F.B.I. Abandons Disputed Test for Bullets From Crime Scenes

NY Times ^ | September 2, 2005 | ERIC LICHTBLAU

[neverdem]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 - F.B.I. scientists said Thursday that they would abandon a controversial bullet-matching technique that had been used in thousands of investigations.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it still had confidence in the scientific reliability of the technique, which is known as bullet lead analysis and analyzes the chemical composition of a bullet. But in light of criticism of how the results were interpreted in court, the bureau said it would stop conducting the tests.

A number of defendants who were convicted with the help of the bullet-testing technique have challenged the evidence because of questions about its reliability, and experts said the F.B.I.'s decision would probably lead to more legal challenges.

"This whole episode is a huge black eye for the F.B.I.," said William Thompson, a professor of criminology at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied the issue. "There are many cases where examiners were giving testimony that was wholly unreliable in claiming they could determine the same bullets came from the same box."

Ken MacFadden, a chemist who headed the National Research Council panel that produced last year's report, said juries were often led to believe from F.B.I. testimony that a "match" of two bullets could be likened to a conclusive DNA match, when it might be no more definitive than two people sharing a blood type.

The F.B.I.'s decision to stop using the technique went beyond the panel's own recommendations, Mr. MacFadden said. But, he added, "This decision make sense given the serious questions that are out there."

The bureau's laboratory in Quantico, Va., is the only one in the country that performs the analysis, an expensive process that seeks to determine how a particular bullet found at a crime scene compares with other bullets in the possession of a suspect.

[neverdem]

BANG!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I can see how this technique could be used to prove that two bullets came from the same batch of molten metal, but there is no way it proves that they both came from the same box.

Since thousands of bullets are made from the same batch of metal, use of this test to prove guilt in a court of law is nothing less than fraud.

[EagleUSA]

I can see how this technique could be used to prove that two bullets came from the same batch of molten metal, but there is no way it proves that they both came from the same box.
---
Totally true. It is only a VERY GENERAL indicator of possibility, certaily not absolute determination.

[BigBobber]

I always thought this was a bogus technique. Bullet manufacturers make tens of thousands of bullets from the same batch of lead. Matching one to another based on lead analysis doesn't mean much. Another black eye for the FBI lab. Watch for fiber analysis to go down the same way.

[varyouga]

It should be used as secondary evidence, a piece in a puzzle that leads to a conviction. Definitely not used as a centerpiece of a case.

[FreePaul]

F.B.I. scientists...

An oxymoron? From what I've seen and heard their "scientific principals" are based on getting a conviction.

[riverrunner]

Every True.

we are the FBI we always get are man even if they are not guilty.

[rdcorso]

I don't think there is a bigger criminal then the prosecutor who knowingly sends an innocent person to prison.They look at a suspect like a trophy instead of someone who is innocent until they can prove they are guilty.Any evidence that can vindicate a suspect is ignored while they work to link the damning evidence to the suspect any way they can.I know that most prosecutors aren't like this and they do their job in an honest way but there are definitely a few like this.One never knows when he might be the person who is wrongfully accused.We need an honest system in place if we want justice to prevail.

[middie]

Well said. They've ignored their ethics class doctrine that a prosecutor's job is to see to it that justice is done, not merely obtain a conviction of a defendant handed to them by law enforcement. It is all too common for state prosecutors, verus federal, are so intent on placating law enforcement that they'll fabricate, hide and improperly manipulate physical evidence or supress facts that would tend to negate a defendant's guilt or, at least, raise a reasonable doubt as to that guilt.

Elected prosecutors will go to great lengths, even inappropriate ones, to clear the case and convince a jury even when they know the defendant is not guilty. Every lawyer in town knows they do this in spite of the prosecutors' constant plea that they're convicting only gulity defendants and they don't make mistakes. It plays very well with the electorate that wants to believe that stuff.

[beltfed308]

I took a tour of the Horandy factory in Nebraska years ago. The lead cores are on big spools (like wire) and millions can be made depending on the caliber.

Really neat operation. Also a chance for good pricing on "rejects" .

[jmaroneps37]

I've kicked him in the ass here so I'll pat him on the back here. Wayne La Pierre and his guys deserve all the credit in the world for this one.