South Carolina Criminal Defense Blog

Bite mark "evidence" has sent numerous innocent persons to prison, and even death row. It has been debunked over and over as junk science, persons convicted by it have later been exonerated, and yet it is still advocated by some. Researchers at Marquette University are building a "bite-mark database" that would be similar to DNA databases, and their intent is to use the database to identify crime suspects.

Bite mark evidence has been used to successfully obtain convictions in many cases. One high-profile example is Ted Bundy. The bite marks analyzed from the body of a victim at the Chi Omega Sorority House in Florida helped to convict him, but they were used in conjunction with other evidence.

When bite mark evidence is used as the primary evidence in a prosecution, wrongful convictions can result. The jury is usually impressed with the scientific nature of the evidence, and can rely heavily on the bite mark impressions to justify a guilty verdict. One example among many is Roy Brown, who was convicted of murder in New York, based on testimony by a dentist, and served 15 years in prison before DNA evidence proved his innocence.

The Innocence Project reports that only three studies have been done that examine the reliability of bite mark analysis, and one of those showed an error rate as high as 91%. The Innocence Project identifies additional cases where persons convicted with bite mark evidence were later proven to be innocent by DNA, including James O'Donnell in New York, Calvin Washington in Texas (sentenced to life in prison), Ray Krone in Arizona (sentenced to death), Willie Jackson in Louisiana, and Dan Young in Illinois.

A "bite mark database" may sound like a wonderful idea to some prosecutors, and it might make a few bucks for the researchers compiling it, but it will also almost certainly result in the conviction of innocent persons.