The closing of the Detroit police crime lab last fall after a report found a “shocking level of incompetence” in handling and analyzing evidence has prompted a review of cases where evidence handled at the lab may be suspect. That review has found nearly 150 cases that need to re-examined:
Authorities have identified 147 cases of convicted and imprisoned people that will require retesting of evidence as part of a search for cases where the now-shuttered Detroit police lab may have misjudged results.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy tells the Detroit Free Press for a story Sunday the number represents the “tip of the iceberg.” She says defense lawyers notified her office of 30 other cases that they believe relied on mishandled evidence.
A full review of cases in the last five years that used evidence handled by the now-closed crime lab is expected to take three years. Who knows how many innocent people are in prison, and thus how many guilty people continue to walk free, as a result.