THE FBI finds a bullet at a crime scene, and matches its chemical composition to a batch of bullets found at a suspect’s house. It’s a straightforward bang-to-rights job, helping to secure a conviction.
Except that this assumption is flawed, and some convictions using this most cherished forensic technique might prove unsafe, according to a panel of scientists from the US National Research Council. On Tuesday, the panel released a report detailing a number of doubts about the reliability of “compositional analysis of bullet lead”, echoing concerns highlighted by Â鶹´«Ã½ two years ago (20 April 2002, p 4).…
