BOSTON POLICE NO LONGER TRUSTED WITH FINGERPRINT EVIDENCE

How unsurprising! If this case brings to general awareness that fingerprint evidence needs independent civilian scrutiny in all cases, something will have been gained

Boston police have hired two civilian fingerprint analysts as part of an overhaul of their fingerprint unit.

Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole shut down the unit a year ago. The unit was blamed for the wrongful conviction of Boston resident Stephan Cowans, who was jailed for the shooting and wounding of a police officer in 1997. It had been plagued by backlogs and long-standing problems with accuracy. The Boston Globe reports that two civilian analysts who worked with Vermont State Police have been hired. The department has not announced the changes.

Cowans was released from prison in January 2004 after serving about six-and-a-half years and is in the process of collecting money from the state for his wrongful incarceration.

Report here


See my post of July 14 for more on the Cowans case



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)