Fault Lines Reports on Flawed FBI Hair Analyses

On August 17, 2015, Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto partner David K. Colapinto and his client FBI whistleblower Dr. Frederic Whitehurst appeared on the Al-Jazeera America program Fault Lines. “Under the Microscope: The FBI Hair Cases” discussed the flaws in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation crime lab’s hair analyses. In April 2015 the FBI admitted the FBI Lab’s forensic hair analyses used for decades in state and federal criminal cases were flawed and inaccurate more that ninety percent (90%) of the time.

Dr. Whitehurst first raised these systemic problems at the FBI Lab more than 20 years ago. The recent reviews reported by the Washington Post in April were the direct result of Dr. Whitehurst’s initial whistleblower disclosures between 1995-1997. Although Dr. Whitehurst was highly criticized and subjected to severe retaliation by the FBI for raising these concerns more 20 years ago, the admission by the FBI demonstrates that he was right.