According to an FBI report released this week, almost all of the FBI’s experts who conducted microscopic hair analysis gave flawed testimony in criminal trials.
The error-filled testimony went on for more than two decades since 2000, according to the report, which is the largest post-conviction review in the history of the FBI.
The hair analysis was scientifically flawed, and in most cases bolstered prosecutors' cases against defendants, the report found.
According to Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Florida is one of the hardest hit states by the news.
"So far, 10 people have been identified from this report who are now on death row, plus one man who was executed," said Mark Elliot, executive director of FADP. "When you add this to the fact that Florida has exonerated 25 wrongfully convicted people from death row, it’s clear the death penalty needs to end."
Elliot says in light of these mistakes and past cases where innocent people on death row have been exonerated, his organization will begin circulating a statewide petition to end the death penalty.
The FBI says all defendants who may have been affected will be notified.
"The Department and the FBI are committed to ensuring that affected defendants are notified of past errors and that justice is done in every instance," said Amy Hess, the executive assistant director of the FBI's science and technology branch.
