Why is bite mark evidence controversial

That is one of the major hurdles in keeping bite mark comparison evidence out of criminal proceedings. And despite the rising chorus of voices in the scientific community and beyond calling out the unvalidated use of bite marks, some continue to believe in bite mark evidence and the ABFO still supports its use. Eddie Lee Howard is one of these clients. Howard was convicted of the rape and murder of an year-old woman in Mississippi. Though he always maintained his innocence, he was convicted in and sentenced to death.

Initially, Hayne did not report seeing bite marks on the body. West, who proclaimed that the marks were indeed bite marks and that they matched Howard.

Dana Delger. Just two years later , Dr. Still, that same year, in response to an appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court wrote of Dr. West has been wrong a lot, does not mean, without something more, that he was wrong here. Yet, he remains on death row today for a crime he did not commit because wrongful convictions are so difficult to overturn.

Nearly a quarter of the 2, people who have been exonerated since were wrongfully convicted based on false or misleading forensic evidence, like bite marks, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

By adopting changed science statutes, states can pave the way for people wrongfully convicted based on bite mark evidence to seek justice. Such statutes create a path for innocent people to bring their cases back into court when the science used to convict them has changed or, as in the case of bite marks, been invalidated. And you, too, can play a role in advancing justice by advocating for these legislative changes when such bills are being considered by your lawmakers.

Though the science behind bite marks has been debunked, it continues to be used in courts. And when presented as scientific evidence by so-called experts in court, bite marks seem to offer jurors a false sense of certainty. But they should be. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project.

Thank you for visiting us. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. Join our mailing list. How the so called experts are really not experts at all and a lot of what they do is guess work. I am a 2L law student writing a paper on forensic dentistry for my Expert Evidence class.

Is there a specific website, blog, or any other type of service that would be helpful to look up? I would love to talk to someone who has had either a good or bad experience regarding bite mark evidence. Press Release. Special Features. Cybersecurity Mobile Policy Privacy Scooters.

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Bite mark evidence, an aspect of forensic odontology, is the process by which odontologists dentists attempt to match marks found at crime scenes with the dental impressions of suspects. Although bite mark evidence has been used across the country in many criminal prosecutions, there is no real scientific support or research into the accuracy or reliability of bite mark evidence. Bite marks are often found at the scene of violent crimes — murders, assaults, and sexual assaults — and are extremely difficult to accurately investigate.

Part of this is because victims of violent crimes can suffer multiple injuries, and what looks like a bite can actually be an unrelated injury. Human skin is elastic; it swells, heals, and it can deform or warp a bite so that it does not align properly.