Forensic Science

A Georgia judge ordered a new trial for Danyel Smith, who was convicted of a crime that may have never occurred.

Maria Montalvo was convicted of murder in 1996 after her children’s deaths in a fire, based on testimony from arson experts. In a petition for a new trial, her attorneys argue that the conviction rests on ‘outdated beliefs and junk science.’

The first ruling of its kind in the country could give people convicted based on SBS testimony a new shot at freedom.

Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free.

The Travis County District Attorney’s office had joined the release request and, despite Jimenez being taken into custody by ICE, she is expected to be released today.

Josie Duffy Rice and guest co-host Zak Cheney Rice talk with Radley Balko, opinion journalist at the Washington Post and author of The Cadaver and the Country Dentist, about faulty forensic science.

Advocates say junk science was used to convict Jimenez. DA Margaret Moore has not yet decided whether she will drop charges or retry her.

An autopsy blamed the sleeping situation, but forensic experts aren’t so sure. And the same Ohio county just charged another mom in a similar case.

With Jessica Brand, Legal Director at The Justice Collaborative and Appeal contributor.

Ledura Watkins spent 41 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. And the only evidence prosecutors had against Watkins in the early 1970’s was a single hair.