A lot of stories like this are coming out, and it really leads me to wonder: Why do the FBI, the courts, and prosecutors have such strong incentives to convict

A lot of stories like this are coming out, and it really leads me to wonder: Why do the FBI, the courts, and prosecutors have such strong incentives to convict someone? This story elucidates a lot of problems: Poor standards on the part of the FBI for determining what kind of test produces accurate results, poor scientific literacy and critical thinking skills on the part of the jury, a belief in forensic technology that treats it as basically voodoo magic. But what strikes me as most problematic is that it seems like people in this story, prosecutors, the investigator, etc., simply need to convict someone more than they need to find the truth, and face no consequences for getting it wrong, even though it ruins lives in a really serious way. Whether it's a systemic career incentive or simply confirmation bias for the first suspect they get combined a desire to see "justice served", something about the way crimes are prosecuted is horribly broken, and bad science being used to justify locking people up is just a symptom.