The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI have formally acknowledged that 26 of 28 examiners in the FBI's Laboratory Unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence in the two-decade period before 2000. The testimony overstated forensic evidence in ways that favored prosecutors in more than 95% of 268 trials reviewed so far. There are many cases where the forensic expert overstates the evidence or just outright lies.
This information was provided by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Innocence Project, both of which are assisting with the post-conviction review of questioned evidence, under their agreement with the government. They were to release findings after reviewing the first 200 convictions. Of the cases reviewed, 33 resulted in death sentences and 9 of those defendants have been executed. 5 died of unknown causes while on death row. 4 defendants were previously exonerated.
In Rev. Edward Pinkney's trial, forensic expert Sgt. Goff could only say that two inks were used on the recall petitions. He claimed somebody changed the dates in the middle of the page, which makes no sense at all, on two recall petitions. Sgt. Goff, who is nothing but a hired gun for the prosecutor, overstated the evidence in a way that favored the prosecutor. This is another case where the forensic expert overstated the evidence.
Forensic evidence is evidence used in court, evidence arrived at by scientific means. The problem is that over 90% of the time the forensic expert overstates the evidence or fabricates evidence in favor of the prosecutor.
In order for a trial court to submit a case to the jury on an aiding and abetting theory, there must be constitutionally sufficient evidence that a person other than Rev. Pinkney committed the crime as principal and that Rev. Pinkney aided and abetted that person. Although there was not sufficient evidence to allow charges to be submitted to the jury on an aiding and abetting theory, Berrien County Trial Court committed a critical error by giving an aiding and abetting instruction to the all-white jury, motivated by something other than the truth. This conviction must be reversed.
The Berrien County (in)justice system is nothing but a criminal enterprise which has been operating for years in Berrien County, with a group of criminals running the system. We must stand up to them and say enough is enough!
-Rev. Pinkney
