In 1978, Santae Tribble was convicted of murder based on FBI testimony that a single hair found at the scene matched him. He spent 28 years in prison. In 2012, DNA testing proved the hair didn't belong to him—or even a human. It was a dog hair.
The prosecution's case rested almost entirely on microscopic hair comparison, a forensic technique now known to be deeply flawed.
FBI agent James Hilverda testified that the hair found in a stocking mask at the crime scene matched Tribble's hair in "all microscopic characteristics." He claimed there was only a "one in 10 million" chance it could belong to someone else.
Microscopic hair analysis is subjective and lacks a scientific basis for probability statistics. The "one in 10 million" figure was completely fabricated—a number pulled from thin air to impress the jury.
In 2012, mitochondrial DNA testing revealed that none of the 13 hairs found at the scene belonged to Tribble. One of the hairs, which the FBI had definitively linked to a human suspect, was actually from a dog.
Taxi driver John McCormick is murdered. Santae Tribble, 17, is arrested. Despite having alibi witnesses, he is convicted largely on the strength of the FBI's hair analysis testimony.
Tribble maintains his innocence but his appeals are repeatedly denied. The courts defer to the "expert" testimony of the FBI.
The Public Defender Service for DC secures DNA testing. The results exclude Tribble. Judge Laura Cordero vacates his conviction and dismisses the charges.
DC Superior Court Judge John M. Mott awards Tribble $13.2 million under the Unjust Imprisonment Act.