Scientists sue state police over 'pro-prosecution' DNA lab

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Three scientists who worked at the New York State Police crime lab have sued the agency, alleging administrators retaliated against them for finding flaws in processing DNA evidence and pushing for new testing that would identify past errors.

The three scientists said that had the system remained in place, it would have exonerated "a small percentage" of suspects who were convicted using evidence involving scenes with mixed genetic material.

According to their court filing this week, the scientists were disciplined over alleged testing violations during training for implementing TrueAllele, the computerized DNA interpretation program they were advocating.

In New York City this week, a doctor who said she was forced out of her job at the medical examiner's office after raising questions about the city's use of a disputed technique for analyzing trace DNA samples also filed a federal lawsuit.