This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/us/virginia-inmate-freed-after-dna-tests-refute-bite-mark-evidence.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Virginia Inmate Freed After DNA Tests Refute Bite-Mark Evidence Virginia Inmate Freed After DNA Tests Refute Bite-Mark Evidence
(about 1 hour later)
A man who spent 33 years in Virginia prisons for a 1982 murder and rape conviction based largely on bite-mark identification was released on Friday after DNA tests showed conclusively that he was innocent.A man who spent 33 years in Virginia prisons for a 1982 murder and rape conviction based largely on bite-mark identification was released on Friday after DNA tests showed conclusively that he was innocent.
The man, Keith Allen Harward, was convicted after leading experts in forensic dentistry testified that his teeth had caused bites on the legs of a rape victim to “a reasonable scientific certainty.”The man, Keith Allen Harward, was convicted after leading experts in forensic dentistry testified that his teeth had caused bites on the legs of a rape victim to “a reasonable scientific certainty.”
Lawyers for the Innocence Project, which secured the DNA tests that exonerated Mr. Harward, said his case offered the most powerful evidence yet that the matching of bite marks, an increasingly questioned forensic technique, was so unreliable that it should never be used in court.Lawyers for the Innocence Project, which secured the DNA tests that exonerated Mr. Harward, said his case offered the most powerful evidence yet that the matching of bite marks, an increasingly questioned forensic technique, was so unreliable that it should never be used in court.
Mr. Harward, 60, speaking as he emerged from the Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville, Va., on Friday afternoon, made the same point and attacked as “the real criminals” the officials and experts who, he said, put gaining his conviction over learning the truth.Mr. Harward, 60, speaking as he emerged from the Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville, Va., on Friday afternoon, made the same point and attacked as “the real criminals” the officials and experts who, he said, put gaining his conviction over learning the truth.
Wearing rose-tinted sunglasses, Mr. Harward was alternately wry and emotional. ”I got locked up, I had this life and now I’ve got to start life all over again,” he said.Wearing rose-tinted sunglasses, Mr. Harward was alternately wry and emotional. ”I got locked up, I had this life and now I’ve got to start life all over again,” he said.
“I want to try and find me some fried oysters as soon as I can,” he said, but not too quickly, he added, because he would collapse if he walked into a grocery store.“I want to try and find me some fried oysters as soon as I can,” he said, but not too quickly, he added, because he would collapse if he walked into a grocery store.
Mr. Harward broke down as he spoke of his parents. “It killed them, it devastated them,” he said of his conviction. They did not live to see his exoneration, and he was not allowed to attend their funerals. “I’ll never get that back,” he said.Mr. Harward broke down as he spoke of his parents. “It killed them, it devastated them,” he said of his conviction. They did not live to see his exoneration, and he was not allowed to attend their funerals. “I’ll never get that back,” he said.
M. Chris Fabricant, the director of strategic litigation at the Innocence Project, said Friday that the case carried a powerful lesson about bite-mark evidence: “Any conviction resting on this grossly unreliable technique is inherently flawed. Every state in the nation should be conducting reviews to see if there are others like Mr. Harward sitting in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.”M. Chris Fabricant, the director of strategic litigation at the Innocence Project, said Friday that the case carried a powerful lesson about bite-mark evidence: “Any conviction resting on this grossly unreliable technique is inherently flawed. Every state in the nation should be conducting reviews to see if there are others like Mr. Harward sitting in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.”
The police in Newport News, Va., initially had no good suspects in 1982, after a home invader beat a man to death and repeatedly raped his wife while their children slept in a nearby bedroom. The wife described the assailant as a clean-shaven white man in a sailor suit, but could offer few other details.The police in Newport News, Va., initially had no good suspects in 1982, after a home invader beat a man to death and repeatedly raped his wife while their children slept in a nearby bedroom. The wife described the assailant as a clean-shaven white man in a sailor suit, but could offer few other details.
Months later, when a girlfriend accused Mr. Harward of biting her during a fight, investigators zeroed in on Mr. Harward, even though he had a mustache at the time. The surviving victim never did identify Mr. Harward as her attacker, but a naval guard, after secretly undergoing hypnosis, described Mr. Harward as a sailor he saw entering a Navy shipyard in the early morning hours on the night of the crime, his clothes spattered with paint or blood.Months later, when a girlfriend accused Mr. Harward of biting her during a fight, investigators zeroed in on Mr. Harward, even though he had a mustache at the time. The surviving victim never did identify Mr. Harward as her attacker, but a naval guard, after secretly undergoing hypnosis, described Mr. Harward as a sailor he saw entering a Navy shipyard in the early morning hours on the night of the crime, his clothes spattered with paint or blood.
At trial, the only evidence that purported to tie Mr. Harward directly to the crime was offered by two experts in forensic dentistry, who said Mr. Harward’s tooth pattern almost certainly matched the wounds they saw on photographs of the victim.At trial, the only evidence that purported to tie Mr. Harward directly to the crime was offered by two experts in forensic dentistry, who said Mr. Harward’s tooth pattern almost certainly matched the wounds they saw on photographs of the victim.
One of those testifying was Dr. Lowell J. Levine, who was one of the country’s leading experts in forensic dentistry and was known for his riveting televised testimony in the 1979 trial of the serial killer Ted Bundy, tying his unusual dentition to victim wounds. Now the director of the New York State Police Medicolegal Investigation Unit, Mr. Levine has served as president of national certifying boards in forensic dentistry and forensic sciences more generally. One of those testifying was Dr. Lowell J. Levine, who was one of the country’s leading experts in forensic dentistry and was known for his riveting televised testimony in the 1979 trial of the serial killer Ted Bundy, tying his unusual dentition to victim wounds.
Now the director of the New York State Police Medicolegal Investigation Unit, Mr. Levine has served as president of national certifying boards in forensic dentistry and forensic sciences more generally.
“I certainly feel upset and quite disturbed at the result in this case,” Dr. Levine said in a statement on Friday. Considerable evidence, he said, had seemed to point toward a solid match, and he and the second expert had “completely followed” professional guidelines.“I certainly feel upset and quite disturbed at the result in this case,” Dr. Levine said in a statement on Friday. Considerable evidence, he said, had seemed to point toward a solid match, and he and the second expert had “completely followed” professional guidelines.
“This case should persuade all my colleagues to agree with the need for more scientific research and investigation” of bite-mark identifications, he wrote.“This case should persuade all my colleagues to agree with the need for more scientific research and investigation” of bite-mark identifications, he wrote.
The second expert, Dr. Alvin Kagey of Virginia, who is now retired, declined to comment.The second expert, Dr. Alvin Kagey of Virginia, who is now retired, declined to comment.
Mr. Harward was initially convicted in a capital case, potentially leading to the death penalty, but was sentenced to life in prison. The conviction was overturned on a technical matter, but he was convicted again and sentenced to life in 1987. His appeals were denied in 1988, and the case lay dormant until a court last year ordered DNA testing of specimens from the rape kit, a towel draped over the woman after the rape and other items from the crime scene. Mr. Harward was initially convicted in a capital case, potentially leading to the death penalty, but was sentenced to life in prison. The conviction was overturned on a technical matter, but he was convicted again and sentenced to life in 1987.
His appeals were denied in 1988, and the case lay dormant until a court last year ordered DNA testing of specimens from the rape kit, a towel draped over the woman after the rape and other items from the crime scene.
The testing cleared Mr. Harward and implicated another sailor serving on the same aircraft carrier, Jerry L. Crotty, who died in 2006 while in prison for other crimes. The Virginia attorney general’s office endorsed Mr. Harward’s petition of innocence on Wednesday, and on Thursday the State Supreme Court, acting with unusual speed, ordered his release.The testing cleared Mr. Harward and implicated another sailor serving on the same aircraft carrier, Jerry L. Crotty, who died in 2006 while in prison for other crimes. The Virginia attorney general’s office endorsed Mr. Harward’s petition of innocence on Wednesday, and on Thursday the State Supreme Court, acting with unusual speed, ordered his release.
At the time of Mr. Harward’s trials, the validity of bite-mark analysis was generally accepted, and at various points in his case, four more dental experts, including some hired by the defense, agreed his mouth had caused the wounds.At the time of Mr. Harward’s trials, the validity of bite-mark analysis was generally accepted, and at various points in his case, four more dental experts, including some hired by the defense, agreed his mouth had caused the wounds.
But over time, at least 24 defendants whose convictions were based partly on bite comparisons have been exonerated by DNA or other evidence.But over time, at least 24 defendants whose convictions were based partly on bite comparisons have been exonerated by DNA or other evidence.
In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences said bite-mark analysis and several other forensic tools, including comparisons of writing samples, tool marks, tire tracks, footprints and hair specimens, had never been validated. In February, an influential scientific commission in Texas called for a moratorium on the use of bite-mark identification in criminal trials, the first such official statement by a government body. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences said bite-mark analysis and other forensic tools, including comparisons of writing samples, tool marks, tire tracks, footprints and hair specimens, had never been validated.
In February, an influential scientific commission in Texas called for a moratorium on the use of bite-mark identification in criminal trials, the first such official statement by a government body.
The professional certifying society for forensic dentists, of which Dr. Levine is a leader, recently altered its guidelines, stating that while bite-mark analysis could help to eliminate or focus attention on suspects, it is unable to definitively link a wound to a particular individual.The professional certifying society for forensic dentists, of which Dr. Levine is a leader, recently altered its guidelines, stating that while bite-mark analysis could help to eliminate or focus attention on suspects, it is unable to definitively link a wound to a particular individual.
In the meantime, Mr. Fabricant said, his organization knows of at least 25 defendants who, like Mr. Harward until Friday, are serving lengthy prison terms in part because of bite-mark testimony. And prosecutors in some states continue to offer such evidence in court, he said. Mr. Fabricant said his organization knew of at least 25 defendants who, like Mr. Harward until Friday, were serving lengthy prison terms in part because of bite-mark testimony. And prosecutors in some states continue to offer such evidence in court, he said.