Ex-SBI Analyst Defends Withholding Test Results

This Source Verification Page documents the archived News & Observer article cited in Claim I of the Supplemental Motion. The article reports on public statements made by former SBI analyst J.T. Taub concerning historical SBI laboratory reporting practices and includes additional reporting regarding SBI analyst Brenda Bissette. The article is cited because it provides contemporaneous reporting on forensic laboratory practices that are relevant to the allegations raised in the Defendant's case.

Related SMAR Citation

"[Ex-SBI analyst defends withholding test results", News & Observer, August 20, 2010]"

Article Name

Ex-SBI Analyst Defends Withholding Test Results

Author(s)

Mandy Locke & Joseph Neff

Publication

The News & Observer

Publication Date

August 20, 2010

Verification Source

Archived copy of "Ex-SBI Analyst Defends Withholding Test Results"

Source Location

Originally published by The News & Observer; archived copy located through Google Groups.

Archived Article

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Original Publication

Original News & Observer URL (No Longer Active)

Referenced in the Supplemental Motion

Page 44, Paragraph: 90–91

Highlighted Pages

1–2

Source Status

X Original News & Observer article not located through the newspaper's current website

X Archived copy obtained, reviewed, and verified through Google Groups.

X Article content identifies publication by The News & Observer on August 20, 2010 and attributes authorship to Mandy Locke and Joseph Neff.

X Included within the Source Verification Archive

Cited to Support

Lyle C. May alleges that North Carolina SBI analysts routinely omitted negative confirmatory serology test results from laboratory reports; that former SBI analyst Jed Taub publicly defended the practice by stating that negative confirmatory results were not reported because analysts could not be certain blood was absent; and that Taub attributed any resulting misunderstanding to defense attorneys rather than the laboratory. May cites this article in support of his claim that SBI analysts involved in his case followed laboratory reporting practices that were later criticized for concealing potentially favorable information from defendants and their counsel. The article is further cited because Taub participated in the forensic examination of evidence in May's case and publicly defended the reporting practices that were later examined during the statewide SBI laboratory review.

The article further discusses reporting surrounding SBI analyst Brenda Bissette and provides contemporaneous reporting concerning deficiencies identified within the SBI laboratory system. May cites this source in support of his allegations that forensic reporting practices affecting evidence examined in his case warrant judicial scrutiny. The article is particularly relevant because Brenda Bissette analyzed evidence collected during the investigation into the 1997 Asheville, North Carolina murders of Valerie Sue Riddle and Kelly Mark Laird, Jr., and later testified during May's 1999 Buncombe County trial, directly connecting the broader SBI laboratory controversy to the forensic evidence presented in his case.

Paragraph 91:

Brenda Bissette "botched blood evidence in a capital murder case swapping the victim and suspect's blood sample."

Supporting Documents

Original Article

Archived Google Groups copy of the News & Observer article cited in the Supplemental Motion.

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Highlighted Research Copy

Working research copy containing the highlighted passages cited in the Supplemental Motion.

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