Tuesday, April 21, 2015

FBI鑑識員 提供錯誤報告逾20年


FBI鑑識員 提供錯誤報告逾20年

2015-04-21 03:55:04  世界日報 編譯張大順/綜合19日電


FBI承認多年來部分錯誤的毛髮鑑識結果,造成多起案件誤判。 美聯社

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司法部與聯邦調查局(FBI)19日正式承認,在2000年以前長達逾20年,FBI刑事鑑識單位幾乎所有鑑識人員,曾在包括死刑在內的審判中,提供錯誤鑑識報告。在FBI這項宣布之前,督察長辦公室(OIG)曾在去年7月提出一份報告,調查FBI實驗室的違規問題。
報告指出,有缺失的刑事鑑識已被使用在至少60起死刑案件,其中有三名被告已被處決。
OIG在報告中批評「FBI實驗室鑑識人員,在刑事起訴的案件中,運用科學不支持的分析,以及誇大的證詞」。
而由「刑事辯護律師協會」和「無辜計畫」組織彙整的資料顯示,在至今檢視的268起審判案件中,已發現擁有28名鑑識人員的FBI實驗室顯微鏡毛髮比較部門,有多達26名鑑識人員曾在其中逾95%的案件,做出有利檢方的誇大聲明。
該兩組織是協助政府針對受質疑的刑事鑑識證據,進行最大規模的定罪後檢討。
FBI在聲明中承認刑事鑑識有缺失,並指出該局「承諾將確保通知受影響被告,有關過去的錯誤,而且每起案件都受到司法保障」。
FBI承認,「FBI鑑識人員在證詞內容或實驗室報告有關顯微鏡毛髮分析,在報告中犯下錯誤」,並指出,這類報告已不再由FBI負責。此外,目前除了顯微鏡毛髮分析,也採用粒體線DNA毛髮分析。
這份由司法部共同簽署的聲明並表示:「司法部與FBI已投入相當多資源致力改善,並將持續執行,直至所有案件獲得解決為止。」
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FBI admits forensic lab 'errors' against criminal suspects

The FBI on Sunday admitted "errors" spanning several years in evidence provided in court by its forensic lab to help secure criminal convictions, including in death penalty cases.
The admission follows a report by the Inspector General's Office (OIG) last July probing "irregularities" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation lab.
The OIG's report found that that the flawed forensics were used in at least 60 capital punishment cases, including three in which the defendants were put to death.
In a statement acknowledging the flawed forensics, the FBI said it is "committed to ensuring that affected defendants are notified of past errors and that justice is done in every instance."
The statement admitted "errors made in statements by FBI examiners regarding microscopic hair analysis in the context of testimony or laboratory reports. Such statements are no longer being made by the FBI," the statement said.
It added that the FBI "is also now employing mitochondrial-DNA hair analysis in addition to microscopic analysis."
The statement, co-signed by the Department of Justice, added that "the department and FBI have devoted considerable resources to this effort and will continue to do so until all of the cases are addressed."
The OIG's report last July criticized "the use of scientifically unsupportable analysis and overstated testimony by FBI Lab examiners in criminal prosecutions."
The Washington Post wrote Sunday that questionable FBI forensics were used in more than 95 percent of 268 trials reviewed, citing data compiled by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project, which seeks to free inmates imprisoned because of faulty evidence.
The daily wrote that flawed FBI forensic evidence was used at almost every trial at which it presented evidence over the course of more than 20 years.
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