However, another witness testified that the severe criticism of the forensics field is unjustified. Barry Matson, Deputy Director of the Alabama District Attorneys Association and the Chief Prosecutor for the Alabama Computer Forensic Laboratories agreed that some "regrettable incidences" have happened in forensic settings but was emphatic that these incidences were not to the level that projects such as the NAS report indicated. He stated that the NAS report erroneously focused on perceived biases in the forensics and law enforcement communities. Mr. Matson also testified that the NAS report has had distinct negative impact on prosecutors in previous convictions, and current prosecutions now being challenged by the information in the NAS report.

The Hearing testimony can be accessed at: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=4038

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