Blood Will Tell

May 31, 2018 10:07 AM

"The murder of Mickey Bryan, a quiet fourth-grade teacher, stunned her small Texas town. Then her husband, a beloved high school principal, was charged with killing her. Did he do it, or had there been a terrible mistake?" A two-part series considering the value of bloodstain-pattern analysis by the always excellent Pamela Colloff (previously).
posted by crazy with stars (16 comments total)

Bloodstain analysis is bullshit and shouldn't be used to convict anyone. I am thrilled with anything that points out the bizarre "science" still used in our courtrooms.
posted by agregoli at 10:15 AM on May 31, 2018 [20 favorites]

Fascinating pair of stories, can't wait for the follow ups.
posted by ellieBOA at 10:37 AM on May 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist is a terrific (if sometimes a bit too thorough) read about coroners making shit up in order to support the charges brought by the D.A. There's a fair amount of discussion of what is and is not accepted science for the courtroom, compared to what is and is not actual science in the science world. Blood spatter, as so eloquently stated above by Agregoli, is bullshit.
posted by janey47 at 11:45 AM on May 31, 2018 [7 favorites]

I read part one of this yesterday, and boy does this sound like a case of "we need to have somebody found guilty" overwhelming the significant evidence of innocence with one whiff of highly suspect "proof".

Thanks for posting the followup crazy with stars, I'm very curious to see where this goes.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:49 PM on May 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

Heartbreaking. He's 77, in bad health, still mourning his wife but keeps on working, tutoring, playing the piano, and reading the hometown newspaper. Sounds like a beautiful soul with a great spirit. Reminds me not to get too full of myself when my life seems tough and unfair.
posted by Gnella at 12:57 PM on May 31, 2018 [15 favorites]

This is such a sad story. I grew up not far from Clifton and would have been in middle school when the murder took place. That there was an element of gay panic in the investigation and prosecution of Joe Bryan is totally, absolutely, 100 percent unsurprising to me. There was an aura of suspicion around him because some thought he was "effeminate." I mean, "Do you think he was effeminate" was the first question that the detective asked one of the people he interviewed. Not a stereotypical macho dude = probably gay = definitely probably a criminal = most likely a murderer.

People have questioned me about why I still carry a certain amount of fear as a gay person, always with me, like a third arm. "Times have changed! Things are different! You live in California now!" Yes, all of those things are true, but so is the fact that where I grew up, even a hint of suspicion tainted you -- maybe just in minor social ways, but there was always the possibility of the suspicion being more damaging than that. This. This story, and stories like it, is why.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:04 PM on May 31, 2018 [35 favorites]

It's unfortunate that most forensics is shit, as are most eyewitness accounts. Knowing that, any prosecutor stupid or malicious enough to prosecute without multiple completely separate lines of evidence, all of which are consistent with the guilt of the accused is a bad person and should not be a prosecutor.
posted by wierdo at 2:16 PM on May 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

Unsurprising that, like with the Original Night Stalker, it turns out that the guy who may have done it was a police officer. Makes one wonder how many police forces are saturated in killers, serial perpetrators of domestic violence, burglars, etc.

The fact that something like "locker-room talk" can involve the murder of women, without any subsequent communication of these facts to the authorities, is horrifying. Again, how often must that then occur? Are men the country over detailing their abuses, their crimes, to their friends, without consequence? Fucking sickening.
posted by constantinescharity at 3:42 PM on May 31, 2018 [18 favorites]

I hear that blood spatter forensics is bullshit and I don't doubt it, but does anyone have a good link to some analysis of why? I mean I get that it seems like a bunch of handwavey make-em-ups to get convictions, but I just like reading good takedowns of bad ideas.
posted by Divine_Wino at 4:27 PM on May 31, 2018

Ok I read TFA and that helps a little.
posted by Divine_Wino at 4:30 PM on May 31, 2018

You read the articles in three minutes? Jeepers you are fast!
posted by saucysault at 5:33 PM on May 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

Skimmed to the parts about the blood spatter, if we are putting all the cards on the table.
posted by Divine_Wino at 6:18 PM on May 31, 2018

I just want to say for the record, if I ever turn up dead my husband did not do it. I'm the one with the temper in our relationship.
posted by domo at 8:11 AM on June 1, 2018

My little college has a forensic science program run by a fellow who is something of a bully. Over the years I've tried to... well, let's just say I have no idea how to engage in a meaningful discussion about the issues raised in this article and others.

Mainly they focus on DNA, but I just worry about what's going on there, and what to do about it.
posted by allthinky at 8:17 AM on June 1, 2018

Both trials reek of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Did he do it? Maybe. Was it proven? No.

The whole cigarette butt on the shoe stinks to high heaven. Cops lie.
posted by adam hominem at 1:57 PM on June 1, 2018

I'm sorry to provide this updated information: the twitter feed of article author Pamela Colloff reports that as of June 13th, Bryan was denied parole at his most recent hearing.
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:37 PM on June 24, 2018