Publishers Weekly
★ 02/07/2022
“Follow the science” turns out to be a mistake in the criminal justice system, as Fabricant, the Innocence Project’s director of strategic litigation, forcefully demonstrates in his impressive debut. He convincingly argues that the forensic methods that have been used in countless cases to prove an accused’s guilt are deeply flawed, as are the reliability of certain “scientific” claims, most notably those of dentists who testified to conclusively matching a defendant’s dentition with a bite mark found on a crime victim. In some instances, bunk science presented as fact led to wrongful executions, such as that of David Wayne Spence, convicted and killed by lethal injection for participating in a murder-for-hire plot in Texas; it was only after Spence’s execution that the “expert” testimony was debunked and his innocence conclusively established. Chilling sections expose the lack of any reliable scientific basis for bite-mark identifications, as well as relied-upon arson investigative methods, and detail how the cases Fabricant and his colleagues labored to resolve justly represent but the tip of the iceberg. This j’accuse provides a broader look at a deeply disturbing aspect of a criminal justice system already considered racist and biased by many, expanding upon the narratives of more narrowly themed books such as The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South. The endemic injustices Fabricant lays bare will likely shake even advocates of robust law and order approaches. (Apr.)
One of “The Best New True Crime That WonR Slate
"Junk Science is a book that should be on every true-crime reader's shelves. It is an eye-opening and infuriating tour through the failed idealism of forensic science as a discipline, how certain techniques like analyzing fibers and bite marks wilt under scrutiny, and how the criteria for 'experts' in a courtroom can be laughable at best and dangerous at worst, causing scores of innocent people to lose decades behind bars (or, in some heartbreaking instances, their lives.)."
Reason
"Few people are more qualified to write about wrongful convictions in the US than M. Chris Fabricant . . . Fabricant's book shows how faulty ideas from blood spatter analysis to shaken baby syndrome were developed, infected court systems, and ruined a still-untold number of lives."
Booklist
"Eye-opening, endlessly engaging, and equally infuriating—this book is a must-read."
The Strand Magazine
"Fabricant . . . makes a number of strong points, and anyone who reads this book will conclude that certain changes need to be made."
Slate - One of “The Best New True Crime That Won’t Make You Feel Gross”
"Junk Science is a book that should be on every true-crime reader's shelves. It is an eye-opening and infuriating tour through the failed idealism of forensic science as a discipline, how certain techniques like analyzing fibers and bite marks wilt under scrutiny, and how the criteria for 'experts' in a courtroom can be laughable at best and dangerous at worst, causing scores of innocent people to lose decades behind bars (or, in some heartbreaking instances, their lives.)."
Christina Swarns
"Junk Science is a powerful exposé of a broken criminal legal system, deeply researched and moving. A must-read for anyone interested in the role unreliable evidence plays in maintaining the status quo."
Midwest Book Review
"Inherently fascinating and impressively written, exceptionally well organized and presented . . . Singularly informative, thought-provoking, and critically important."
Sun-Sentinel
"Through his book, Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System, Fabricant said he is trying to create a new genre—not true crime, but 'untrue crime'—showcasing misused forensic science and its impact on innocent people."
Original Jurisdiction - David Lat
"Speaking of the Innocence Project, Fabricant’s work as its director of strategic litigation has given him unique perspective into how bad science leads to worse results—namely, an untold number of wrongful convictions. "
Spectator (UK)
"I believed in the polygraph test, in an unthinking way, right up until last week when I read a new book by M. Chris Fabricant, Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System, which carefully and unarguably explains that almost every forensic science is unreliable, and most are entirely bogus."
Texas Observer
"Fabricant expertly delves into now-discredited forensic tactics, including bite mark analysis and outmoded methods used in arson investigations, to show how investigators and prosecutors often used pseudo science to put innocent people in prison for decades."
Pamela Colloff
"Fabricant's groundbreaking work for the Innocence Project has exposed the corrosive effect that junk 'science' has in our criminal justice system. He's a brilliant writer and legal mind. A must-read."
Champion Magazine
"Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System is a captivating, evocative, and disheartening narrative assessment of forensic science in the American judicial system. It is an entertaining, intriguing, and insightful mainstream audience read—not a cathartic exercise . . ."
New York Journal of Books
"Often riveting, well-researched, and utterly convincing, this book sounds a frightening alarm about unreliable expert testimony in the courtroom."
Itiel Dror
"We think that science in the courtroom always serves justice—well, think again! This fascinating book by Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant shows how junk science in our criminal justice system is used to convict the innocent. Forget CSI and what you think of science in the courtroom, this eye-opening book from the front line of the battle for true justice could not be more urgent."
ABA Criminal Justice Section Magazine
"Junk Science is beautifully written, a compilation of stories of trials, appeals, the vagaries of purported science in the courtroom, and the author's personal journey across two landscapes—the many states where he went to challenge bitemark or similar evidence and his own journey of growth as a lawyer and friend to those jailed based on what is at times head-shakingly bad proof . . . Put simply, Junk Science is essential reading . . ."
Spencer S. Hsu
"Fact by fact, case by case, scandal by scandal, M. Chris Fabricant expertly dissects some of the grossest failures of challenged forensic science techniques, providing a hard-nosed insider’s tour of a fifty-year legal war to improve the US criminal justice system. Junk Science is for anyone wanting to go behind the headlines of wrongful convictions, who hungers to probe their root causes, and who is fighting to win criminal justice reform, inside and out of the system. Fabricant writes here like a combatant with a duty to bear witness, burning to teach an adversarial system how to come to terms with scientific truth and to show the monstrous toll of its failures."
John Grisham
"No one in America will ever know the number of innocent people convicted, sent to prison, and even executed because of the flood of rotten forensics and bogus scientific opinions presented to juries. In this intriguing and beautifully crafted book, Innocence Project lawyer M. Chris Fabricant illustrates how wrongful convictions occur, and he makes it obvious how they could be prevented."
CrimeReads - One of the Best Nonfiction Crime Books of 2022
"M. Chris Fabricant's ground-breaking new work is here to explain (and explain well) what happened, where we went wrong, and how many have paid the price of junk science convictions. Fabricant's long involv[ment] with the Innocence Project lends his book credence and weight, as he details overturned convictions, shoddy research, and the vast egos that underpinned some of the worst work in the history of criminal (in)justice."
Washington Examiner
"Spellbinding . . . Junk Science is a sobering testament to the need for humility—for admitting that our knowledge is limited and fallible—both in science and in the law. Questions of justice are too important to be left to hocus-pocus."
Maurice Possley
"Chris Fabricant has written a compelling account of how the 'junk science' of connecting bitemarks to human teeth has resulted in dozens of wrongful convictions of innocent people in America . . . This book powerfully exposes how forensic dentists have used methods with no scientific basis to convict the wrong people and the guilty people went free."
Paperback Row
"An attorney uses the cases of clients who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned to question the status of forensics as reliable evidence, arguing that it is ‘subjective speculation masquerading as science, typically tilted in the government’s favor against an indigent person of color."
Oxygen
"An Innocence Project attorney has a new book out that he hopes will bring more awareness to the kind of ‘junk science’ that leads to wrongful convictions."
Washington Post
"Fierce and absorbing . . . Fabricant chronicles the battles he and his colleagues have fought to unravel a century of fraudulent experts and the bad court decisions that allowed them to thrive."
From the Publisher
"Junk Science is a book that should be on every true-crime reader's shelves. It is an eye-opening and infuriating tour through the failed idealism of forensic science as a discipline, how certain techniques like analyzing fibers and bite marks wilt under scrutiny, and how the criteria for 'experts' in a courtroom can be laughable at best and dangerous at worst, causing scores of innocent people to lose decades behind bars (or, in some heartbreaking instances, their lives.)."
—Slate, one of "The Best New True Crime That Won't Make You Feel Gross"
"This j’accuse provides a broader look at a deeply disturbing aspect of a criminal justice system already considered racist and biased by many . . . The endemic injustices Fabricant lays bare will likely shake even advocates of robust law and order approaches."
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"Eye-opening, endlessly engaging, and equally infuriating—this book is a must-read."
—Booklist
"Few people are more qualified to write about wrongful convictions in the U.S. than M. Chris Fabricant . . . Fabricant’s book shows how faulty ideas from blood spatter analysis to shaken baby syndrome were developed, infected court systems, and ruined a still-untold number of lives."
—Reason
"M. Chris Fabricant's ground-breaking new work is here to explain (and explain well) what happened, where we went wrong, and how many have paid the price of junk science convictions. Fabricant's long involv[ment] with the Innocence Project lends his book credence and weight, as he details overturned convictions, shoddy research, and the vast egos that underpinned some of the worst work in the history of criminal (in)justice."
—CrimeReads, One of the Best Nonfiction Crime Books of 2022
"Spellbinding . . . Junk Science is a sobering testament to the need for humility—for admitting that our knowledge is limited and fallible—both in science and in the law. Questions of justice are too important to be left to hocus-pocus."
—Washington Examiner
"Fabricant expertly delves into now-discredited forensic tactics, including bite mark analysis and outmoded methods used in arson investigations, to show how investigators and prosecutors often used pseudo-science to put innocent people in prison for decades."
—Texas Observer
"Fabricant's groundbreaking work for the Innocence Project has exposed the corrosive effect that junk 'science' has in our criminal justice system. He's a brilliant writer and legal mind. A must-read."
—Pamela Colloff
"I believed in the polygraph test, in an unthinking way, right up until last week when I read a new book by M. Chris Fabricant, Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System, which carefully and unarguably explains that almost every forensic science is unreliable, and most are entirely bogus."
—Spectator
"Often riveting, well-researched, and utterly convincing, this book sounds a frightening alarm about unreliable expert testimony in the courtroom."
—New York Journal of Books
"Inherently fascinating and impressively written, exceptionally well organized and presented . . . Singularly informative, thought-provoking, and critically important."
—Midwest Book Review
"Junk Science is beautifully written, a compilation of stories of trials, appeals, the vagaries of purported science in the courtroom, and the author's personal journey across two landscapes—the many states where he went to challenge bitemark or similar evidence and his own journey of growth as a lawyer and friend to those jailed based on what is at times head-shakingly bad proof . . . Put simply, Junk Science is essential reading . . ."
—ABA Criminal Justice Section Magazine
"Through his book, Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System, Fabricant said he is trying to create a new genre—not true crime, but 'untrue crime'—showcasing misused forensic science and its impact on innocent people."
—Sun-Sentinel
"Chris Fabricant has written a compelling account of how the 'junk science' of connecting bitemarks to human teeth has resulted in dozens of wrongful convictions of innocent people in America . . . This book powerfully exposes how forensic dentists have used methods with no scientific basis to convict the wrong people and the guilty people went free."
—Maurice Possley, Pulitzer Prize–winning author
"Fact by fact, case by case, scandal by scandal, M. Chris Fabricant expertly dissects some of the grossest failures of challenged forensic science techniques, providing a hard-nosed insider’s tour of a fifty-year legal war to improve the US criminal justice system. Junk Science is for anyone wanting to go behind the headlines of wrongful convictions, who hungers to probe their root causes, and who is fighting to win criminal justice reform, inside and out of the system. Fabricant writes here like a combatant with a duty to bear witness, burning to teach an adversarial system how to come to terms with scientific truth and to show the monstrous toll of its failures."
—Spencer S. Hsu, investigative reporter, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist
"Junk Science is a powerful exposé of a broken criminal legal system, deeply researched and moving. A must-read for anyone interested in the role unreliable evidence plays in maintaining the status quo."
—Christina Swarns, executive director of the Innocence Project
"We think that science in the courtroom always serves justice—well, think again! This fascinating book by Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant shows how junk science in our criminal justice system is used to convict the innocent. Forget CSI and what you think of science in the courtroom, this eye-opening book from the front line of the battle for true justice could not be more urgent."
—Itiel Dror, Senior Cognitive Neuroscience Researcher, UniversityCollege London
Library Journal - Audio
★ 09/01/2022
Narrator Chris Henry Coffey's conversational delivery is perfect for this powerful work from the Innocence Project's director of strategic litigation. Fabricant (Busted: Drug War Survival Skills) defines junk science in the courtroom as "subjective speculation masquerading as science." Fabricant reports that while scientific validation research underpins legitimate forensic sciences, junk sciences such as shaken baby syndrome, shoe and tire print analysis, voice spectrometry, and hair and fiber microscopy are not based on rigorous research and have led to many wrongful convictions. Weaving in shocking accounts of Innocence Project client convictions—nearly half of all wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence involve misuse of forensic sciences—the author describes a justice system so intent on swiftly punishing criminals, it doesn't seem to care if the right person is locked up, as long as someone is. The narrator sounds flabbergasted as he relays stories of clients like Steven Chaney, who was convicted of murder with the help of some of the junkiest science—bite-mark analysis—despite the fact that he had nine unimpeachable alibi witnesses attesting to his whereabouts every minute of the day of the murder. VERDICT Coffey's impassioned performance of this eye-opening work should spark important conversations about criminal justice reform.—Beth Farrell
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-02-08
A chilling account of forensic science—beloved of prosecutors, judges, and TV writers but often wildly inaccurate.
Fabricant, the Innocence Project's Director of Strategic Litigation, points out that before pharmaceutical companies can market a drug, they must prove that it works. Forensic science, on the other hand, is entirely unregulated. When allowing “experts” to testify, a judge is not required to rule on their expertise, only on legal precedent. Fabricant recounts cases of convictions and the junk science involved. Perhaps the most outrageous is bite mark analysis, but readers—especially those fond of TV detectives and their infallible crime labs—will be flabbergasted by his list of forensic techniques long used by labs, including the FBI’s, and proclaimed by highly paid “expert witnesses” that, when investigated by competent researchers, turn out to be unreliable or worthless. These include arson investigation; hair and fiber microscopy; lie detector tests; voice spectrometry; and analyses of handwriting, bloodstains, shoe and tire prints, and bullet lead. Even fingerprints do not come out unscathed in Fabricant’s rigorous investigation. In 2009, after years of hearings and testimony by genuine experts, the National Academy of Sciences issued a massive 300-page report documenting the worthlessness of junk science that outraged the forensic establishment. Prosecutors and district attorneys downplay the findings because almost all are elected officials, and getting convictions keeps them in office. The report is not law, so they and judges often ignore it, and juries “tend to believe what prosecutors tell them.” The author’s case reports and denunciation of junk science make fascinating reading, but this is not a story with a happy ending. As Fabricant shows, Americans seem obsessed with punishing evildoers regardless of the fallout, and their elected officials loudly proclaim agreement. The rate of incarceration in the U.S. is by far the highest in the world, disproportionately affecting Black Americans, who are “incarcerated at five times the rate of white people.”
A brilliant rebuttal of junk science in the courtroom.
