From the Raleigh News and Observer (8/21/10): Our recent series on the State Bureau of Investigation, which showed agents cutting corners and twisting reports to win convictions, exposed outrageous and unprofessional conduct.
Some of our findings were reinforced this week when an analysis by two former FBI agents showed that the SBI had withheld or distorted evidence in 230 cases.
That review covered only one of six sections of the SBI lab and didn’t address other problems raised in The News & Observer special report.
“I’m not happy that some people will suffer for it, but I think any agency needs this kind of scrutiny in order to get better,” said former FBI agent Chris Swecker, now a Charlotte lawyer. He was speaking of his SBI audit, but he could have been speaking of newspaper coverage, too.
The “Agents’ Secrets” series was our latest effort in a decade-long pursuit to shine light on our justice system.