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32-666: Quantico National Cemetery is located on land that was part of the U.S. Marine Corps training base adjacent to Quantico in Prince William County , Virginia . The land has been used by the military for over 200 years. First, around 1775 by the Commonwealth of Virginia for Navy operations, and later, as a blockade point for the Confederate Army during the Civil War . In 1918 a permanent Marine base

64-578: A facility at Quantico. The cemetery was formally dedicated on May 15, 1983. In October 1983, the public became aware that interments in National Cemeteries, and specifically in Quantico National Cemetery, were not all in keeping with the dignity and respect merited by veterans and their families. It was reported that "some veterans were being buried naked or wrapped in sheets, in plastic bags, and in cardboard boxes." As

96-632: A heightened attention to scientific rigor in its forensic testing, the FBI lab in 2005 abandoned its four-decade-long practice of tracing bullets to a specific manufacturer's batch through chemical analysis, after its methods were scientifically debunked. A blue-ribbon panel of the National Academy of Sciences raised concerns about the FBI's reliance on forensic testing in a 2009 report that "found nearly every familiar staple of forensic science to be scientifically unsound" and highly subjective. In 2016

128-471: A man was exonerated and freed in Virginia, based on DNA evidence, after serving 33 years in prison. He had been convicted of rape and murder and sentenced to life in part based on several FBI experts testifying to identification of him by bite-mark patterns, to a "medical certainty". Scientists say that such certainty is impossible to gain by this test. The DNA testing showed that he was not the perpetrator of

160-511: A national database containing all available records of unidentified human remains . The goal of VICTIMS is to create a federally sponsored national database of unidentified remains. The VICTIMS project team includes FBI Laboratory personnel, personnel from the FBI Visiting Scientist Program, administered by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education , and contractors. The more widespread use of DNA testing in

192-747: A part in convictions, in order to follow up with defendants. In a subsequent investigation in 2012, the DOJ found that evidence related to hair analysis had been falsified, altered, or suppressed, or that FBI agents had overstated the scientific basis of their testimony, to the detriment of defendants. In 2013, the Department of Justice began a review of cases referred to them for hair analysis from 1982 through 1999, as many as 10,000 cases, to determine whether their agents' testimony resulted in wrongful convictions. DNA testing has revealed some convicted inmates to be innocent of violent crime charges against them. In 2015

224-629: A result, the Commonwealth of Virginia passed a resolution to the United States House of Representatives to ensure the United States Veterans Administration take appropriate action to ensure veterans at all National Cemeteries be treated with the dignity, respect and gratitude they earned for their service to the United States. There are seven memorials in all. A monument to Edson’s Raiders

256-564: Is a town in Prince William County , Virginia , United States . The population was 480 at the 2010 census . Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. , bordered by the Potomac River to the east and the Quantico Creek to the north. The word Quantico is a corruption of the name of a Doeg village recorded by English colonists as Pamacocack . Quantico is surrounded on its remaining two sides by one of

288-710: The Air Force Office of Special Investigations headquarters. A replica of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial stands at one of the entrances to the base. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 0.1 square miles (0.3 km ), of which, 0.1 square miles (0.3 km ) is land and none of the area is covered with water. Quantico has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ). As of

320-718: The Forensic Science Research and Training Center (FSRTC) was established at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia . Methods at the FSRTC have helped establish standardized forensic practices for law enforcement agencies. The FBI Lab has been in Quantico since the relocation from Washington since April 2003. Dr. Frederic Whitehurst , who joined the FBI in 1982 and served as a Supervisory Special Agent at

352-399: The census of 2000, there were 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density was 7,811.2 inhabitants per square mile (3,015.9/km ). The racial makeup was 61.32% White , 20.32% African American , 10.16% Asian , 0.36% Native American , 2.32% from other races , and 5.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.53% of

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384-511: The Bureau. Whitehurst was a harsh critic of conduct at the Lab. He believed that a lack of funding had affected operations and that Lab technicians had a pro-prosecution bias. He suggested they were FBI agents first and forensic scientists second, due to the institutional culture of the Bureau, which resulted in the tainting of evidence . The FBI Laboratory was founded on November 24, 1932. Despite

416-507: The FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit are also featured in the 2005–2020 and 2022–2023 series Criminal Minds , and the 2017–2019 series Mindhunter . There are no significant highways passing through Quantico. All road vehicles must pass through Marine Corps Base Quantico in order to reach the town. You must gain authorization to visit Quantico. More thorough searches and checks may also be undertaken, according to

448-579: The FBI reported that their expert witnesses overstated the reliability of hair analysis in matching suspects 96 percent of the time, likely influencing conviction of some defendants. Cases are still being overturned as a result of incorrect hair analysis testimony. In 2012, DNA testing revealed the innocence of three inmates from the District of Columbia who had been convicted to life and served years in prison based on hair analysis evidence and testimony by FBI experts. They have received large settlements from

480-612: The Lab from 1986 to 1998, blew the whistle on scientific misconduct at the Lab. As a result of Whitehurst's whistleblowing , the FBI Lab implemented forty major reforms, including undergoing an accreditation process. Reforms took place under FBI chief Louis Freeh , who served from 1993 to 2001. Whitehurst's whistleblowing in the 1990s and the adverse publicity trials, in which FBI Lab employees were revealed as incompetent or disingenuous, led to major changes. According to John F. Kelly & Phillip K. Wearne's book Tainting Evidence: Inside

512-591: The Scandals at the FBI Crime Lab (1998), the FBI Crime Lab had been hurt by a lack of funding and an institutional entropy rooted in Lab employees' belief that they were the best forensic experts in the country, if not the world. Some Lab employees failed to keep abreast of developments in forensic science. The two authors concluded that the worst problem was that the Lab employees were FBI agents rather than pure forensic scientists. The investigative paradigm of

544-577: The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation that provides forensic analysis support services to the FBI, as well as to state and local law enforcement agencies free of charge. The lab is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia . Opened November 24, 1932, the lab was first known as the Technical Laboratory . It became a separate division when the original Bureau of Investigation (BOI)

576-544: The attic of the Justice Department Building in Washington, D.C. Public tours of the lab work area were available until the FBI moved across the street to the newly constructed J. Edgar Hoover Building in 1974. Tours of the J. Edgar Hoover Building were available, but the tour route shifted away from the lab work space, thus sealing the lab from public view. The Lab expanded to such an extent that

608-470: The budget limitations during the Great Depression , FBI director J. Edgar Hoover invested in major equipment upgrades including ultraviolet lamps, microscopes, moulage , and an extensive collection of tire treads, bullets, guns, and other materials that could assist local police in identifying crime scene evidence. From September 1934 to September 1975, the Lab was located on the 6th floor and

640-541: The cemetery. The Purple Heart was created by General George Washington in 1782 and was originally awarded for heroism. It eventually fell into disuse until 1931 when Gen. Douglas MacArthur revived it for soldiers who were wounded or killed in defense of their nation. Additional memorials honor: the Fourth Marine or “Fighting Fourth” Division; the Commonwealth of Virginia Memorial dedicated to honor all of

672-448: The city because of wrongful convictions and damages of the lost years. Bullet and gun analysis is another forensic discipline that has been identified in recent studies as being less scientifically reliable than thought. The Bureau established an interdisciplinary commission in 2013 to establish the highest scientific standards in forensic testing and to understand the limits of these tests, and how they may be properly used in court. With

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704-466: The detective was antithetical to the investigative paradigm of the scientist. Lab employees began to work backwards, from a conclusion preordained by the prosecutors they served, and sought to justify that conclusion rather than using more scientific research paradigms. The FBI Victims Identification Project (also known as VICTIMS) is an active research project within the FBI Laboratory to create

736-401: The discretion and authority of base security. Amtrak 's Northeast Regional and Piedmont services, as well as the local Virginia Railway Express , all stop at Quantico station . Stafford Regional Airport is the closest non-military airport, though the airfield exclusively serves general aviation and has no regularly scheduled commercial flights. Airports serving Washington, D.C. are

768-1051: The largest U.S. Marine Corps bases, Marine Corps Base Quantico . The base is the site of the HMX-1 presidential helicopter squadron, the FBI Academy , the FBI Laboratory , the Marine Corps Combat Development Command , the Officer Candidates School , The Basic School , the United States Drug Enforcement Administration training academy, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service , the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division , and

800-402: The late 20th century brought renewed scrutiny to the scientific reliability of many of the FBI Laboratory's forensic analyses. "Scientific experts consider DNA—which first became widely used in courts in the 1990s—to be the only near-certain indicator of a forensic match." The scientific reliability of FBI hair analysis has been questioned as DNA testing has exonerated persons convicted where

832-617: The nation’s veterans; the First Marine Division Memorial; and the 6th Marine Division or “Striking Sixth” Memorial to honor the division that won the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II ; the memorial design is based on an Okinawan tomb . Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( / ˈ k w ɒ n t ɪ k oʊ / ; formerly Potomac )

864-573: The only physical evidence was hair analysis. In addition, in a high percentage of cases, the FBI has learned that its expert witnesses overstated the reliability of hair analysis in testimony in court cases. In 2013 the Department of Justice began a review of thousands of cases from 1982 through 1999 referred to the FBI for hair analysis. By 2015 it found that these included 32 death penalty convictions, of which 14 people had died in prison or been executed, and narrowed its review to cases that went to court. It has focused on cases in which hair analysis played

896-629: The population. The median income for a household in the town was $ 36,250. About 22.4% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 39.4% of those under the age of 18. The headquarters of the FBI Academy at the Quantico Marine Corps Base are featured in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs , the 2013–2015 TV series Hannibal , and the 2015–2018 series Quantico . The headquarters of

928-481: The primary commercial air links for Quantico, with the closest being Reagan National Airport and the primary hub for international flights being Dulles International Airport . 38°31′19″N 77°17′23″W  /  38.521871°N 77.289757°W  / 38.521871; -77.289757 FBI Laboratory The FBI Laboratory (also called the Laboratory Division ) is a division within

960-540: Was established at Quantico. The Marine Corps Schools, a forerunner of the Marine Corps Development and Education Command, was created there in 1921. Since 1941, the focus of the base has been individual education rather than unit training. In 1977, the Marine Corps donated 725 acres (2.9 km²) of this land to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration, to establish

992-401: Was renamed the FBI. The Lab staffs approximately 500 scientific experts and special agents . The lab generally enjoys the reputation as the premier crime lab in the United States. However, during the 1990s, its reputation and integrity came under withering criticism, primarily due to the revelations of Special Agent Dr. Frederic Whitehurst , the most prominent whistleblower in the history of

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1024-629: Was the first memorial dedicated at Quantico National Cemetery, unveiled on the memorial pathway on August 6, 1989. It is dedicated to the 800 members of the First Marine Raider Battalion, which from August 1942 to October 1943, played a key role in helping the greatly outnumbered American forces push back Japanese troops in the British Solomon Islands. The Purple Heart Memorial was dedicated August 7, 1990, in honor of Purple Heart medal recipients interred at

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