After a wave of violent crime in Memphis and questions about the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) turnaround time for rape kits, TBI in Jackson has officially opened the application period to hire forensic analysts.
“Combine your science smarts and passion to serve on our team in the Jackson Crime Laboratory! We’re looking for new forensic scientists to help us grow! The application window closes Wednesday!” TBI said on Twitter, attaching a link to the job application.
According to the job details, TBI forensic analysts will be:
Responsible for analyzing physical, biological, or chemical evidence submitted to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; and composing technical laboratory reports describing the results of tests. Uses and maintains advanced scientific instrumentation. Consults with criminal court attorneys, and testifies in local, state, and federal courts on the results of forensic analysis. Serves as a consultant to law enforcement investigators across the state. Responsible for crime scene investigation requiring 24/7 on-call status on a rotating basis.
Minimum requirements for applicants are a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, or other natural or physical sciences, forensic science, or “other forensic related areas,” according to the agency.
Tennessee promised to hire 25 new forensic analysts after details emerged in a case involving a man called Cleotha Abston.
Abston stands accused of kidnapping and killing a Memphis teacher, Eliza Fletcher, in September. But about year before the alleged Fletcher killing, he allegedly raped a woman called Alicia Franklin.
Franklin’s rape kit, taken after the attack, sat in a backlog in TBI’s Jackson lab for a year, and coincidentally was tested during the time when Fletcher went missing.
Questions persisted about whether Fletcher would still be alive had Abston, a career criminal who spent almost 20 years behind bars for kidnapping an attorney, been linked to Franklin’s rape sooner.
Franklin is suing the city of Memphis over the investigation, or lack thereof.
“Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally and Speaker Cameron Sexton announced a decisive step to accelerate the hiring process for 25 additional forensic lab positions at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI),” said a press release from Lee’s office. “Taking this action ahead of the regular budget process will expedite the TBI’s efforts to expand testing capacity and reduce the turnaround time for sexual assault kits (SAKs).”
TBI’s Jackson lab will add eight new analysts.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Building” by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
