Changes at crime lab urged

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A report detailing serious flaws in the State Bureau of Investigation's crime lab has threatened the credibility of North Carolina's criminal justice system, lawmakers say, and major changes are needed.

The News and Observer of Raleigh reports that both Democrats and Republicans in the legislature are dismayed by the findings of a report last month that detailed how SBI agents helped prosecutors obtain convictions over a 16-year period by misrepresenting blood evidence and keeping critical notes from defense lawyers.

"When folks in law enforcement see something like this occur, it can really call into question everything they are doing," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. "You've got to clear the air."

Berger is one of several lawmakers who want to see a full audit of the entire lab. The report that produced the current outcry focused only the lab's serology section, which analyzes blood and other fluids.

A full audit would likely cost millions, but top legislators say money isn't a concern when the integrity of the system is at stake.

"The absolute credibility of the judicial system concerns me more than any expense," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange.

In addition to an audit, lawmakers are also talking about the possibility of removing the lab from SBI control to make it independent of prosecutors and police.

"You have to separate that connection," said Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare. "There were people who did anything to secure a conviction. How many innocent people have been convicted?"

The next legislative session doesn't start until January. But lawmakers will be reviewing the SBI lab before then, starting as soon as Sept. 16, when the Joint Study Committee on Biological Evidence meets.

The committee will discuss an audit of the entire lab and its independence from the SBI, said Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland, one of the committee leaders.

"This notion that the lab is a sister of the prosecution is an idea that needs to be put to rest," he said.

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