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Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - "Drug Tests Botched By State Lab To Be Retested" [Updated]
Updating this ILB entry from July 20th, that is the headline to this story WRTV 6 is reporting this evening. Some quotes from the brief, somewhat confusing story:
INDIANAPOLIS -- As hundreds of Hoosiers wonder if they were wrongly convicted on drug charges based on faulty evidence, state officials want to retest the botched samples. * * *Now the state's Toxicology Advisory Board wants to take the review one step further by actually retesting the bungled samples.
“The technical review has identified procedural problems from several years ago. At this juncture, the next logical step is to immediately retest the samples questioned by the technical review to determine if there are incorrect results,” Linda Chezem, the board’s chairwoman, said in a statement Tuesday.
Chezem said Gov. Mitch Daniels had notified the board that he will accept the recommendation.
[Updated on 7/27/11] Mark Alesia and Tim Evans have a story in this morning's Indianapolis Star, filed at 11:14 PM last night, headlined "Some positive samples in criminal cases to be retested." Some quotes:
A new advisory board overseeing the state Department of Toxicology announced Tuesday that some positive blood and urine samples used in criminal cases will be retested. * * *How to proceed with the audit was among six recommendations issued by the Toxicology Advisory Board and submitted last week to Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has approved the retesting. * * *
The independent paper audit found 10 percent of positive marijuana tests and nearly one-third of positive cocaine tests from 2007 to 2009 did not meet accepted scientific standards. Auditors were in the middle of analyzing results of alcohol tests when the effort was suspended.
The advisory board's report stressed that the audit "was a 'paper' review of analysis, data, notes, etc., but did not include any retesting of samples in question."
"The board concluded that to properly and thoroughly examine the issues raised by this technical review of cases that further testing of the samples be performed by an outside, third-party laboratory," the report said.
It was not clear Tuesday how many samples would be retested -- or the criteria for how those samples would be chosen. * * *
[I]n its four-page report, the board said that while the audit showed "structural concerns" with the lab's work, "it is scientifically unclear if the result reported is incorrect."
Defense attorneys, however, have said the audit raises serious questions about whether the results should have, or would have, been admitted as evidence in court. The results were also used to convince defendants to plead guilty.
"You don't have an admissible result (in court) without the proper process," local defense attorney John Tompkins said. "Unless you do the science right, results should not get into evidence or be considered by a judge or jury."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 26, 2011 09:40 PM
Posted to Indiana Government