CSI on Trial

Juries often take as gospel forensics based on expert opinions and not peer-reviewed findings. There’s now a growing scrutiny of techniques like blood spatter, footwear analysis, bite marks, and arson detection - long accepted as reliable, yet responsible for many wrongful convictions. And efforts to establish meaningful standards to the disciplines are met with resistance from the prosecutors who rely on them.

“CSI on Trial” from iHeart and School of Humans examines the veracity of the most common forensic techniques, like ballistics and pattern analysis, as well as misapplied findings of arson and shaken baby syndrome. Host Molly Hermann uses the stories of those freed after wrongful convictions and those still behind bars because of shaky science.