Harris County, Texas prosecutors are advising attorneys that at least 185 criminal cases may have been compromised by falsified evidence or evidence that was tampered with in the county’s crime lab. An internal investigation found that a DNA lab technician working for the Houston Police crime lab lied, violated procedures and tampered with official records. The lab technician has resigned, and a grand jury failed to indict him but internal investigators still believe that he falsified evidence. At least 185 separate criminal cases could be affected, including 51 murder cases.
In a justice system where suspects are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, the inability of the crime lab to protect the integrity of evidence is troubling. For suspects facing capital murder charges in the state of Texas, phony evidence could amount to an unwarranted death sentence. The discredit technician has put the evidence in a number of criminal cases into question.
Cases may need to be retried. By altering?the evidence, the technician’s actions may have sent several?innocent men and?women to prison. On the flip side, some suspects who are guilty may also walk free because it will be difficult for juries to convict suspects if the evidence being used to present the case has to be thrown out because it was tainted by the technician’s actions.
This is not the first time the Houston crime lab has had problems. in 2012, stored evidence was damaged by a leaking roof and other structural problems. In 2013, the city fell behind to the point where a backlog of over 6000 rape kits were untested. Mayor Annise Parker took the initiative to fund efforts to address the?untested rape kit backlog. However, it is clear that the Houston crime lab still has a long ways to go in ensuring the integrity of evidence in Harris County.
