As an FBI Supervisory Agent working in the famed FBI laboratory, he asked basic questions concerning the validity of the underlying science the laboratory was preforming. A classically trained chemist, he began to document the issues he saw in the FBI laboratory calling upon his supervisors to make systemic changes for the benefit of valid science. He was rewarded with a transfer, an ostracism, and a public investigation. Eventually, Dr. Whitehurst's courage to do what was right led to 40 different major reforms within the FBI laboratory. Dr. Whitehurst will speak to us about the need for continued scrutiny of forensic science laboratories, the continuing struggle for basic validity of the testing that is presented in court and whether or not there is a path forward from the system that the National Academy of Sciences called 'badly fragmented.'

Forensic science: Struggles from the past, in the present, and into the future

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.