We're Not One of Them. We're One of You.

At the Libertarian Institute, we feature independent intellectuals who strive to understand our world and communicate that understanding to you. We don’t work for Lockheed or K Street or Qatar. We work for you. Support the Libertarian Institute Today!

$2,406 of $60,000 raised

How Junk Science Sends Innocent People to Jail

by | May 23, 2018

How Junk Science Sends Innocent People to Jail

by | May 23, 2018

On TV crime shows like CSI, NCIS, and Law & Order, science gets the bad guys.
In real life, “science” often ensnares the innocent.
Former NYPD Detective Harry Houck gets annoyed when TV shows make forensic science look infallible.
“You watch a detective get down and look at a body (and say), ‘He’s been dead for three hours now… (H)e ate dinner four hours ago,'” scoffs Houck. “I can’t do that.”
On TV, experts identify killers by their bite marks. In real life, experts claim they can do that.
The TV show Cold Case Files covered the trial of Alfred Swinton. He was convicted of murder because a bite-mark expert said his teeth matched a bite on the victim.
The TV show Cold Case Files covered the trial of Alfred Swinton. He was convicted of murder because a bite-mark expert said his teeth matched a bite on the victim.
“A perfect match!” said Dr. Gus Karazulas, the “forensic odontologist” whose testimony clinched the conviction.
Read the rest at Reason.com.

A. Trevor Thrall and Erik Goepner

A. Trevor Thrall and Erik Goepner

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

15 books

Recent Articles

Recent

Lew Rockwell, Champion of Liberty

Lew Rockwell, Champion of Liberty

This summary of Lew Rockwell’s contributions to the liberty movement will show that Lew has done more to spread libertarian ideas than anyone else not named Ron Paul. Lew was born in Boston in 1944. His father was an “Old Right” Republican who gave Lew a copy of Henry...

read more
The Isolation is Over: Trump Calls Putin

The Isolation is Over: Trump Calls Putin

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has led an international campaign to shun and isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin. Former U.S. President Joe Biden did not talk to Putin once after the war began. That policy of isolation is now...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This