Author: Jenny Deam
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CBI scandal: Missy Woods arraignment delayed until late October
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The legal case against Yvonne Woods, the former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist at the heart of a scandal that has engulfed the agency, was delayed on Monday until late October due to the sheer volume of material. Defense attorney Tom Ward asked to delay Woods’ arraignment for more than two months, citing nearly…
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‘All I ever wanted was a fair trial’: Colorado man Clayton Hood cleared in sex assault
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Clayton Hood stood in the Douglas County Courthouse on June 6, breathing hard, his heart pounding, waiting for the judge to speak. The jury had just decided his case for a second time. Then came the words: “Not guilty.” Suddenly, everything seemed to blur. After being cleared on the first charge of sexual assault on…
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‘I felt this sense of peace’: Amid CBI lab scandal, Colorado man gives first interview since release from prison
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Michael Clark awoke with a start at his usual time, just after 5 a.m., his eyes adjusting to the darkness, his brain gauging the surroundings that felt familiar yet also somehow foreign. What struck him most that first morning was the quiet. It had never been quiet in prison. The bang of guards’ heavy boots…
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Judge overturns first-ever minimum staffing requirement for nursing homes, including those in Colorado
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A federal judge in Texas last month overturned the first-ever minimum staffing requirement at most of the nation’s nursing homes, including in Colorado — gutting what some call crucial safety and quality of care measures. On April 7, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled in a summary judgement that while “rooted in laudable goals,” the…
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Michael Clark released after spending 12 years for murder he maintains he didn’t commit
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Michael Clark was released from custody on Monday after spending 12 years in prison for a murder he has said for 30 years he did not commit. He remains charged with the 1994 Boulder murder of Marty Grisham and it is now up to the Boulder County district attorney’s office whether to retry him. His…
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Court filing: DNA retest against convicted killer Michael Clark now excludes him, casting doubt on entire case
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An independent retest of DNA evidence used to arrest and convict Michael Clark for a murder he says he did not commit now appears to exclude him, throwing into doubt the entire case, according to a new court document filed Monday. The new revelation contradicts key testimony made by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s former…
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Colorado’s DNA scandal: Hundreds of cases affected, but very few retests ordered
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It has been 17 months since a young forensic biology intern doing research at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensic lab noticed something amiss in data sets produced by Yvonne Woods, the state’s most prolific and revered DNA analyst. She alerted supervisors. What followed that September day in 2023 has grown into a scandal of…
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Lawsuit targets CBI lab’s quality control process, citing alleged one-minute reviews
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Quality control within the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensic lab was allegedly so lax that in at least eight instances it appeared the technical review of one scientist checking another’s work lasted just one minute, according to time-stamped documentation included in a new lawsuit filed on Friday. The issue raises questions in the legal community…
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Missy Woods, former Colorado forensic scientist at center of DNA scandal, appears in court
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The former top Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic scientist who is at the center of a major DNA scandal appeared remotely from her jail for her first court proceeding in Jefferson County this morning. Yvonne “Missy” Woods had turned herself into Jefferson County authorities on Wednesday. She was booked into jail on a 102-count felony…
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After 39 years, Lone Tree cold case comes full circle for former Douglas County sheriff
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As he was dying that day in November 1985, Roger Dean tore what would become a critical clue in his own murder from his killer’s head — an orange ski mask dotted with DNA evidence. It would take decades, though, and steady advancements in DNA science before investigators were able to solve a case that had…