Biography
Gilchrist earned the nickname "Black Magic" for her ability to match DNA evidence that other forensic examiners could not. She was also known for being unusually adept at testifying and persuading juries, thus obtaining convictions. In 1994, Gilchrist was promoted to supervisor from forensic chemist after just 9 years on the job, but her colleagues began to raise concerns about her work.
Gilchrist was dismissed in September 2001 due to "flawed casework analysis" and "laboratory mismanagement". Concerns about Gilchrist's actions were first raised when a landscaper, Jeffrey Todd Pierce, who had been convicted of rape in 1986 largely based on Gilchrist's evidence despite a clean criminal record and good alibi, was exonerated based on additional DNA evidence.
Pierce, a husband and the father of two infant children, was misidentified in a police line-up. After voluntarily giving hair and blood samples to the police investigators in an attempt to clear his name, he was arrested and charged with the rape. Gilchrist claimed his hair samples were "microscopically consistent" with the hairs found at the crime scene. Pierce was cleared of the crime in 2001 after DNA evidence was re-examined, and released after 15 years in prison. Pierce subsequently filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma City, seeking $75 million and charging that Gilchrist and Bob Macy, a now-retired district attorney, conspired to produce false evidence against him.. The suit was settled for $4 million in 2007, with one Oklahoma City councilman noting that the city could have had to pay much more.
Read more about this topic: Joyce Gilchrist
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