By Scott Tibbs, March 5, 2015
Note: I sent this letter to my local legislators representing Monroe County.
It is encouraging to see Indiana make progressive steps in changing the way we deal with crime, especially regarding drug treatment of criminals. There are more steps that can be taken to prevent abuse of power, safeguard civil liberties and protect due process. This is why I am writing you today.
One of the worst problems in our criminal justice system is that too many prosecutors are focused on "winning" convictions instead of getting justice, resulting in innocent people getting convicted. This is a quadruple injustice. First, and most obviously, for the person wrongly convicted. Second, for the crime victim who will not see the real perpetrator punished. Third, for the real perpetrator who gets away with his crime while an innocent takes his place. Fourth and finally, for a society that deserves a fair justice system and needs to be protected from violent predators.
One of the highly questionable means of collecting "evidence" in criminal cases is bite mark matching, popularized after the Ted Bundy case. Men who have been convicted of crimes based on bite mark "evidence" have later been exonerated by DNA testing, and the "science" behind this scheme is highly questionable at best - and outright fraud at worst. For more, I invite you to read the following four articles from the Washington Post's website:
Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV
Given the serious problems with bite mark matching, and the stubborn determination to rely on even discredited "experts" in bite mark matching, I would encourage the Indiana state legislature to look into this issue and restrict the use of this technique in Indiana criminal trials. Given the serious problems with bite mark matching, it could be argued that bite mark matching should be banned outright to ensure fair trials and that the guilty do not escape accountability for their crimes. Thank you for your time.
