Ray Krone: Junk Science

The prosecution’s primary evidence against Ray Krone was a bite mark found on the victim’s breast and throat. Ray has a very distinctive bite mark (which caused him to be labeled as the Snaggletooth Killer) because of an injury suffered while he was growing up. The bite marks, according to an article on ForeJustice.org, were what primarily convinced the jury to convict Ray in both trials, despite there also being evidence that the bite marks and the blood found on the victim were not Ray’s.

According to The Los Angeles Times, 63.5 percent of bite mark investigations resulted in false positives while 22 percent resulted in false negatives. Still, this was the primary piece of evidence used to falsely convict Ray Krone of murder in one trial and then another years later after the evidence had already been disproven.

Science is a wonderful thing. It has allowed us to surpass any expectations our predecessors had for society as well as better our own living conditions. However, we know through years of trial and error processes that science isn’t always right. While DNA evidence and other methods used during trials has become a great way to prove someone’s innocence or guilt, using methods that we know are not reliable is dangerous and creates an unfair trial.