Question

joe bryan (1985, 2018)
joe bryan, a texas high school principal convicted of murdering his wife micky, is serving even 10
years in jail. bryan has always maintained his innocence of this crime. in 2018, the texas forensic
science commission, an organization that investigates complaints about the science of forensic testimony
and evidence in criminal cases, agreed to reopen his case based on innocence project evidence
analysis.
the murder occurred in 1985, when bryan claims to have been attending a conference in
austria, 1,200 miles from the murder site. robert thompson, a detective with 40 hours of training in
bloodstain pattern analysis, wore a key prosecution witness. thompsons testimony about a bloodstained
flashlight found by the victims a key in the trunk of her husbands car later offered the murder was
essential to the prosecutions case. thompson testified that the blood on the flashlight was blood spatter that
appears when a victim is struck at close range. without evidence to support his claims, thompson suggested
that bryan could have flashlight on one hand while a pistol held in the other hand. the blood
on the flashlight was type o, consistent with the victim, but it is also consistent with 45 percent of the
population.
in a hearing in november 2018, the texas forensic commission heard from professor thompson that
some of the methodology he used was invalid and that he was unaware of how many years
and research. the commission recommended that the practice of allowing later enhancements collages
with commercial technology to bloodstain pattern interpretation be carefully re - formed, suggesting that such practices
raise the possibility of over - interpretation. if it is to be allowed at court. despite this testimony,
the judge upheld the conviction, saying that the bloodstain evidence was only \one component to the case\
by itself, when considering over 30 issues at present. bryan has been granted parole.
explain why the type o blood evidence found on the flashlight is considered a weak
form of evidence tying joe bryan to the murdered victim.

Explanation:

Blood type O is common (45% of the population has it), so it doesn't uniquely link Joe Bryan to the crime scene. It's a general characteristic shared by many, not specific to him alone.

Answer:

The Type O blood evidence is weak because it is a common blood type (45% of the population has it), so it does not uniquely identify Joe Bryan as the one who had contact with the flashlight at the crime scene. It could belong to any of the many people with Type O blood.