
Blood Will Tell - lermontov
https://features.propublica.org/blood-spatter/mickey-bryan-murder-blood-spatter-forensic-evidence/
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neaden
Shameful. A good reminder too how much bullshit get's passed off as science in
police investigations and forensics in general. Add to it homophobia and
police eager to mark a case closed and this is what you get.

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teachrdan
God help any of us if the police can use this kind of "evidence" to make us a
suspect in a murder:

'Suddenly, the very qualities that had endeared Joe to his community — his
demonstrativeness, his warmth, his volubility — were cast in a different
light. “Homo tendencies?” one investigator jotted down during an interview.
Similar observations were scrawled in notebooks and on scraps of paper that
litter the case file: “He gay?” “Feminine acting.” “Absolutely no homosexual
advances but Joe is a ‘toucher’ when talking to people.” “Joe would bake pies
& cook etc rather than fish, play poker.” One theory that investigators
entertained was that Joe killed Mickey because she had discovered his dark
secret.'

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acqq
Consider the context: in 1985 in Texas:

"Until" "2003" "certain sexual acts between persons of the same sex were a
criminal offense in Texas, termed "deviate sexual intercourse",[1] The offense
was a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.[2]"

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Texas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Texas)

Moreover:

"Prior to 1962, sodomy was a felony in every [U.S.] state, punished by a
lengthy term of imprisonment and/or hard labor."

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RankingMember
Well-written, maddening story. If nothing else, I'm at least glad the death
penalty didn't come into play so there's still a tiny chance at a shred of
justice if some DNA evidence can absolve him.

