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How can this even happen? How can you misplace 11k rape kits in a way that doesn't disrupt trust in the chain of custody? Does DNA evidence degrade after some t

• sigstoat 9y ago
  > How can you misplace 11k rape kits in a way that doesn't disrupt trust in the chain of custody? if they went into some warehouse properly tagged, and were still sealed and in the warehouse N years later, that's generally going to be good enough. if the defense wants to raise some objection, they're welcome to, but they'd need to come up with some actual reason the chain was broken. like, records that the warehouse was broken in to during the time that sample was stored, or, the EV tape was cut and not resealed by some testing tech, etc.
• roel_v 9y ago
  In Belgium, the "palace of justice" in Brussels has a basement with evidence from decades of (yet to be closed) cases. The building is in such bad shape that there is water coming in at times, plaster falling off the ceiling, some rooms being unsuitable for use as the ceiling might literally fall on your head. The evidence basement has rows and rows of metal shelving with bags of coke, suitcases of money, and here and there a jar with a cut off finger, or foot, or head. (Most shelves are mundane if course, not saying it's only money and coke).