FBI traces fingerprint error

[central scrutinizer]

http://oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1085572623161310.xml

excerpt:

The FBI said Tuesday it will investigate how its national forensics laboratory erroneously linked a smudged fingerprint from Spain to Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield.

FBI officials in Washington said it appears human error put Mayfield in jail and on newspaper front pages worldwide for two weeks. The print was identified by an expert analyst, as well as three experts in the FBI.

snip

The high-profile error surprised professional fingerprint examiners who say the FBI sets the national standard for fingerprint work. They say the episode likely will fuel critics who question the reliability of fingerprint evidence.

"Suddenly we are finding this stuff is not as good as we think it is," said Lisa Steele, a Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer. "It's the myth of the fingerprint."

[daa]

1. Thank heavens that Mayfield

is a lawyer or asshole Ashcroft would have him GTMO, tortured and never heard from again. Heil Neos.

[amber dog democrat]

2. Maybe the FBI just did not like the guy.

After all they had investigated him previously.
Its time to round up the usual suspects.

[HuckleB]

3. The more one reads about the Mayfield story...

... the more one wishes to pack his or her backpack and head for the hills. Who's next?

More on this story:


http://oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1085573028161310.xml

[The Stranger]

4. Fucking liars.

They persecuted him because he was a Muslim, and he was consorting with "the enemy."

[sui generis]

8. no they're just fuckups

I was "misidentified" on a background check once and was let go from a sensitive contract position.

Not only did I not get an apology from the FBI, I also didn't get the contract back. No problem plenty of work for me elsewhere, but yes they are incompetent and arrogant, most particularly in this administration.

What's more is they claimed they didn't have to take steps to prevent it from happening again in the future - !

[gasperc]

5. the whole material witness bullshit is getting out of hand

they can pluck anyone off the street, what could are the bill of rights?

[Beetwasher]

6. Any One Else Get the Feeling that the Fingerprint Was Planted?

I dunno, just a crazy thought...

[HuckleB]

9. No. It simply wasn't his fingerprint.

Please read the story more closely.

[Beetwasher]

15. I Wasn't Clear in What I Meant

I read and understood the story just fine thanks.

Someone either royally fucked up along the way, or was possibly given wrong/misleading/planted information on purpose. Something stinks to high heaven w/ this story.

[Cocoa]

7. so who's resigning?

what concrete steps will be taken to make sure this won't happen again?

[yellowcanine]

10. Defense lawyers have never been able to question the reliability of FBI

fingerprint analysis. Now they can, citing this case. This is a major fuckup with serious repercussions, imo. Heads should roll (figuritively speaking, of course) in the FBI Fingerprint Lab.

[DulceDecorum]

12. The FBI labs have been known to be bogus for YEARS

And the FBI makes other independent labs follow the FBI crooked set of rules.
They are much more interested in securing a conviction that they are in determining what really happened.
And then you have that Scalia who says, basically,
that if the cops and courts followed established procedures to convict you
and it later turns out that you are innocent,
you should not be sprung from jail merely because you have been proved innocent.

[AP]

11. The day after they arrested the guy I saw an article here quoting spanish

authorities saying that there weren't enough points of similarity between the prints and that this guy was not the person they were looking for.

[ze_dscherman]

13. Posted the link in another thread on the subject

Spanish doubts about the fingerprints were published as early as May 8th:

Report: Spanish police question fingerprints

Associated Press


MADRID, Spain - The newspaper El Pais reported Saturday that Spanish investigators have serious doubts about whether the fingerprint found on a plastic bag tied to March 11 explosions on commuter trains is that of Portland-area lawyer Brandon Mayfield.

The report said Spanish forensics experts found only eight points of similarity between the print and the one of Mayfield held in U.S. files because of his status as a former member of the Army.

The FBI said it found 15 such points, El Pais said.

The Interior Ministry declined to comment on the report.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/8621913.htm

Earlier thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=583117

[TahitiNut]

14. Remember, these are the same geniuses who ...

... investigated Richard Jewell for 6 months while Eric Rudolf was wiping out his trail, and the same geniuses who were able to magically come up with photos and intineraries for all 19 9-11 hijackers within 72 hours of the collapse of the WTC towers.

Just try to convince me they didn't have "actionable intelligence." :eyes: