Tag Archives: DNA

Equality is about more than marriage

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about families, and lots of other things, too. Joe Riggs and Jason Hanna never expected to make national news after a surrogate mom gave birth to their twins. Riggs, 33, and Hanna, 37, have been together almost four years. … Continue reading →

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A Greg Abbott threefer

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Trail Blazers: Dallas appeals court rules fired prosecutor can pursue whistleblowing case against Greg Abbott’s office In May 2009, a former assistant attorney general in Greg Abbott’s office sued the Office of the Attorney General in Dallas County court, claiming … Continue reading →

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HPD’s good, bad, and ugly

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that the testing of backlogged rape kits has led to the identification of a serial rapist in Houston. Houston police on Tuesday for the first time identified a criminal suspect – a possible serial rapist – … Continue reading →

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More details on the rape kit backlog results

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

HPD reports to Council about the progress of testing done on the backlogged rape kits. No false arrests by Houston police have been uncovered during an ongoing $4.4 million testing of thousands of old rape kits, but new suspects have … Continue reading →

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Not just DNA

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of other exonerations that happen around the country, for crimes major and minor, that don’t involve DNA. In September 2006, [Corey] Love was charged by Houston police with possession of between one and four grams of … Continue reading →

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Clearing the rape kit backlog is producing results

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very promising results. Private forensic laboratories hired to clear the Houston Police Department’s untested DNA evidence – including a decades-old rape kit backlog – have identified potential offenders in a third of the cases where sufficient DNA samples were found, … Continue reading →

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Who shot Bigfoot?

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The correct answer is “no one”, since Bigfoot doesn’t exist and all that, but this guy claims to have done it. Nearly a year ago a self-described professional Bigfoot hunter claimed to have shot and killed one of the creatures … Continue reading →

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We need a Conviction Integrity Unit in Harris County

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the DMN: Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has gained a national reputation for spearheading prisoner exonerations. As he prepares to seek a third term, Watkins said Thursday he wants to expand on that role and add a few … Continue reading →

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Yeah, that’s still not Bigfoot

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You can’t fool the SciGuy, y’all. Bigfoot is smarter than humans. Bigfoot roams from the Arctic to the equator. Bigfoot has a sixth sense. And most importantly, Bigfoot is very, very, very, very real. That was the message Tuesday from … Continue reading →

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Interview with Anthony Robinson

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve followed the news at all in Texas over the past decade or so you’re familiar with the large number of convicted inmates who have been subsequently freed after being exonerated by DNA evidence. That’s the story of District … Continue reading →

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Rape kit backlog eliminated

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

More good news. For the first time in its history, the Houston Police Department doesn’t have a backlog of rape kits that haven’t been tested. The backlog, which at one point totalled 6,600 untested rape kits, was eliminated by sending … Continue reading →

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What’s the difference between a rock and a fossilized Bigfoot skull?

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Less than you might think, apparently. Todd May, of Ogden, dropped by the offices of the Standard-Examiner to see if someone would be interested in a story about a fairly impressive fossil find. After showing off a couple of digital … Continue reading →

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Where does the crime lab go from here?

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Now that there’s a plan in place to clear the longstanding crime lab backlog, the question is what should we expect from the crime lab going forward? “It’s sort of hard to build a house when you’re trying to dig … Continue reading →

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What to expect from clearing the rape kit backlog

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, two weeks ago Mayor Parker announced that the city would allocate funds to clear the backlog of rape kits, thus bringing to a conclusions one of the city’s longest-standing issues. City Council has now unanimously approved the … Continue reading →

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Bigfoot DNA update

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I apologize for being so remiss in reporting on this. As you may recall last November there was a bit of a to-do about a Texas geneticist from Nacogdoches, Melba Ketchum, who claimed to have sequenced DNA from a Bigfoot. … Continue reading →

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Clearing the rape kit backlog

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some excellent news from the Mayor’s office. Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston Police Department today announced details of a plan that will eliminate the backlog of untested sexual assault kits (SAK). Under the plan, which will be formally considered … Continue reading →

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Court of inquiry concludes

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The court of inquiry that was examining the behavior of then-prosecutor Ken Anderson has concluded with Anderson’s testimony in his defense. Having seen what he had to say for himself, I find myself not terribly sympathetic to him or his … Continue reading →

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The court of inquiry

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Going on this week is a court of inquiry in the matter of Williamson County Judge Ken Anderson, who was the District Attorney that won a conviction against Michael Morton for the murder of his wife, Christine, which as we … Continue reading →

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In praise of CODIS

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’re catching more crooks thanks to DNA. Not exactly an earth-shattering revelation, but it’s always nice to have some numbers. The number of Texas crimes solved after a suspect’s DNA matched with offenders’ DNA samples stored in the national repository … Continue reading →

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Recreating a Galapagos tortoise?

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

How amazing would this be? Lonesome George, the late reptile prince of the Galapagos Islands, may be dead, but scientists now say he may not be the last giant tortoise of his species after all. Researchers say they may be … Continue reading →

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So you say you have Bigfoot DNA

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have one thing to say about this. A team of scientists can verify that their 5-year long DNA study, currently under peer-review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch,” living in North … Continue reading →

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Got any Bigfoot DNA?

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Please send it to Oxford if you do. In a project announced this week, Oxford University and Lausanne Museum of Zoology scientists appealed to museums, scientists and Yeti aficionados to share hair samples thought to be from the mythical ape-like … Continue reading →

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Why better eyewitness ID procedures matter

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Because bad eyewitness ID procedures can lead to the wrong people being executed. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, stopped short of claiming Texas wrongfully executed suspect Carlos DeLuna for the February 1983 murder of store … Continue reading →

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“Open letter to Williamson County”

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

John Raley is the attorney who worked for years to exonerate Michael Morton on the charge of murdering his wife in 1987. The key to the case was a bloody bandana, which DNA testing showed belonged to the real killer. … Continue reading →

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Solving car crimes with DNA

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This story is basically a commercial for Harris County’s crime lab – Did you know that since they have no testing backlog on personal crime cases they can focus on property crimes? It’s true! – but it’s still pretty cool. … Continue reading →

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County approves building new forensics lab

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Institute of Forensic Sciences is getting a new home. Commissioners Court on Tuesday gave staff the go-ahead to finalize a land deal with the Texas Medical Center that would give the county 2.79 acres at the northeast corner of … Continue reading →

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“Beyond DNA”

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas Observer has a good story about the state of the exoneration business now that most of the cases involving DNA have been handled. Since Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins took office in 2007, incidents of wrongfully convicted … Continue reading →

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It’s a long way to Damascus

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a good story about Williamson County DA John Bradley, whom you may recall as Rick Perry’s chief hatchet man on the Forensic Science Commission, and his apparent conversion to open-mindedness in the wake of the DNA exoneration … Continue reading →

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Doggy DNA detectives

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I love so many things about this story. Here’s the scoop: Some apartment complexes are using DNA testing on dog doo to find out who’s not cleaning up after their pets. The Timberwood Commons in Lebanon, N.H., opened this year … Continue reading →

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One good thing that can be said about this session

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A fair number of innocence-related bills have been passed this session. Some of them might have been passed in 2009 had it not been for the voter ID-killing chubfest, for others it was just that the stars finally aligned. Grits … Continue reading →

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Senate approves rape kit testing bill

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Earlier this week I mentioned a bill, SB1636, by Sen. Wendy Davis that aimed at getting thousands of untested rape kits analyzed. I’m pleased to say that it was passed unanimously by the Senate today, and now heads to the … Continue reading →

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Two forensic bills

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas has thousands of untested rape kits in it, and a bill to try to make something happen with them. The bill, by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, would require a police department to submit a rape kit to a … Continue reading →

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Eyewitness ID bills advance

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Grits: Sen. Rodney Ellis’ eyewitness ID bill passed out of committee unanimously, with an an inconsequential cleanup amendment from Sen. Joan Huffman, just as Chairman Pete Gallego’s companion bill passed out of House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee last week. Since that … Continue reading →

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Keeping track of innocence-related bills

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Grits: The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee has posted an agenda which includes three important pieces of innocence legislation carried by Chairman Pete Gallego: HB 215 Relating to photograph and live lineup identification procedures in criminal cases. HB 219 Relating … Continue reading →

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