Well, I don't wish to be too cruel to the CSI series which has droned on and on for years on our TV sets, not least because I don't think I have ever watched a complete episode. My usual high-powered and intellectually critical review was something along the lines of "total blx, when's the footie on?" Yes, yes, shockin', I know, and I do realize that even on the law of averages forensic science must get it right sometimes but, alas, I am now old enough to realize that the greatest common denominator in science is the propensity for scientists to get everything wrong and then own up years later, usually after they have collected various 'gongs'. Climate science is but the latest manifestation.
Thus, it was absolutely no surprise to me to read in The Daily Mail the following headline:
FBI admits that ALL its forensic experts exaggerated hair evidence at every criminal trial for nearly 20 years
Apparently some 26 employees from a DNA forensics team gave false evidence over a period of some 20 years.
The Washington Post reported that of the 200 convictions affected, 32 defendants were sentenced to death - 14 of which have since been executed or died behind bars.
The final bitter post-script to this story lies in the final sentence:
It took almost five years [my emphasis] for the FBI to identify the more than 60 death-row defendents whose cases required further examination, and during that time at least three were executed.
Is it any wonder that we loathe and distrust government and its poxy proxies?