Monday, March 29, 2004
THE BATTAliJ
Audits reveal DNA problem!
at DPS crime labs across stat
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HOUSTON (AP) — The same problems that
shut down the Houston Police crime lab’s DNA
section more than a year ago have been found at
Texas Department of Public Safety crime labs
across the state, a newspaper reported Sunday.
In a review of the 2003 DPS internal audits
done at labs in Houston, Austin, El Paso,
Garland, Lubbock, Corpus Christi, McAllen and
Waco, the newspaper said it found procedural
flaws, security lapses and poor documentation at
some of the labs.
“1 would not characterize them to be as
severe as the problems at the HPD lab,” DPS
spokeswoman Tela Mange told The Associated
Press Sunday. “The point of the audits is to find
potential problems and to correct them. We
would expect an audit to find things that we need
to improve on and we use them as an opportuni
ty to improve.”
DPS officials told the newspaper the agency
stands by the quality of its work and that none of
the problems cited resulted in the false identifica
tion of a suspect.
State Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, pushed
through the Legislature a law requiring accredi
tation of the state’s DNA labs by September
2005 and made DPS responsible for overseeing
the effort.
C
NEWS IN BRIEF
Gorilla pair at zoo
is splitsville after
passionless years
silverback,
Columbia,
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Five
years have passed without the
pitter-patter of baby gorilla
feet, and zookeepers have
decided that Demba and
Chaka just aren’t working out.
Introduced to each other five
years ago at the Philadelphia
Zoo amid high reproductive
hopes, it’s not even clear the
gorillas ever mated. That’s a
big change for Chaka, who had
been dubbed “best stud muf
fin” after fathering eight little
ones at Cincinnati’s zoo.
“Things have not gone that
way,” said Andy Baker, the
Philadelphia Zoo’s senior vice
president for animal programs.
In May, Chaka, a 380-pound
will travel to
S.C., to the
Riverbanks Zoo’s “Gorilla Base
Camp." Philadelphia’s two
other male gorillas, Mike and
Kimya, will go with him. Demba
gets to keep their Philadelphia
home, and she will be joined
by a troupe from the St. Louis
Zoo: a toddler, his parents and
another female.
He said he has subpoenaed records frou
state agency and plans hearings into the DPS
as early as next month.
”1 have lost confidence in DPS andtheiriS
ty to oversee these labs,” said Bailey, who
the House Committee on General Investii
“Clearly we’re going to have to hold heari?
ask them to come forward and give us their
sis of what’s going on.”
Problems cited by the newspaper at Ihe
labs include a lack of understanding
interpret results by DNA analysts; possiiBjhe
cross-contamination of blood samples anda.Mi e t e j;
of lab security. I therm
In Houston. S4.6 million has beenauthorji )m tl'
for the retesting of almost 400 DNA cases Jening
side audit reve J the c
st'iiwus wtiiv.u.hi.iv-> wiiiiin mi, policedepn ; jienfini;
DNA section. Ig(if nr
The Houston lab was closed in late 2002 tiff not
the audit found a lack of training for anal; w rkout
insufficient documentation by workers andwsessic
ble exposure of DNA samples to contaminant and com
he first retest returned last March foundlesestu
DNA evidence to link Josiah Suttontoal998i Jcial li
ase in which he was sentenced to 25 year I dlege e
prison. He was freed on bond days after the This
retest and is seeking a pardon. |m had
o; Tex;
layer
I aturity
There is little chance I ne ' ma
"It dt
mam
Gas prices hit
record high with
no end in sight
Tore p:
I mes ou
k from
)esn’t
pie or t
Cook
LOS ANGELES (AP) —
Gasoline prices across the
country climbed another 3
cents in the past two weeks to
a record-high average of
$1.80 per gallon for all
grades, according to a study
released Sunday.
prices falling significantly
the near future, becai_
increased demand will lkJ ook sa
result from an improvingear|[ eevci
omy, Memorial Day travel
even the extra hour of if® ornir ^
from daylight savings tin
said Trilby Lundberg of!
Lundberg Survey of 8,000s
tions nationwide.
“The demand push thistb
of year is adding to $uf®|[ 1 j' de " i
tightness and therefore pricel ll j enls
Lundberg said. “I don’t seed, , v ^
recipe for substantial gaso J ames
price cuts anytime soon." I; are
Friday’s average price sJ$ U e, c
passed the record of $1.77si latches
in the last Lundberg Sunijiisscla
conducted March 12. Buhvf This
adjusted for inflation, pulven m
prices remain well below
reached in the early 1980s.
icause
Ipenton
lerestc
las alre;
inthero
core ;
nings f
imed n
A&M
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Canoe Day Trip—Join TAMU Outdoors in paddling o
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WALK OF CHAMPIONS LEAVE YOUR maH
Congratulations—To the 2004 NIRSA 5-on-5 Regional
Basketball Champs! Good luck in the NIRSA National
Tournament. Congratulations to James Winton for being
named one of 2 outstanding NIRSA tournament officials!
Aggies, buy your Walk of Champions brick for a reduced
price. Visit http://recsports.tamu.edu for more informa
tion and an order form. Leave your mark on the AW
campus. reexports, tom edu
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