Amerithrax Revisited
February 16, 2011
It’s a shame that the FBI harassed Bruce Ivins so effectively that he took his life before getting a fair trial. The FBI has shut the case, and won’t reopen it, despite the National Academies of Science review that says:
One cannot arrive at a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax.
If Ivins is innocent, then the true culprit will never be prosecuted. If Ivins is guilty, it is an honorable tradition with a very long history that he had a right to a fair trial. Instead, he got trial by harassment, followed by a post-mortem public hanging.
The FBI stands behind its “airtight” case that relies on: (inconclusive) forensic evidence, “late-night lab visits by Ivins” (pretty normal for us introverted, curious, and/or ambitious scientists), “and e-mail messages describing his psychological turmoil” (in which there were no threats linked to Amerithrax). Think a jury would convict?
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