The price of justice.

Early last month I blogged on a guy called Farah Jama, who'd spent 15 months in prison for a rape he didn't commit due to a forensic balls up. A post script to the story is that it's now cost the taxpayer $525,000, the amount of compensation for Mr Jama. I don't mention it because I begrudge him the money. Not as bit of it, since the poor bloke must have gone through hell. I mention it because it adds a dollar cost to that of an innocent man's reputation and liberty. And all because we're so regularly told about the reliability of forensics in general and DNA in particular that unless someone actually spells out to a jury that it can and does get it wrong now and again they're often prepared to convict in spite of contrary evidence. CSI probably has a lot to answer for.