Forensic science in crisis: Flawed methods lead to wrongful convictions

09/19/2025 / By Ramon Tomey

Courts treat forensic methods as infallible, but systemic issues (bias, unreliable methodologies, lack of scientific validity) have led to thousands of wrongful convictions.
Ballistics, bite marks, hair analysis and toolmark matching are unreliable (examiners disagree >50 percent of the time). Only DNA and fingerprints hold validity, yet even fingerprints have a 1-in-18 false-positive rate.
Despite FBI admissions (2015) that hair analysis tainted cases, prosecutors and judges resist reopening cases. PCAST (2017) found most forensic disciplines fail scientific standards, yet courts still use them.
Bite marks and hair microscopy sent innocent people to prison — some executed — while defense attorneys now challenge decades of convictions.
Forensic labs manipulate data, ignore contradictions and push predetermined conclusions, prioritizing convictions over truth. Thousands remain wrongfully imprisoned.

For decades, forensic science has been treated as infallible in American courtrooms – until now. A cascade of revelations exposing flawed methodologies, unreliable evidence and systemic bias has forced courts and policymakers to confront the uncomfortable truth. Much of what passes as “forensic science” lacks scientific validity, potentially leading to thousands of wrongful convictions.

But this crisis isn’t new. A 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences titled “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward” initially exposed systemic flaws in the field. These include a lack of standardized protocols, inadequate research funding and troubling conflicts of interest – particularly when crime labs operate under law enforcement agencies.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) itself admitted in 2015 that flawed hair analysis may have tainted thousands of cases, including some where defendants were executed. Yet reform has been slow, hampered by resistance from prosecutors, forensic examiners and even judges reluctant to reopen old cases. (Related: Wholly corrupt FBI guilty of pushing flawed “bullet markings” junk science in order to win gun-related convictions.)

The latest blow to forensics science came in 2023, when Maryland’s highest court ruled that ballistics evidence – long a cornerstone of criminal prosecutions – is not scientifically reliable, a decision experts say could reverberate nationwide. By categorically rejecting firearms toolmark evidence as unscientific, the Maryland Supreme Court (MSC) has set a precedent other states may follow.

Defense attorneys are already preparing appeals, arguing that if ballistics can’t definitively link a bullet to a specific gun, neither can bite marks or hair strands prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. “This is the most thorough look at firearms forensics by any court in the country,” said attorney Stanley Reed, who helped secure the Maryland decision. “It’s going to resonate nationwide.”

But not everyone agrees. The Association of Firearms and Toolmark Examiners blasted the ruling as “inconsistent with decades of research,” warning it would force judges to act as “amateur scientists.” Meanwhile, Maryland State Police insists that it will continue ballistic testing, though it acknowledges changes in how results are presented in court.

The MSC’s ruling came six years after a damning 174-page report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The 2017 report found that several forensic disciplines – including bite mark analysis, firearms identification, footwear comparisons and hair analysis – fail to meet basic scientific standards.

Only DNA analysis of single-source samples and latent fingerprints were deemed “foundationally valid,” and even fingerprint matching was found to have a false-positive error rate as high as one in 18. The PCAST report, though non-binding, has emboldened defense attorneys to challenge decades of convictions built on questionable forensic testimony.

Forensic failures sent thousands behind bars

The implications are staggering. Since the 1980s, forensic techniques like bite mark analysis – now widely discredited – have sent innocent people to prison. Hair microscopy, another debunked method, played a role in nearly a quarter of the 375 DNA exonerations documented by the Innocence Project.

In the Old Line State alone, firearms toolmark evidence has been used in hundreds of cases, including the high-profile DC Sniper trial. Yet a landmark study found that when different examiners analyzed the same ballistic evidence, they disagreed more than 50 percent of the time.

“Reproducibility is Science 101,” said Jeffrey Gilleran, chief of Maryland’s public defender forensics division. “This method simply isn’t reproducible, and that’s a massive problem.”

Experts say the deeper issue is a justice system that long treated forensic science as gospel, despite glaring gaps in validation. “There’s no national standard,” said Steven Howard, a firearms forensics expert. “Prosecutors often make claims in court that go beyond what the evidence can support.”

Brighteon.AI‘s Enoch points out that “ballistic science is inaccurate and unreliable because it often relies on manipulated data, flawed methodologies and politically motivated narratives.” The decentralized engine adds that the field is prone to “discarding contradictory evidence to push predetermined conclusions.”

As forensic methods crumble under scrutiny, the legal system stands at a crossroads. For decades, juries trusted expert testimony that now appears dangerously unreliable. While the Maryland decision marks a turning point – one that could finally force courts to separate real science from courtroom theatrics – the question is whether justice will catch up in time for those already wrongfully convicted.

Watch this edition of “Brighteon Broadcast News” where the Health Ranger Mike Adams exposes fake forensics pushed by the FBI.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

Forensic science in crisis: Flawed methods lead to wrongful convictions

Forensic failures sent thousands behind bars

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