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Dog Scent Lineup Gets Wrong Guy, Junk Science?

By Jeralyn, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Mon Oct 05, 2009 at 11:08:40 AM EST
Tags: dog scent lineups (all tags)
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In Texas, police used a dog scent lineup to get the perp in a murder case. The dogs got it wrong.

According to the dogs, the perp was one of the cops. He was under suspicion for five months. Then, DNA revealed the real murderer who pleaded guilty.

The Innocence Project of Texas calls the practice "junk science that's being used by prosecutors and judges to convict people." The nonprofit group... wants state governments to ban the use of dog-scent lineups. It says an unknown number of people have been wrongly accused or convicted from the dog-scent lineups.

[More...]

How the lineup works:
Dog-scent lineups are similar to visual lineups; but instead of a witness picking a suspect from a group of people, bloodhounds walk along a line of tin cans containing individual scents from possible suspects.

Investigators get the scents from rubbing a gauze pad on someone's body or clothes, and that gauze pad is then placed in a tin can. The dog handler gives the bloodhound the scent they're looking for, and then the handler and animal walk down the line. If the dog matches the scent, dog handlers say the animal will give a "sign," which is usually stopping at the can or barking.

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    Dog Scent Lineup Gets Wrong Guy, Junk Science? | 21 comments (21 topical)

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    I think that people are so amazed (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by eric on Mon Oct 05, 2009