Two troopers are facing criminal charges for a traffic stop that occurred last summer. The troopers’ dash cam caught the act on video—clearly showing a female trooper searching two women inside of their clothing. The trooper denies wrongdoing and the civilians have filed a lawsuit. [Read more…]
Crime Lab Scientist Could Be Cause of Thousands of Bad Drug Convictions
Jonathon Salvador was fired from his job as a drug analyst for Texas Department of Public Safety last year after it was discovered his work was unreliable—that he had falsified results and simply screwed up on numerous cases. But during his tenure he worked on nearly 5,000 cases—all of which could potentially be overturned in the wake of an investigation into his work. [Read more…]
Lab Backlogs Create Major Delays in DWI Blood-Draw Cases
Blood draws are becoming more and more common across the board in suspected drunk driving cases. Texas cops are getting in the practice of taking “no refusals”, or getting a warrant to draw your blood if you refuse a breath test. But this massive increase in blood evidence is having a serious effect on the crime labs tasked with testing it. Namely, defendants are having to wait for months to have their day in court. [Read more…]
Investigation Into Old Arson Cases Reveals Possible Wrongful Convictions
Crime scene investigation is rarely like you see it on CSI, and this was certainly the case of arson investigations in decades past. Arson investigation was one of those fields that was built on myths, on practices handed down by the “last guy” who had the job. And unfortunately, those practices were often far from reliable. [Read more…]
Harris County Prosecutor Wants to Destroy Evidence
Thousands of vials of blood sit in the Harris County crime lab’s storage refrigerators. This blood is from the thousands of alleged DWI offenders that have been forced to submit to blood testing at the time of their arrest. District Attorney Pat Lykos says the vials are taking up too much space and would like to see them gone. [Read more…]
Austin Man Faces Felony Charges after Photographing Arrest
Antonio Buehler of Austin was pumping gas just after midnight on New Year’s Day when he saw police conducting a DUI investigation. It was when he saw them pull a female passenger out of the vehicle they were stopped, “manhandling” her, that he decided to start taking pictures. It was this that would ultimately end up getting him charged with several crimes and facing 10 years in prison. [Read more…]
First-time Offender Grandmother Sentenced to Life in Prison
A 56-year old woman is serving a life sentence in Texas federal prison for being reportedly “tricked” into smuggling drugs and money across the Mexican border. Others accused of much worse are serving far lighter sentences. The difference? Elisa Castillo refused to bargain with prosecutors.
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Texas Innocence Project Questions Accountability in Cases of Prosecutor Misconduct
The Innocence Project released a study on how prosecutors are held accountable for their misconduct. What they found is that they are largely not held accountable at all. With a growing number of people being exonerated by DNA evidence and numerous cases of wrongful convictions coming to light, the number of prosecutors being charged with misconduct is growing, but why isn’t the number being disciplined? [Read more…]
Austin Crime Lab Faces Another Complaint
The Austin crime lab responsible for testing drugs is now facing its second formal complaint this year. This time, the complaint comes from another crime lab—something officials say is unheard of. [Read more…]
Austin Crime Lab Scientist Fired, Files Complaints
Debra Stephens was fired from the Austin Police Department in April of last year. She says this firing was due to her whistleblowing on the lab, raising concerns with department officials last January. Now no longer employed with the lab, she has formally filed complaints with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. She says the lab does not perform quality work and should not be used for evidence testing. [Read more…]
