make when we turn to this “anybody-can-say-anything-about-anyone-medium” for reliable information. Be sure to occasionally check your own name and see what, if any, “facts” are being claimed about you.
Being a public figure due to what I do for a living, I also realize there may be those who have questions about who the heck this opinionated fella is anyway. That’s one reason I include my email address for anyone who might want honest answers.
On the larger matter of the uncontrolled Internet and its various social media, I’ve come to believe that while it has positive tangible effects on society such as gathering factual information from valid sources and allowing communication between humans, it also has spawned and fostered tremendous evil by allowing widespread slander and terribly destructive lies and unjustified hatred to disrupt meaningful and peaceful lives.
It strikes me as akin to allowing everyone without a driver’s license (or cognitive exam) to drive at unrestricted speeds on our highways without safety regulations to benefit and protect those around them. They feel free to spew whatever evil they choose even if it causes the victim of their jealousy or unfounded hate to end their life in despair.
In our unfettered access to such an easily abused medium, we freely hand a weapon to the emotionally and hormonally driven of all ages to permanently defame, smear and demonize others without justification or a hint of proof because we personally dislike them.
Meanwhile, there are costly civil laws in place against doing the same things in print and over regulated electronic media channels.
Yet we have questions about major causes behind our divisions.
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.