In Washington DC from 2009-2012, three men were exonerated in cases where three different FBI agents provided erroneous testimony regarding the hair comparison evidence that served as the primary physical evidence in those cases. Subsequently, the FBI and DOJ agreed to conduct a review of testimony in microscopic hair comparison analysis in collaboration with NACDL and the Innocence Project.
In 2016, then FBI Director James Comey, issued a letter to state governors advising them that the FBI had trained hair examiners in their states and could have transmitted erroneous testimonial practices. Various defense and innocence organizations have begun or are in the planning stages of collaborations on reviews of state or local hair examiner testimony. This instruction provides a resource for those who who are planning and conducting such reviews on navigating and assessing the actual language in the transcript.
Innocence organizations
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