Why do folks like True Crime stories in all their manifestations? I have been toldit’s not the gore or even the unravelling of the mystery. In the end, it comesdown to one thing: the “perp” getting his or her just desserts and going prisonor being executed. But what if that resolution relied on JUNK SCIENCE to obtainthat outcome. Those of us addicted to Law and Order or CSI love our forensicexperts. But what if all, or most, of their work has little or no basis inactual verifiable science? Voice prints, bite marks, hair analysis, garbage bag creases, blood spatter, burnpath, fingerprints, face recognition, ballistics, footprints, handwriting analysis,and hypnosis, are just a few. Yes, even fingerprint analysis is far fromperfect. To explain it all to us is Innocence Project attorney and author M. Chris Fabricant.

(Graphic by Gabriele Wilson)