Harmful statistics: John Oliver on forensic science

John Oliver goes John Oliver on forensic science and it’s a must watch. Forensic science brought statistics to courts, but itself it’s only rarely exposed to scientific scrutiny. Justice system’s failure to question forensics methodology and common fear of scientific jargon has led to convicting innocent people for crimes they haven’t commited. Courts have given life sentences solely based on bite marks, partial fingerprints, and hair collected at crime scene despite of no proof these methods are infallible.

Watch John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episode below and make sure to read the excellent investigative article by Jordan Smith on The Intercept that the show was based on.