Frederic Whitehurst

Biography

Dr. Frederic Whitehurst joined the FBI in 1982 and served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI crime lab from 1986-98. He achieved a great deal of media attention during the 1990s for blowing the whistle at the FBI Lab.

Dr. Whitehurst received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Duke University, a J.D. from Georgetown University and joined the FBI in 1982 and served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI crime lab from 1986-98. Dr. Whitehurst practices criminal law in Bethel, North Carolina, and is a commissioner of the town of Bethel.

Blowing the Whistle

While employed by the FBI crime lab, the FBI officially rated Dr. Whitehurst as the leading national and international expert in the science of explosives and explosives residue. He investigated, uncovered and reported scientific misconduct which forced the FBI crime lab to agree to forty major reforms, including undergoing an accreditation process. During this period, Whitehurst was forced to defend himself from retaliation by the FBI by hiring Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in defending whistleblowers.

Life After the FBI Lab

Dr. Whitehurst currently serves as the Executive Director of the [http://www.forensicjustice.org/| Forensic Justice Project] (FJP). The [http://www.forensicjustice.org/|FJP] was formed in 1998 as a project of the National Whistleblower Center, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The goal of the [http://www.forensicjustice.org/|FJP] is to lead a national effort to accomplish the following:
* Review cases to make sure that innocent people have not been wrongfully convicted through the misuse of forensic science;
* Provide expert testimony in cases in order to assure that forensic science is not misused in civil and criminal prosecutions impacting on the public interest or the rights of individuals;
* Offer objective scientific evaluations of forensic evidence;
* Publish and distribute information necessary for an objective analysis of the quality and objectivity of forensic science and crime laboratories nationwide.

ources

*"Tainting Evidence: Inside the Scandals at the FBI Crime Lab", by John F. Kelly and Phillip K. Wearne
*"Tainting Evidence: Inside the Scandals at the FBI Crime Lab" [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/k/kelly-evidence.html "Prologue", New York Times Web]

External links

* [http://www.whistleblowers.org "National Whistleblower Center"]
* [http://www.forensicjustice.org "Forensic Justice Project"]
* [http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/death/tscr/whitehur/fw_test.html Whitehurst' testimony at the World Trade Center Bombing Trial]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/27/reviews/980927.27johnstt.html"Dismal Science: When the F.B.I.'s crime lab makes a mistake, two journalists contend, it's a beaut", by David Johnston, New York Times review of "Tainting Evidence" (September 27, 1998)]
* [http://crimemagazine.com/tainting_evidence.htm "Tainting Evidence: Inside the Scandals at the FBI Crime Lab, by John F. Kelly and Phillip K. Wearne", "Crime Magazine" review]
* [http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1997_hr/h970513w.htm Introduction about Whitehurst by National Whistleblower Center Chairman Stephen M. Kohn, Esq. before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, May 13, 2007]