Were Army crime lab problems withheld from some defendants?

Did the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory properly notify hundreds of defendants about potential problems that involved a different lab analyst? Some attorneys fear that the answer is no; what happened with Army Staff Sgt. Kirk Holcombe, they worry, may be a recurring problem. | 12/29/11 18:15:05 By - Michael Doyle and Marisa Taylor

Military's newly aggressive rape prosecution has pitfalls

By the time Marine Staff Sgt. Jamie Walton went to trial on rape charges, his accuser had changed her story several times. A military lawyer who evaluated the case told Walton's commander they didn't have enough evidence to go to trial on sexual assault charges. The prosecutor even agreed. But the Marines ignored the advice. | 11/28/11 15:19:32 By - Marisa Taylor and Chris Adams

Mix of booze and sex can spell trouble for military

It's often the toxic ingredient of a military rape allegation: binge drinking. Many times, the woman knows the man and was drinking alcohol with him. Lots of it. As a result, she says she doesn't remember the entire encounter because she was drunk. Determining what happened can be a challenge for the most experienced lawyer, let alone a jury. | 11/28/11 15:50:33 By - Marisa Taylor

Bureaucracy has blossomed in military's war on rape

Under the political gun, the Pentagon has bulked up its anti-rape campaign far more than many people realize. It's expensive, aggressive and imperfect. Contrary to public and political impression, an extensive McClatchy review of military sexual assault finds plenty of Pentagon and congressional action. Some works. Some falls short. Some goes too far, in a legal arena that's notorious for its complications. | 11/28/11 15:50:16 By - Michael Doyle and Marisa Taylor

Missing evidence is among military crime lab's new woes

The Army's crime lab, already beleaguered by multiple internal investigations, has something new to explain: missing evidence. Examiners misplaced evidence in a possible suicide investigation and an assault case. Meanwhile, two former senior employees of the lab's high-profile forensics testing in Afghanistan have accused their bosses of firing them in August in retaliation for complaining about mismanagement. | 10/24/11 15:41:12 By - Marisa Taylor

'Flawed' new rape law roils military justice system

Six years ago, Congress tried cracking down on rape in the military. Prompted by disturbing reports of sexual assaults in military academies and war zones, lawmakers rewrote the rules. They wanted to protect victims and help prosecutors. Now it's clear that the effort backfired. | 09/21/11 15:44:48 By - Michael Doyle and Marisa Taylor

Do conflicts among Marine lawyers put justice at risk?

How many Marines may have been shortchanged by a potentially conflicted military defense attorney? The troubling answer is: No one knows. | 09/07/11 18:06:43 By - Michael Doyle

Many death sentences in U.S. military overturned

Of the 16 men sentenced to death since the military overhauled its system in 1984, 10 have been taken off death row. The military's appeals courts have overturned most of the sentences, not because of a change in heart about the death penalty or questions about the men's guilt, but because of mistakes made at every level of the military's judicial system. | 08/30/11 11:19:55 By - Marisa Taylor

Study: Racial disparities taint military's use of death penalty

Ten of the 16 men whom the military has sentenced to death in the last 27 years share another common characteristic: They're all minorities. | 08/30/11 11:21:23 By - Marisa Taylor

Military capital cases deserve better defense, critics say

When military jurors sentenced former Marine Lance Cpl. Ronnie Curtis to death, they had every reason to believe that he deserved to be executed. No one disputed that he'd stabbed and killed his superior officer and the officer's wife inside their home. The only real question was why. | 08/30/11 11:21:23 By - Marisa Taylor

Judge finds military conviction with faulty evidence 'injustice'

A federal judge has said that "injustice" was done to a former Navy officer who was wrongly convicted with the help of a discredited military lab analyst, but he also concluded that the court can't do anything about it. | 07/14/11 06:33:47 By - Michael Doyle and Marisa Taylor

Grassley seeks investigation of military's errant crime lab

The Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican is now seeking a broader investigation of the military's chief crime lab, even as Pentagon officials scramble to find out what's gone awry at the crucial facility. | 06/30/11 17:21:51 By - Michael Doyle and Marisa Taylor

Beyond missteps, military crime lab roils with discontent

The military's premier crime lab should be a place of sober scientific research, but lately it seems more like the set of a soap opera consumed with scandal and intrigue. | 06/26/11 06:02:16 By - Marisa Taylor

Military crime lab manager accused of retaliation

WASHINGTON — When Richard Tontarski Jr. arrived at the military's crime lab in 2007, it was still reeling from revelations of misconduct by two of its own. Tontarski brought with him an impressive resume and reassuring promises of raising the lab's standards. | 06/26/11 06:02:16 By - Marisa Taylor

Accused sit in jail as military courts drag feet on appeals

Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Brian W. Foster served nearly a decade in Leavenworth for a crime he didn't commit. Foster is now free and serving his country once more. The military appeals system that failed him, meanwhile, is still trying to right itself. | 06/09/11 17:43:18 By - Michael Doyle

Military crime lab evidence tossed from double murder trial

Work by the military's premier crime lab is being questioned again — this time by the presiding judge in a double murder case. In the latest example of troubled testimony by the lab's analysts, a judge overseeing the trial of Army Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich told jurors to disregard testimony from a fingerprint analyst. | 05/25/11 19:42:33 By - Marisa Taylor

Supreme Court declines to hear case involving Army crime lab

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to scrutinize how a discredited military lab analyst helped convict men like former Navy hospital corpsman Ivor Luke. The court's decision leaves intact Luke's 1999 court martial conviction, secured with the help of U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory analyst Phillip Mills. Mills' own career subsequently collapsed amid revelations that he had falsified a report. | 05/23/11 17:12:07 By - Michael Doyle

More errors surface at military crime lab as Senate seeks inquiry

The military's premier crime lab has botched more of its evidence testing than has been previously known, raising broader questions about the quality of the forensic work relied on to convict soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. Now, the Supreme Court could weigh in, while two senators want the Pentagon to open a full-blown investigation. If they start looking, Pentagon officials will find that the crime lab's problems extend beyond one discredited analyst. | 05/15/11 14:45:12 By - Marisa Taylor and Michael Doyle

After a decade in military prison, innocent man still wants to serve

Brian Foster is back on the beat, against all odds. Foster, 37, is a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant and a military policeman. He may even be a better cop for his ordeal — spending nearly a decade in Leavenworth for a crime he didn't commit. | 06/09/11 17:43:18 By - Michael Doyle

Independent probe of troubled military crime lab sought

A U.S. senator has called for an independent investigation of the military's premier crime lab to ensure that innocent people weren't wrongfully convicted based on work by a discredited analyst. | 03/31/11 16:38:56 By - Marisa Taylor and Michael Doyle

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