An independent report on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensics lab released Tuesday offered a sobering assessment of the beleaguered department, where past leaders ignored internal allegations of misconduct in handling DNA evidence and new leadership was plunged into a crisis that has rocked the public’s trust.

The new report by Forward Resolutions, a small Wisconsin consulting firm commissioned in January to review procedures in the wake of the scandal at the state crime lab, concluded past CBI leaders were “ill-equipped to handle crises and critical incidents.”

The report further stated that, even when told of serious irregularities in evidence handling and analysis, the response by leadership was “slow, fragmented and overly narrow.”

The CBI scandal first broke open in November 2023 after an intern at the lab alerted supervisors of problems with the work of one of its most prolific and revered analysts, Yvonne Woods.

An internal review followed, and, since then, CBI has acknowledged finding 1,022 problems so far in her past forensic work, dating back nearly three decades. That translates to roughly one-in-10 of the more than 10,700 cases she worked on during her tenure at the lab. 

Woods, 64, who goes by Missy, now faces 102 felony counts, including cybercrime, perjury, attempt to influence a public servant and forgery. She is awaiting trial.

Throughout the crisis, it was often suggested that problems at the lab were solely the fault of Woods. 

Tuesday’s report, while placing her alleged wrongdoing squarely at the center of scandal, also lays blame on a workplace culture where supervisors favored and rewarded speed and “a productivity-above-all” mindset over “thoroughness and complexity.”

It also perpetuated an environment where problems were allowed to persist without being addressed, the report said.

“CBIFS staff described how morale suffered under a fear-based culture perceived as autocratic, punitive, or indifferent,” the report said. “Staff feedback suggests employees felt unable to speak up about concerns and feared retaliation if they challenged favored individuals.”

Previously, a separate internal investigation by CBI disclosed that, in both 2014 and 2018, employees alerted lab management about issues with Woods’ work. Neither the public nor the legal community was ever informed, and Woods faced no real consequence.

The report also criticized CBI for failing to anticipate the full impact of the scandal and its continuing fallout that some say could take years to untangle. 

Already, in three murder cases headed for trial, the suspects were offered lighter sentences on lesser charges in plea deals because of potentially compromised evidence at the CBI lab.

In another murder case, the conviction of Michael Clark, who had served 12 years in prison for a crime he said he did not commit, was recently vacated after a retest of the DNA evidence showed potentially different results from what Woods concluded in the case. Clark is free on bond and waiting for the Boulder County District Attorney to decide whether to retry him. 

The report also outlined how the agency’s new leadership, while committed to improvement, still faces ongoing challenges as it grapples with the fallout.

Earlier this year CBI leaders acknowledged a backlog of rape cases still needed to be tested that stretched more than 500 days as staff and resources were diverted to review past cases in search of problems with deleted data, compromised results and skipped steps in Woods’ past cases. As of June 30, there were 1,236 sexual assault cases still needing analysis with an estimated wait time of 570 days.

Further, the 105-page report said past lab leadership did not provide “proactive outreach” and transparency when problems arose, leaving prosecutors, defense attorneys, crime victims and defendants unaware that their cases may have been affected and that “justice could be delayed or derailed due to lab errors.”

All told, that culture produced a “fragile” organization, the assessment said.

While praising ongoing efforts to correct past deficiencies and move forward, the report outlined concern that intense public and news media scrutiny surrounding the scandal would lead to a new kind of pressure on staff, who “may feel compelled to expedite casework at the expenses of thoroughness.” It noted “ongoing tension” within the lab, especially among front-line and mid-level staff.

The report outlined 52 specific recommendations for ongoing improvements, such as the need for more standardized procedures in evidence handling, better communication both internally and externally. That includes all affected parties, such as judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement agencies, which may have been touched by potential problems. 

It also recommended the addition of an ombudsman and reiterated that the crime lab should remain “scientifically neutral” in its analysis, not an arm of prosecutors or law enforcement.

“Forensic scientists may face implicit or explicit pressure to align their findings with investigative theories or prosecutorial goals,” the report cautioned.

In addition, the report warned against potential conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest from the state’s attorney general’s office, which represents CBI, along with all state agencies, but which is also the top legal officer in the state. An independent counsel was suggested.

A March 15 Denver Gazette investigation explored the conflict of interest or appearance of such by the attorney general’s office, as it sought to block the release of information on criminal cases requested by defense attorneys.

“We ordered this assessment because transparency and accountability are non-negotiable in forensic science. The public deserves to know that science, not workload or speed, is what guides our forensic work,” Stan Hilkey, executive of of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, which oversees CBI, said in a statement on Tuesday. “This report and its recommendations are a necessary step in rebuilding trust, a process that is well underway and that we remain committed to achieving.”

In its statement, CBI said it remains “fully committed to fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement,” adding that the findings and recommendations will be instrumental in guiding ongoing efforts to strengthen the lab.

CBI added that the new report “affirms the significant progress made since new lab leadership assumed control in 2022,” including maintaining its national accreditation, expanded quality assurance measures and conducted an internal review of cases to “preserve integrity and restore trust.”

For some, the new report validated concerns that many have voiced throughout the scandal.

“The independent forensic services audit confirms that for years the laboratory at CBI operated with major structural problems and a broken culture, while wrongfully prioritizing output over fundamental fairness, scientific accuracy, and truth and transparency,” said Zac Brown, chief deputy public defender for Colorado. 

He added that, while his office supports the recommendations the report outlined, more needs to be done to inform everyone affected about the full scope of the scandal.

“The true measure of CBI’s willingness to repair the culture that led to this problem will be in how quickly it provides full transparency into prior misconduct and how aggressively it implements these recommendations,” Brown said.