Fallout from DPS crime lab testing problems continues

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In May we first told you about testing problems at the DPS Houston regional crime lab. Since then, analysts have been busy retesting evidence in hundreds of criminal cases.

This spring, an analyst at the DPS Crime Lab in Houston was found to have substituted evidence using a drug from another case to validate what he was testing. He was no-billed by a grand jury of any criminal misconduct. He resigned in July, but the fallout from that mishandling continues.

"They'll want to have a discussion about what happens to the rest of those samples," said Dr. Sarah Kerrigan.

On Thursday, some of the members of what's called the DPS Houston Crime Lab Disclosure Investigative Panel met to determine what's been affected so far by what they agree was "inexcusable conduct."

Nearly 5,000 cases have now been called into question -- those on which the analyst worked. They involve cases from 36 different counties. So far 473 cases are on the re-test list. Of those, 237 new tests have been completed and the new results are the same.

Harris County has some 450 cases that qualify for the re-tests. The Public Defenders Office is now trying to notify former defendants.

"To see if they can be retested or if not, to see if there's a remedy that's appropriate," said Bob Wicoff with the Public Defender's Office.

Letters will be going out to those defendants, some of whom may be in jail. The big question is whether the evidence that convicted them still exists. After conviction, it is typically held by the arresting agency for a time and then destroyed. Even so...

"It's very hard to show by virtue of the fact the evidence was destroyed that something deserves a new trial," said Wicoff.

The full state investigative panel will be meeting on these cases next month in Austin.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Proposed change to help ease rape kit DNA testing backlog

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A woman raped as a child is speaking out. Critical evidence in the attack sat in a room for more than two decades before it was tested. And by that time, her attacker had struck again and again.

For years we've been telling you about a massive backlog in the testing of rape kits. Victims have been living in fear, when the evidence that could lock up their attacker is set aside and stored. Now lawmakers are working on a possible solution.

In the city of Houston, there are more than 6,600 rape kits collecting dust on a police shelf. They've never been tested. This legislation aims to change that.

Rape survivor Lavinia Masters said, "If they had found him after he assaulted me, because a lot of the women were after me, maybe they could have stopped him."

Masters was raped when she was 13 years old.

She recalled, "A stranger broke into our home one night and raped me at knifepoint. My parents were sleeping upstairs. My siblings were on the floor."

For more than 21 years her rape kit went untested. Evidence untested and a crime unsolved. Nationwide there are 400,000 cases like hers. US Senator John Cornyn is introducing a bill to eliminate that backlog.

Sen. Cornyn said, "What I want to do is make sure that more of the money that the federal government spends -- it will be roughly $117 million this next year alone -- goes to testing these untested kits."

Right now roughly 40 percent of federal dollars go toward ending the rape backlog. That's under the Debbie Smith Act. The SAFER Act would amend current law, requiring that 75 percent of funds be used to analyze untested DNA evidence. It's money Masters says would be well spent.

She said, "No price tag should be put on my sanity, on my life, on my living, on my life after, on my happiness."

Senator Cornyn is touting Houston's efforts to help rape victims and shrink the backlog in this city.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Chemical exposure testing underway for Freeport residents

FREEPORT, TX (KTRK) -- Hundreds of residents in the Freeport area are being asked to line up to be tested for possible metal exposure. A frightening thought for many families; it's the first step in determining whether residents may have been exposed to potentially hazardous pollutants from a nearby chemical plant.

Experts have started collecting samples for the voluntary test that will help the state figure out if residents are being exposed to high amounts of some metals.

Mary Galvan is a Freeport mother of four.

"Constantly I'm taking them to the doctor, wondering why are they always suffering allergies," she said.

Galvan was among those getting information early Thursday on tests which the state is conducting. It's collecting urine samples from those living in certain neighborhoods in an effort to determine if those living there are being exposed to excessive levels of cobalt, molybdenum and nickel. They've been found here in both the air and soil.

Dr. Carrie Bradford with the Department of State Health Services said, "I think if people are concerned, they should be tested. It's a chance for them to have a free test done to see what they have in their body."

While state officials have not said publicly where the metals originated, Gulf Chemical and Metallurgical Corporation admits it produces them as a byproduct of its operation. A company executive says it pled guilty to 11 felony charges in 2010 of violations of the Clean Water Act, paying a $2.5 million fine.

Three hundred samples will be chosen at random from those who participate in testing. The metals can cause skin, eye or airway irritation, and in some studies can cause cancer.

Mary Galvan characterizes her level of concern as "high."

"Ten! It's my children. I want to know what's going on with their health," she said.

You can pick up everything you need at the Freeport Historical Museum at 311 East Park. To participate you just have to have the sample returned by 6pm Sunday.

Collection will take place at the following times: May 3 from 4pm - 7pm May 4 from 10am - 7pmMay 5 from 10am - 7pm May 6 from 1pm - 6pm

Residents can pick up urine collection cups with sample collection instructions at the clinic and can drop off their urine samples for testing. No appointment is needed, however urine samples must be provided to DSHS staff before 6pm on May 6.

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