Autopsy of a Crime Lab, Brandon L. Garrett
Autopsy of a Crime Lab, Brandon L. Garrett
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Autopsy of a Crime Lab
Exposing the Flaws in Forensics

Author: Brandon L. Garrett

Narrator: Joel Richards

Unabridged: 8 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/23/2021

Categories: Nonfiction, Law, Malpractice


Synopsis

This book exposes the dangerously imperfect forensic evidence that we rely on for criminal convictions.

"That's not my fingerprint, your honor," said the defendant, after FBI experts reported a "100-percent identification." They were wrong. It is shocking how often they are. Autopsy of a Crime Lab is the first book to catalog the sources of error and the faulty science behind a range of well-known forensic evidence, from fingerprints and firearms to forensic algorithms. In this devastating forensic takedown, noted legal expert Brandon L. Garrett poses the questions that should be asked in courtrooms every day: Where are the studies that validate the basic premises of widely accepted techniques such as fingerprinting? How can experts testify with 100 percent certainty about a fingerprint, when there is no such thing as a 100 percent match? Where is the quality control in the laboratories and at the crime scenes? Should we so readily adopt powerful new technologies like facial recognition software and rapid DNA machines? And why have judges been so reluctant to consider the weaknesses of so many long-accepted methods?

Taking us into the lives of the wrongfully convicted or nearly convicted, into crime labs rocked by scandal, and onto the front lines of promising reform efforts driven by professionals and researchers alike, Autopsy of a Crime Lab illustrates the persistence and perniciousness of shaky science and its well-meaning practitioners.

About Brandon L. Garrett

Brandon L. Garrett is the L. Neil Williams Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law, where he directs the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. His books include Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong, Too Big to Jail: How Prosecutors Compromise with Corporations, and End of Its Rope: How Killing the Death Penalty Can Revive Criminal Justice.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cav on March 31, 2021

Autopsy of a Crime Lab was a somewhat interesting read. Author Brandon L. Garrettteaches law at the Duke University School of Law. His research on the criminal justice system has ranged from the lessons to be learned from cases where innocent people were exonerated by DNA tests, to research on false......more

Goodreads review by Verne on April 28, 2021

Interesting book. A little too much time spent in the fingerprint dept., but still an informative book.......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on January 04, 2025

Buckle up for a fairly critical review. I annotated each chapter and this is the summary of my annotations. It is clear from the first chapter than the author, Brandon Garrett, is a lawyer, and not a scientist. I believe he specializes in DNA exoneration cases. Even so, I got the impression that he......more

Goodreads review by Rick on December 18, 2023

Another brick in the “goddamnit, fucking legal system“ wall. I’m gonna end up as like a defense attorney aren’t I? This stuff is so frustrating.......more

Goodreads review by Maurice on November 02, 2021

Great info but kinda goes over thing over and over and just isn't written that well.......more