I stand corrected, thank you.

But "Barack" is not the same as "Baruch", so how does one describe the distinction?

http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/hop/p8.html#foot206

Every year since 1989, in about 25 percent of the sexual assault cases referred to the FBI where results could be obtained (primarily by state and local law enforcement), the primary suspect has been excluded by forensic DNA testing. Specifically, FBI officials report that out of roughly 10,000 sexual assault cases since 1989, about 2,000 tests have been inconclusive (usually insufficient high molecular weight DNA to do testing), about 2,000 tests have excluded the primary suspect, and about 6,000 have “matched” or included the primary suspect. The fact that these percentages have remained constant for 7 years, and that the National Institute of Justice’s informal survey of private laboratories reveals a strikingly similar 26 percent exclusion rate, strongly suggests that post-arrest and post-conviction DNA exonerations are tied to some strong, underlying systemic problems that generate erroneous accusations and convictions. (italics mine)

Peter Neufeld, Esq. and Barry C. Scheck, Professors of Law at page xxviii.

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1719

She cites the Innocence Project alluded to in the above post.

An excerpt from her piece:

"This week I stumbled over a passage in a 1996 study published by the U.S. Department of Justice: Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial.

The study documents 28 cases which, "with the exception of one young man of limited mental capacity who pleaded guilty," consist of individuals who were convicted by juries and, then, later exonerated by DNA tests.

At the time of release, they had each served an average of 7 years in prison.

The passage that riveted my attention was a quote from Peter Neufeld and Barry C. Scheck, prominent criminal attorneys and co-founders of the Innocence Project that seeks to release those falsely imprisoned.

They stated, "Every year since 1989, in about 25 percent of the sexual assault cases referred to the FBI where results could be obtained, the primary suspect has been excluded by forensic DNA testing. Specifically, FBI officials report that out of roughly 10,000 sexual assault cases since 1989, about 2,000 tests have been inconclusive, about 2,000 tests have excluded the primary suspect, and about 6,000 have "matched" or included the primary suspect."

The authors continued, "these percentages have remained constant for 7 years, and the National Institute of Justice's informal survey of private laboratories reveals a strikingly similar 26 percent exclusion rate."

If the foregoing results can be extrapolated, then the rate of false reports is roughly between 20 (if DNA excludes an accused) to 40 percent (if inconclusive DNA is added). The relatively low estimate of 25 to 26 percent is probably accurate, especially since it is supported by other sources."

There are almost never severe punishments for false accusations, giving the accuser little motivation to curb her deceit, and muddying the process for those who actually have been raped.

See for instance, this story:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/27/BAJ1V8VBE.DTL

San Francisco Chronicle

Woman who lied about assault sent to jail

John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

(02-26) 18:33 PST REDWOOD CITY -- A San Mateo woman who lied about being sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a group of men after her car supposedly broke down in Foster City was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail for filing a false police report.

Karyn Galila, 24, sobbed in a Redwood City courtroom as Commissioner Kathleen McKenna ordered her taken into custody immediately. Galila was handcuffed as her husband looked on. He tried to hug her before she was led away but was ordered by a bailiff not to touch her.

Galila apparently made up the assault story to explain to her husband why she had come home late after rendezvousing at a restaurant with a man she had recently met online, according to her probation report.

"This was such a detailed, fabricated story," said McKenna, the San Mateo County Superior Court magistrate who handled sentencing. "This kind of conduct does warrant a jail sentence."

Galila was arrested after initially telling police she had been sexually assaulted the night of June 12 after her Jeep broke down on Foster City Boulevard. She admitted she had lied when she said a group of as many as five men had pushed the SUV onto a nearby street, then assaulted her at gunpoint.

A fingerprint from Galila's SUV led investigators to a 25-year-old San Mateo man, who was able to produce a receipt from the restaurant and a witness who placed both him and Galila there when the assault was supposedly taking place, authorities said.

Galila pleaded no contest Dec. 31 to one misdemeanor count of filing a false police report.

"She at this point is still struggling to figure out why she conducted herself the way she did," Galila's attorney, Earl Jiang, said at sentencing. "She is genuinely sorry for her conduct."

Jiang pleaded for leniency, saying Galila has a young child to care for. But prosecutor Rebecca Baum argued for jail time, saying Galila's actions could have led to the man being wrongly incarcerated.

Galila, a dental assistant, now faces jail time and a court order to pay police about $5,000 to cover the cost of their investigation.

Prosecutions for filing a false police report are relatively rare in San Mateo County and often don't result in much jail time, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Defendants often serve their time in the sheriff's work program, but McKenna ordered Galila jailed immediately.

"I think it was because the conduct was outrageous," Wagstaffe said. "We have a criminal justice system that is based from A to Z on being able to rely on the truth of our victims."

E-mail John Coté at jcote@sfchronicle.com.