The Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado Law School and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are partnering to review criminal cases that occurred in Colorado between 1976 and 1995 where hair microscopy analysis was used as evidence, according to a news release.

The Korey Wise Innocence Project works to exonerate people serving time in Colorado prisons for crimes they did not commit. Colorado law students will review 51 court cases identified by the CBI where hairs were collected from crime scenes as evidence.

"A little over a year ago, our organization reached out to the CBI to see if they would work with us in identifying cases where people were still incarcerated and where the CBI had done hair microscopy work in their case," said Anne-Marie Moyes, director of the Korey Wise Innocence Project. "So then our goal going forward will be to look at those cases carefully and determine if the hair microscopy work was faulty and if it was an instrumental part of the conviction."

Moyes said the project will likely span a couple of years because of the time it will take to gather records and determine on a case-by-case level whether hair evidence played a role in the convictions.

If it is determined that hair evidence was introduced and played a significant role in a trial, the next step would be challenging the convictions. To challenge a conviction, students with the project might pursue DNA testing and other legal avenues. If new evidence shows a person's innocence, they would try to reach an agreement with the district attorney to vacate the conviction or ask a court to vacate the conviction, Moyes said.

"It's in everybody's interest to exonerate people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes," Moyes said. "For us to do this work to ensure the integrity of convictions is just incredibly important work."

Moyes said the forensic discipline of hair microscopy came under scrutiny in 2013 when there were several high profile exonerations in cases where people had been convicted based on hair microscopy evidence. The FBI partnered with the National Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to look at thousands of cases where FBI examiner's used hair microscopy work.

"They found a very high occurrence of error in the cases that they examined," Moyes said. "And then that led to their recommendation that states across the U.S. also do their own review of work done within state-level agencies."

Hair microscopy is a pattern comparison discipline where forensic analysts are trained to look at patterns and similarities in pieces of evidence, Moyes said. The theory behind hair microscopy is that people's hair are distinctive and can lead to conclusions in cases when compared under high-powered microscopes.

"It was not uncommon for people to be convicted significantly on the basis of that kind of evidence," Moyes said.

Now, scientific advancements, including the advent of DNA, are showing that forensic science disciplines may not be as reliable as originally thought, Moyes said.

"There have been vast technological advances in forensic science, and DNA in particular," CBI Director John Camper stated in the news release. "This review is an opportunity to ensure accuracy in scientific conclusions and testimony, no matter the age of the case."

Moyes said it is important for the state to review these cases because of the injustice served to those who were wrongfully convicted.

"I think that's something we can all agree on, is that we don't want people sitting in prison for something that they didn't do," Moyes said.