By admin 
Former state forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday, a milestone in a yearslong scandal that cast doubt on DNA evidence in more than 1,000 criminal cases and continues to ripple through Colorado’s courts.
Woods, who had worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for 29 years, pleaded guilty to four felonies in June. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the remaining 100 charges against her.
“At its core, this case is about trust — the extraordinary trust placed in Ms. Woods, and her breach of that trust,” Jefferson County District Judge Andrew Poland said before delivering the sentence. He said the “institutional harm” Woods inflicted was even greater than the $11 million authorities say it cost the state to revisit her cases and retest evidence.
Woods, 66, was taken into custody at the conclusion of the hearing. She previously pleaded guilty to cybercrime, perjury, forgery and attempting to influence a public servant. Under Colorado’s sentencing guidelines, she faced between eight and 16 years in prison.
During a roughly three-hour hearing Tuesday, prosecutors laid out a pattern of deception they said spanned more than 100 cases, accusing Woods of manipulating DNA results, misrepresenting findings and violating laboratory policies.
“There was no justification for this behavior,” Darren Kafka, senior deputy district attorney for the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said.
“It’s barely comprehensible at all and yet its impact on victims who are never believed… on defendants who must question if they were treated fairly, and the forensic law enforcement, defense, and court personnel who must pick up the pieces, is extensive.”
This is a developing story that will be updated.