Author Chris Fabricant, attorney for the Innocence Project, reveals some of the work he has done for clients sitting on Death Row for crimes they did not commit. Many of those clients are there because of expert testimony using what is called forensic science to analyze things such as bite marks, tool marks, shoe imprints, hair analysis, blood spatter and so much more. Fabricant makes the case that this “science” is not data-driven science at all, but merely one man’s subjective analysis without any of the measurements needed to be true science.

Prosecutors fight to use this unreliable testimony and judges are willing to allow it in their trials, not because of its reliability but because it has been allowed in the past. Because of this, many defendants have been wrongfully convicted. In a six year span, in Texas alone DNA evidence proved the actual innocence of 13 of these prisoners.

Do we, as a society, believe that a trial is a search for the truth? Do we believe that it is better for a guilty man to go free than for an innocent man to go to prison? If we truly believe in these concepts, one of the steps we must take is to eliminate junk science from our courtrooms. And that is only the first step in reforming our justice system. As awful as the concept of junk science is, even more horrifying is the amount of time, financial cost and effort it takes to exonerate a prisoner and release him once he is proved innocent, even if that proof is DNA.

Since reading the book, I have done some research of my own and the University of Michigan reports that over 3400 innocent people have been falsely convicted based on reasons such as junk science and expert witness testimony, false confessions, mistaken identification, and law enforcement/prosecutorial bias. Although the book could have used some editing, particularly in the timeline of events, it made such an impact on me that I'm giving it 5 stars. ( )

I had a friend in college who was majoring in forensic science who used to always tell us that most of what you see on television regarding science in criminal investigations was at best partially true--and CSI was the worst of all at blending fact and fiction. So I came into this book already a little skeptical about my own conceptions of how forensics are used in the justice system. But this opened my eyes even wider. Prepare to be shocked. A must-read for anyone who has even a passing interest in 'true crime' for sure.
Note: I received a free copy of this book through the Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. ( )

CSI hasn’t done the American court system any favors. But long before that, forensic scientists convinced judges that they could give definitive results with uncertain methods. Junk Science looks at this specifically from the perspective of bite mark identification, but really the problem is more general - overstating the usefulness of unproven techniques. Reading this one will probably make you angry. It’s marred by occasional overblown language, but still worth it for the lesson it brings. ( )

While this book was absolutely infuriating to read, I also found it to be quite fascinating as well. The research on the cases and the "science" that was used in them to get convictions was very thorough and was presented without a ton of technical jargon that would make it difficult for the reader to understand. My two complaints regarding the book is that the descriptions of the crimes themselves could be quite graphic and aren't for those with squeamish stomachs. Also the jumps between cases made it hard to follow and I think that the book could have been organized a bit better. ( )

Much like _Just Mercy_, an infuriating read for any American.

How anyone associated with any of these prosecutions can sleep at night is beyond me. There is a world of difference between building a case and making a conviction for a crime, and what happened to these men.

Bad policing, bad investigating, bad lawyering, bad judging, and it reflects on all of us capable of acting to end these abhorrent practices.

So many deserve so much better, from all of us.

I won't soon forget reading this, knocked it half a star because it was difficult to keep up with the jumps between the cases. ( )