Fingerprint science not exact, experts say

[dArKeR]

By Andrew Kramer
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:53 p.m. ET May 21, 2004

PORTLAND, Ore. - The arrest and abrupt release of an American lawyer who was initially linked by fingerprints to the deadly train bombing in Madrid may reflect the limitations of computerized fingerprint matching, experts say.

Brandon Mayfield was jailed two weeks ago after a computer identified his prints on a bag of detonators in Spain. But a U.S. judge let him go Thursday after Spanish officials said fingerprints belonging to an Algerian were on the bag.

Fingerprint experts said that if Mayfield was the victim of a fingerprint identification mistake, such errors are likely to become more common with the expanding use of computers that compile police records from around the world into huge, searchable databases.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5032168/

Ya know, what all this terrorism arrests, big stories, then releases, then more arrests, then foreign spys, accusations, arrests, releases, American Media moles, subpoenas, terrorist information given to Bush but ignored, then terrorist act and Bush reaction, more arrests with no charges... It all reminds me of a part in the movie Soldier with Kurt Russell. The part when it's him against 50 super bionic bread undefeatable American soldiers. And he wiped them all out because they were disorganised and unable to use common sense and unable to make a plan and they had no leadership. Kurt would set off a dummy explosion at one end and all 50 of the force would run over to there to attack Kurt and he'd pick them off from behind then another diversion and 46 would all run over to there and then there were 40 until ZERO. This is the best analogy I can think of to describe Bush, his non leadership and his Administration.

[Must_B_Free]

1. They must have known it was a Muslim print

[izzie]

2. My aunt worked for FBI and in that dept for years. Then for police

She said each must have so many points to fit a person. So she said yours and mine could match on some but not all. So I guess if you do not get a good one it could mean they get mixed up. I knew a women who's husband was on a plane with her and the plane made a special landing way up North and the police came on and arrest her husband for killing some one. Turned out he had the same name. Errors are always made. We are just people.