A new study published in the Virginia Law Review found that forensic experts gave flawed testimony in the trials of 82 men, including four men convicted in Virginia in the 1980s.  Brandon L. Garnett, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, and Peter Neufeld, cofounder of the Innocence Project, examined the trial transcripts of 137 people during whose trial’s forensic experts had testified on behalf of the prosecution and who were later exonerated through testing of DNA evidence. In these 137 trials, Garnett and Neufeld found that 60 percent contained flawed forensic expert testimony. However, Garnett and…

     In an article published in the March 2009 issue of the Virginia Law Review, Brandon L. Garrett and Peter J. Neufeld conclude that in the majority of trials of innocent people who were later exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing, forensic analysts testifying for the prosecution provided invalid testimony at trial. Garrett and Neufeld located and reviewed trial transcripts for 137 of the 156 DNA exonorees in whose trials forensic analysts had testified. They found that in 82 cases or 60% of the trials, forensic analysts provided “invalid” testimony, meaning they had presented conclusions that either misstated empirical data or…

On July 15, 2008, MAIP hosted its first annual awards luncheon.  The winner of our Champion of Justice award was former Virginia Governor Mark Warner.  MAIP honored Governor Warner for his extraordinary contribution to the cause of justice. [Click here photographs from the event]

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) commends Governor Tim Kaine on his decision to grant full pardons to Arthur Lee Whitfield and Victor “Bo” Burnette.   “We are relieved that the governor recognized the need to correct the miscarriage of justice that occurred in these two men’s cases,” said Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of MAIP.