Admissible: Shreds of Evidence

Admissible: Shreds of Evidence

Wrongful conviction lawyers looking for pre-DNA era evidence to test found a trove of samples where they shouldn’t have been: taped to a lab technician’s paperwork. That material would exonerate 13 men in Virginia. Advocates praised forensic scientist Mary Jane Burton for keeping the samples and foreseeing the arrival of DNA testing.

But few were asking why Burton broke the chain of custody rules or why so many of her cases resulted in wrongful convictions. Whistleblowers said Burton would skip scientific steps and record her blood test results in pencil, so she could change her findings to benefit the police.

Virginia Public Radio and Story Mechanics present “Admissible: Shreds of Evidence.” Host Tessa Kramer examines Burton’s work to answer whether those smuggled samples revealed more than just the wrong guy did it. Were the scientist’s unconventional methods responsible for getting innocent men out of prison…or for putting them there in the first place?

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ADMISSIBLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: rock of the church.

For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.

Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(730)

Hush: Love Thy Neighbor

Hush: Love Thy Neighbor

When the body of 18-year-old Sarah Zuber was found outside her home in 2019, the evidence suggested a variety of competing theories. Was it a murder, a hit and run, or Sarah’s own intoxicated misadven...

4 Des 202556min

Murdaugh: Death in the Family

Murdaugh: Death in the Family

Alex Murdaugh was part of a South Carolina legal dynasty, but the attorney was hiding secrets. He had been embezzling from his family’s law firm to maintain a lavish lifestyle and his addiction to pil...

1 Des 202552min

The Beast in Me

The Beast in Me

Author Aggie Wiggs finds herself at odds with her new neighbor: wealthy property developer Nile Jarvis, who’s been living under suspicion since the disappearance of his first wife. But when the man wh...

27 Nov 202551min

Model Wars

Model Wars

Straight-A student Paul Fisher dropped out of college to try his hand as a male gigolo in L.A. After a chance encounter with a mobster flush with cash, Fisher moved to New York and opened his own mode...

24 Nov 202548min

The Lowdown

The Lowdown

After writing his latest exposé about the family of a gubernatorial candidate, journalist, used book seller, and self-styled “truthstorian” Lee Raybon learns that Donald Washberg’s brother has shot hi...

20 Nov 202543min

Scorched Earth

Scorched Earth

Attorney Steven Donziger spent his whole career on one case: suing an oil company for polluting villages in the Amazon rainforest. When he obtained a $9 billion judgment against Chevron, it was consid...

17 Nov 202549min

The Preventionist

The Preventionist

An official in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley made a troubling discovery about the county’s Office of Youth Services. Workers were taking action against a large number of families based on the diagnosis...

13 Nov 202550min

The Chinatown Sting

The Chinatown Sting

In 1988, postal officials intercepted a package of heroin from China being sent to New York. DEA Agents followed the shipment to the door of a young mother living in Chinatown. Tina Wong told them she...

10 Nov 202544min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dannet-uten-piano
frokostshowet-pa-p5
fladseth
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
198-land-med-einar-trnquist