Criminal INjustice Podcast Ep. 3 – CBI & Evidence Tampering Cases

Episode #3: CBI getting away with evidence tampering

In this episode of Criminal INjustice, Trial Attorney Casey Krizman interviews veteran defense attorney Mary Claire Mulligan about the Colorado Bureau of Investitation (CBI) since it has not responded adequately to the recent scandal involving evidence tampering.

DENVER – April 4, 2025 — Veteran defense attorney Mary Claire Mulligan says the state Legislature should shut down the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and “rebuild from scratch.” The lab where crime evidence has been mishandled for more than 10 years has not responded adequately to the scandal, and lawmakers have not done enough to rectify the problems it created, Mulligan said in an interview on the podcast “Criminal INjustice with Casey Krizman.”

“Things are moving very slowly, and a large part of that is the CBI and the state Attorney General digging in their heels,” Mulligan said.  The Attorney General’s Office has resisted defense and even prosecutors’ requests for information about the investigation into the lab’s mishandling of evidence.

She noted that defendants have a right to know whether the CBI scandal tainted the evidence against them. In one of her cases, the prosecutors agreed the defendant had a right to the information and had to resort to subpoenaing the CBI.

“The CBI has done an excellent job of sweeping this under the rug and making it a ‘Missy Woods’ problem, not an us problem,” Mulligan said. The scandal became public in 2023 when an intern discovered that forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods had altered or deleted data in rape kit tests. Further investigation revealed that Woods’ tampered with evidence in more than 1,000 cases. She has been charged with cybercrime, perjury, and forgery.

But Mulligan said the investigation also showed that “Missy wasn’t the only one.” Other analysts were fired for similar misconduct, and former CBI lab director Jan Girten revealed that “dry labbing” — reporting results for tests never conducted — was happening as far back as 2004. When the scandal broke, CBI’s primary concern wasn’t justice—it was protecting their accreditation, Mulligan said.

Mulligan, who has been a defense attorney for 33 years, said the state should take these steps:

• Shut down CBI completely and rebuild from scratch.
• Demand complete transparency and access to all CBI data.
• Appoint a special master to oversee case reviews.
• Fund post-conviction attorneys to handle affected cases.
• Urge state lawmakers to hold CBI accountable.

The state allocated $7.5 million to address the problems caused by the evidence tampering. Of that, $4 million was to pay for independent, third-party analysis of evidence. But in the year since receiving that money, CBI has sent only 14 samples out for independent analysis.

Meanwhile, the CBI has a growing backlog of untested rape kits. It now takes more than 18 months to analyze evidence taken from a rape victim’s body, leaving the victim in limbo and the perpetrator unidentified. Since the podcast was recorded, the CBI said the backlog has grown to more than 1,400 cases. State lawmakers allowed the CBI to spend $3 million from the scandal fund to pay for outside testing of the rape kits. Even so, the CBI says it will not be able to reach its goal of a 90-day turnaround until spring 2027.

For those who believe their cases may have been affected, Mulligan recommends:

• Contacting their original lawyer or another criminal defense attorney.
• Filing a Form 4 (Petition for Post-Conviction Relief) with the court.
• Contacting the public defender system and the alternate defense counsel, letting them know of your situation because “the squeaky wheel gets the grease here.”

Mulligan, recipient of the defense bar’s 2024 Jonathan Olam Award, emphasizes that people wrongfully convicted based on faulty DNA evidence face massive hurdles in seeking justice. Many are still in prison, some may have died, and others don’t know their convictions could be tainted.

“Sunshine is the greatest disinfectant,” Mulligan stresses, calling for complete transparency from CBI. In the podcast, she shares stories of clients who maintain their humanity despite their situations, including a former death row inmate now working as a nurse’s aide and pursuing higher education.

This episode exposes how faulty forensic science and institutional cover-ups can destroy lives while offering concrete solutions for reform. It’s essential listening for anyone concerned about justice system integrity and the path forward from this crisis.