Junk Justice and Okie Science Victim

David Johns Bryson

A fascinating example of "Junk Justice and Okie Science" is the case of David Johns Bryson. This case is highly noteworthy owing to the fact that DNA testing has proven that the forensic evidence used to convict Mr. Bryson did not come from Mr. Bryson.

An appeals court over turned his 1983 conviction, and ordered a new trial. Bryson spent 17 years behind bars, having been found guilty of rape, sodomy and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 85 years.

In spite of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, the Oklahoma County District Attorney maintains that Bryson did in fact commit the crimes for which he was falsely convicted and is going ahead with a second trial.

The Bryson case is yet another in which the FBI has found misleading, false and or fraudulent testimony of the part of Joyce Gilchrist, an employee of the Oklahoma City Police Department Crime Lab. In a review of Gilchrist's testimony in the case the FBI concluded:

Gilchrist misidentified hairs and misrepresented the science of hair comparison at Bryson’s 1983 trial. Gilchrist identified head and pubic hairs found on the victim as Bryson’s, but those hairs were inconsistent with Bryson’s.

The Bryson case is made even more complex owing to the fact that the victim of the crimes for which Bryson was convicted suffered a stroke, lapsed into a coma and died three days after being informed by the District Attorney's office of the results of DNA testing in the case.

News reports published by the Daily Oklahoman have indicated:

Prosecutors have been unable to identify the source of the semen. The victim was living with her fiance at the time of the rape, but he was excluded as the semen donor.

Bryson also was not the donor of a semen sample collected from a bathrobe the victim put on immediately after she was raped.

She ran naked to a nearby home and was given the robe to wear by the homeowners. Semen collected from the victim and the robe belong to the same person.

In refusing to drop charges against Bryson, Oklahoma County Assistant DA Pattye High was quoted by the Daily Oklahoman as stating:

The semen collected from the victim could have been from someone the victim had sex with earlier that day

High went on to claim:

"We are pursuing this in good faith."

Bryson's second trial, scheduled for September of 2001, was put on hold. This while Oklahoma City Police Crime Lab chemists try to extract saliva from the marijuana pipe smoked by the rapist and the victim during the 1982 attack. This to replace the original samples obtained by Joyce Gilchrist and subsequently gone "missing" from the Oklahoma City Police Department's Crime Lab.

Update:

On 5/28/03, charges against David Johns Bryson were finally dismissed by the Oklahoma County District Attorney's office. Assistant District Attorney Richard Wintory was quoted in news media reports as stating:

"I don't know how with this evidence Bryson is not the guy that attacked our victim. At the same time, with the DNA I don't know how he could have been. That's a reasonable doubt but once we have a reasonable doubt our duty is clear."

Below are links to various reports and court records in this case of "Junk Justice and Okie Science" run amok.

Daily Oklahoman Special - Investigation of Chemist

Court Record - Bryson Sued Doctor That Turned Him In To Police (Case Dismissed)

Court Record - Bryson Appeal Of Dismissial Of Suit Against Doctor (Denied)

Court Record - Bryson Appeal of Convictions to Okla. Court of Criminal Appeals (Denied)

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