Former FBI Agent Supports Agofsky
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Politics and Activism

Former FBI Agent Supports Agofsky

A Formal Declaration from Dr. Frederick Whitehurst.

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Former FBI Agent Supports Agofsky
Wikimedia.org

Former FBI agent and forensic expert Dr. Frederick Whitehurst left the Bureau after twelve years because of the rampant and heinous corruption he saw daily. Dr. Whitehurst eventually came forward to speak out on this corruption, and ended up becoming extremely instrumental in Shannon's case.

You may remember Agent Robert Webb as one of the magicians from Part 3. His magic trick was "end-matching" tape with a hair dryer and his bare hands. His testimony played a large part in sending an innocent man to jail. Former Agent Whitehurst, in 2004, came forward to speak out against Webb and the FBI's questionable practices. Dr. Whitehurst went on record to say that Webb falsified evidence and presented false testimony in several cases.

In the case of Walter Leroy Moody, in Alabama, Webb had supposedly conclusively matched several materials in evidence to materials found in the defendant's home. Webb stated that the tape, sealant, and paint held in FBI evidence came from the same "batches," thus linking Moody to the crime. The FBI later admitted that Webb had in fact "overstated" his determinations. They decided to overlook this, however, since he had not testified at this particular trial.

In the case of Robert Plotner, in Oklahoma, Webb falsely testified that he had conclusively matched a smudge on a watch to a specific batch of paint. As Dr. Whitehurst later learned, Webb had indeed perjured himself and falsified evidence--and the Bureau was well aware of it. Again this, for reasons I can't comprehend, was overlooked.

Concerning Shannon's case, when the free-floating section of tape (found by Rowdy Foreman, see Part 3) was first brought to the lab, the prints did not match Shannon's. Ten months later, after Webb had handled the tape evidence extensively, the FBI suddenly announced that it was able to make a seven-point match to Shannon's print. Dr. Whitehurst says that these findings are extremely suspect, and should have been presented as such to the jury. For one, Webb's association with this evidence severely undermines its credibility. Additionally, though there is no specific number required for a positive print ID in the United States, the generally accepted rule is twelve points. (For comparison, Britain has long required sixteen points of comparison to constitute a positive match; France requires seventeen.)

The following are excerpts in support of Shannon Agofsky's case, from Dr. Whitehurst's formal declaration:

"I hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from East Carolina University, a Doctorate in Chemistry from Duke University, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University. I was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1982 until 1998, and I worked for the FBI Laboratory as a forensic chemist for approximately twelve years. I testified for the defense in Shannon Agofsky's 1997 Oklahoma state trial. Mr. Agofsky had previously been convicted of these crimes in 1992 in a Missouri federal court.

In part, Mr. Agofsky was charged and convicted on the basis of physical evidence linked to him by information analyzed and presented by former FBI forensic scientist Robert Webb. Specifically, Webb testified that he had conclusively matched a piece of duct tape floating in a river with duct tape found on the chair used to drown Dan Short. Webb told the federal jury that he had used both chemical analysis as well as 'end-matching' to prove that the pieces of duct tape came from the same source and had in fact been connected.

Mr. Webb's testimony in Mr. Agofsky's state trial is questionable in two respects. First, Mr. Webb testified that he had matched the chemical composition of the pieces of duct tape and their adhesive. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Webb could match the chemical composition of the tape utilizing the analytical instruments available to him at the time at the FBI lab. Second, Mr. Webb testified that he positively matched the ends of the duct tape, conclusively establishing that the pieces were once connected. End-matching cannot be completed reliably on duct tape, because it is such a pliable material. If a piece of duct tape is torn, the ends do not necessarily hold their original shape. Thus, it may be impossible to match them to one another. I do know from personal experience that end-matching duct tape is not reliable. As a part of my duties, I took a duct tape proficiency test, where I was able to 'match' two pieces of tape to one another, even though they had in fact never been connected. That is to say, by following FBI protocols, I concluded, incorrectly, that they came from the same source even though that was not possible from an end-match analysis.

Two cases have emerged which have caused me to seriously question Mr. Webb's methods and testimony. In the case of Walter Leroy Moody, a Department of Justice review of his work concluded that Mr. Webb had significantly overstated the conclusiveness of the presented forensic evidence. I also know that Mr. Webb presented, and also testified to, false evidence during the trial against Mr. Ralph Plotner, who was accused and eventually convicted of rape. Mr. Webb stated that he could conclusively connect Plotner to the scene of the crime by matching a smudge on Plotner's wrist watch to a specific batch of paint. However, Mr. Webb's conclusion was not supported by the limited number or types of tests that he performed. According to his testimony the analysis he performed would not have established that the material was paint, let alone that it matched the substance on Mr. Plotner's wrist watch.

I have been investigating Mr. Webb since 1995. Pursuant to that investigation, I have made several requests under the FBI's Freedom of Information Act about Mr. Webb's practices and performance. That research has led me to question his credibility and integrity. I have serious doubts about Mr. Webb's prior testimony [in the Agofsky case] as well as my doubts about Mr. Agofsky's guilty in the robbery of the Noel State Bank and the murder of Dan Short."

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