Episode 41: Criminal justice and forensic science

The criminal justice system and science are both broadly looking for the same thing - the truth. But in many cases the two don’t mix well. Whether it’s court cases that attempt to decide the truth of a scientific dispute, or the use of fingerprints, DNA, or statistics by the prosecution in a murder case, a lot can go wrong - and there’s a lot at stake.

Inspired by the recent discussion, or perhaps lack of discussion, around [a criminal case nobody in the UK can talk about for legal reasons], Tom and Stuart spend this episode looking into what happens when science meets the law.

Our favourite online magazine is Works in Progress - so it’s particularly pleasing that they’re the sponsors of The Studies Show. Works in Progress publish in-depth essays on underrated ideas to improve the world, covering the history and future of science and technology. Go to worksinprogress.co to read their entire archive for free.

Show notes

* UK man arrested for airport-related joke (2010); UK man arrested and punished (narrowly avoiding prison) for saying “burn auld fella, buuuuurn” upon the death of “Captain Tom” (2022)

* Simon Singh successfully sued by chiropractors (but then successfully appeals; 2010)

* Paper on the Italian criminal cases that helped fuel the anti-vaccine movement

* Jim Carrey campaigns against vaccines

* Tom’s 2018 New Scientist article on glyphosate and cancer

* 1995 article on the “phantom risks” of breast implants

* Helen Joyce on the Sally Clark case

* Tom’s 2024 Unherd article on “the dangers of trial by statistics”

* 2022 Royal Statistical Society report on the same topic

* How Bayes-savvy statisticians helped overturn Lucia de Berk’s conviction

* Gerd Gigerenzer on OJ Simpson

* 2022 philosophy paper on the issues with forensic science

* 2016 White House report on the gaps in forensic science

* Dror & Hampikian (2011) study on bias in DNA interpretation

* 2009 “Texas sharpshooter” paper on the rarity (or not) of DNA matches

* Useful 2023 review of human factors research in forensic science

* Interviews with 150 forensic examiners on potential biases in their work

Credits

The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.

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