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Investigating flaws in forensics A Washington Post investigation reveals that Justice Department officials have known for years that flaws in forensic techniques and weak laboratory standards may have led to the convictions of innocent people across the country, raising the question: How many more are out there? Read related story.
Santae A. Tribble, photographed in public defender Sandra Levick’s office in Washington last month. Tribble spent 28 years in prison based largely on analysis of hairs found at the scene of a taxi driver’s murder in 1978. More advanced DNA testing showed that none of the hairs used as evidence shared Tribble’s genetic profile. A judge has vacated his conviction and dismissed the underlying charges.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
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Santae A. Tribble, age 11, in 1972.
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Courtesy of the Tribble Family
James Tribble, Santae’s father, after joining the U.S. Army in 1942 at age 17.
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Courtesy of the Tribble Family
James E. Tribble Jr., his future wife, Deborah, and brother Santae A. Tribble on a summer vacation to Atlantic City in 1975.
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Courtesy of the Tribble Family
Dorothy A. Tribble, in a 1989 portrait sent to her son, Santae A. Tribble, in prison. Signed “To my baby son with all my love, Mama, 1989.”
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Courtesy of the Tribble Family
Santae A. Tribble at a recreation yard at the federal prison in Ray Brook, N.Y., 1989.
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Courtesy of the Tribble Family
James E. Tribble Jr., Linda Tribble (then married to Santae A. Tribble) and James Tribble Sr., in a visiting area at the federal prison in Louisburg, Pa., in 1990.
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Courtesy of the Tribble Family
Santae A. Tribble, 50, makes plans last month in Washington with a friend for whom he provides care at his home. In 1978, Tribble, then 17, was accused of murdering John McCormick, 63, a cab driver. Tribble, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced in January 1980 and spent 28 years in prison, based largely on hair found in a stocking mask near the crime scene. In January 2012, it was found that none of the 13 hairs recovered from the mask — including the one the FBI said matched Tribble's hair — shared Tribble's genetic profile.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Santae A. Tribble, 50, kisses his girlfriend, Gloria Powell, before leaving for work in Washington.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Santae A. Tribble, right, with his son, Santae A. Tribble Jr., on Nov. 11, 2011, in Washington.
Mark Gail
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The Washington Post
Santae A. Tribble with his son, Santae A. Tribble Jr., in Southeast Washington on Nov. 11, 2011.
Mark Gail
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The Washington Post
James E. Tribble Jr., left, with his brother Santae A. Tribble in front of the home they were raised in, on the 3100 block of Massachusetts Avenue SE.
Mark Gail
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The Washington Post
Kirk L. Odom, 49, photographed in Washington last month. Odom spent 20 years in prison after being convicted in 1982 of sexual assault, based largely on hair analysis, but more advanced DNA testing on the same hair and other preserved evidence completely clears him of the crime. He is now seeking exoneration in the courts.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
Kirk L. Odom with his wife, Harriet, at their home in Southeast Washington last month. Odom remains on parole after serving 20 years in prison for sexual assault, but more modern DNA testing has shown that the hair used as evidence in the case could not have been his. He is seeking exoneration.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
Kirk L. Odom talks with Sandra K. Levick, chief of special litigation for the D.C. Public Defender Service, who represents Odom, Santae A. Tribble and Donald E. Gates. Defense experts, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the D.C. Public Defender Service and the Innocence Project, say that recent findings prove that justice would be served by retesting hair evidence in all cases nationwide from 1996 and earlier.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
Analysts at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science laboratory in Manassas.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
A latent-fingerprints analyst demonstrates his work at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science laboratory in Manassas.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
A latent-fingerprints analyst demonstrates his work at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science laboratory in Manassas.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
A bullet cartridge under a microscope in the firearms-analysis section of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science laboratory in Manassas.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
The firearms reference library at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science laboratory in Manassas.
Alexandra Garcia
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The Washington Post
Cornelius Dupree Jr. raises his hands in celebration with lawyers Nina Morrison and Barry Scheck in Dallas in January 2011. Dupree served 30 years for rape and robbery before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Mike Fuentes
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AP
Donald E. Gates, photographed in December 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. Gates was exonerated by DNA testing in 2009 after serving 28 years in prison for a rape and murder.
Wade Payne
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For The Washington Post
Donald E. Gates, right, walks to a Greyhound Bus in Tucson after being released from prison in December 2009. Gates was exonerated after DNA evidence used to convict him in 1981 was called into doubt. He is accompanied by University of Arizona law professor Andy Silverman, who had followed the case.
Chris Richards
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For The Washington Post
Donald E. Gates waves before boarding a Greyhound Bus after being released from prison in December 2009 after 28 years. Gates was exonerated after DNA evidence used to convict him in of a 1981 murder in Rock Creek Park was called into doubt. He is accompanied by University of Arizona law professor Andy Silverman, who had followed the case.
Chris Richards
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For The Washington Post
Donald E. Gates arrives at a hotel for an interview in Knoxville, Tenn., on Dec. 30, 2009, carrying a dictionary given to him as a Christmas present. Gates was exonerated after DNA evidence used to convict him in of a 1981 murder in Rock Creek Park was called into doubt.
Wade Payne
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For The Washington Post
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