Includes bibliographical references (pages 543-621).
Contents:
Part I: Virginia v. Keith Allen Harward & the rise of junk science -- Junk science and the American Criminal Justice System -- The dentist as forensic scientist -- Credentials, case law, and Ted Bundy -- Virulence -- Lethal nonsense -- Junk science in the Supreme Court -- Life, liberty, and Daubert. Part II: Texas v. Steven Mark Chaney & the DNA revolution -- The Innocence Project -- The National Academy of Sciences hearings -- Steven Chaney's path forward -- The thirty-eight words that moved the junk science debate into criminal courts -- The principle of finality in the age of mass incarceration -- Denying innocence -- Executing the innocent -- Steven Chaney, back on the chain -- Status quo. Part III: Mississippi v. Eddie Lee Howard & a junk science reckoning (of sorts) -- A junk science recall -- The first shots of the bite mark wars -- Steven Chaney's new lawyers -- Keith Harward's lost lottery ticket -- The bite mark wars get nasty -- Steven Chaney's new prosecutors -- Keith Harward's checkmate. Part IV: Eddie Lee Howard, Steven Mark Chaney & the dentists' last stand -- Our heroes -- The Texas Forensic Science Commission hearings -- Steven Chaney faces his trial prosecutor.
Summary:
"Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant presents 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. "No one in America will ever know the number of innocent people convicted, sent to prison, and even executed because of the flood of rotten forensics and bogus scientific opinions presented to juries. In this intriguing and beautifully crafted book, Innocence Project lawyer M. Chris Fabricant illustrates how wrongful convictions occur, and he makes it obvious how they could be prevented." --John Grisham, author of A Time for Mercy. 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. Juries put their faith in "expert witnesses" and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are still 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 and beyond, 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, illuminating, 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 true crime narrative"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.