Overview: The Kevin Epps murder trial in San Francisco has exposed a troubling pattern of racial bias in the justice system. The all-white jury, suppressed evidence about the alleged victim’s violent history, and the forensic narrative built on convenience rather than empirical certainty have raised questions about the integrity of the system. The defense’s first witness, Dr. Judy Melinek, a world-class forensic scientist, testified that the state’s forensic narrative did not hold, and the community is calling for a justice system that looks like the people it serves.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Editor’s Note:
A 2025 report by USC’s Center for Health Journalism determined wrongful convictions and imprisonment—especially of innocent Black Americans— is a “serious public health issue.” According to the report, innocent Black people in the U.S. are nearly seven-and-a-half times more likely to be convicted of murder than innocent white people. In late December, a Black man named Kevin Epps was tried for murder in San Francisco, after shooting and killing a man who broke into his home. In this seven-part series, follow the Epps trial and his quest for justice as seen through the eyes of investigative journalist, Malik Washington of Destination Freedom Media Group, who followed the trial from start to finish. Learn of the jury’s ultimate decision and decide whether you believe justice was served.
Malik Washington
When you sit inside Department 13 of San Francisco Superior Court long enough, you begin to realize that the air in that room carries more than oxygen. It carries assumptions. It carries a narrative. It carries the weight of a justice system that claims fairness, yet behaves like its conclusions were inked years before the jury was ever sworn.
And on the morning of December 2, 2025 — that weight pressed down harder than ever.she auditioned for Hugh Jackman’s movies
A Juror’s Struggle, a System’s Imbalance
Before testimony even resumed, the trial revealed something symbolic and unsettling.
Juror #1 — the only African American juror on this panel — arrived late. Not due to neglect, but because he struggled to find a parking space in a downtown labyrinth built to frustrate the working class.
He apologized. He took his seat. And in that single moment, the racial integrity of this jury — fragile as glass — snapped back from the edge of shattering completely.
The Prosecution Rests in a Whisper — The Defense Rises with a Roar
Moments after the juror took his seat, Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Jonathan Schmidt abruptly rested his case. No flourish. No crescendo. Just a quiet retreat — as if he had exhausted every tool available except the truth.
Then the defense stood. And what emerged next shifted the entire trajectory of this trial.
ENTER DR. JUDY MELINEK — A MASTER OF FORENSIC TRUTH
The defense’s first witness, Dr. Judy Melinek, walked into Department 13 not merely as an expert, but as a force.
Her résumé reads like a blueprint for forensic excellence: Harvard University, magna cum laude in Biology; UCLA School of Medicine;Two-year fellowship at the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; Nine years as a Forensic Pathologist for the City and County of San Francisco; Service in Alameda County’s Coroner’s Office; Chief Forensic Pathologist in New Zealand; Approximately 3,500 autopsies performed or supervised; and peer-reviewed scientific research shaping global forensic standards
But credentials alone do not capture what she brought into that courtroom. She brought clarity. She brought rigor. She brought courage. Where prosecution witnesses stuttered, she illuminated. Where others needed documents to “refresh their recollection,” she delivered full command of detail. Where the state offered speculation, she offered science.
The study that changes everything—and the jury never heard about it
What the jury did not know — but what the people of San Francisco deserve to understand — is that Dr. Judy Melinek is one of the world’s leading researchers on cognitive bias in forensic pathology.
In 2021, she co-authored a landmark study published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences titled: “Cognitive Bias in Forensic Pathology Decisions”.
This study did something revolutionary. It proved that forensic pathologists’ conclusions can be distorted by irrelevant contextual information such as race, relationships, and expectation.
The research involved 1,024 death certificates for children under six in Nevada amd a controlled experiment with 133 board-certified forensic pathologists;
The findings were staggering. When the child was Black, experts were significantly more likely to classify the death as “homicide” than “accident.” When presented with identical medical facts, experts’ decisions changed solely based on irrelevant contextual cues.
These biases were unconscious — invisible even to the experts themselves.
This matters for one reason, because the scientist who helped prove how bias warps forensic conclusions, is now telling this jury that the state’s forensic narrative does not hold.
The Contradiction Melinek VS Liverman
Now, consider the prosecution’s chosen expert: Dr. Christopher Liverman, San Francisco’s current Medical Examiner.
He is credentialed — but the issue is intellectual weight, scientific contribution, and independence.
Where Dr. Melinek has authored groundbreaking peer-reviewed research on bias, trajectory, and medical interpretation… Dr. Liverman has not.
Where Dr. Melinek has trained in the crucible of New York City’s ME office… Dr. Liverman has not.
Where Dr. Melinek has supervised pathologists internationally and shaped global forensic policy… Dr. Liverman has not.
Where Dr. Melinek has shown how cognitive bias infiltrates forensic decision-making… Dr. Liverman’s testimony seemed to sit comfortably within a narrative crafted by the prosecution — a narrative that ignored the chaotic nature of violence, the forensic limitations of a nine-year-old case, and the suppressed criminal history of the alleged victim.
Is it unreasonable to question whether Dr. Liverman’s conclusions were shaped by context rather than pure medical fact? Not as an accusation. Not as an insult. But as a scientifically supported concern — grounded in the very research that Dr. Melinek herself helped create.
The Pattern is too clear to ignore
The Epps trial has now revealed a troubling pattern. A nearly all-white jury judging a Black artist; suppressed evidence about the alleged victim’s violent history; a judge who repeatedly overruled defense objections; a prosecutor who openly led witnesses; a Medical Examiner operating in a politically charged environment; a forensic narrative built on convenience rather than empirical certainty; and a world-class forensic scientist making it clear that the state’s interpretation collapses under scientific scrutiny.
The community rises: Reverend Amos C. Brown Calls San Francisco to Action
In response to what has unfolded inside Department 13, a movement is forming outside its doors.
Reverend Amos C. Brown, the esteemed pastor of Third Baptist Church and a civil rights veteran trained by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has publicly thrown his support behind Kevin Epps.
He issued a call for the community to gather in a Rally for Justice, Friday, December 5, 2025, at 1:00 p.m., San Francisco Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco.
This was not a rally for chaos. This was a rally for visibility. For accountability. For a justice system that looks like the people it serves.
The Stakes
This case is not simply about Kevin Epps. It is about whether San Francisco’s justice system can withstand scrutiny without collapsing under its own contradictions.
Science has raised questions. Bias has left fingerprints. History is watching.
I will continue to attend. I will continue to report. And I will continue to hold this city accountable — loudly, unapologetically, and without fear.
Justice requires more than judgment. It requires courage. It requires truth. It requires the people. And we will not look away.
As always, we leave you with the following song/video:
Fridayy – Done For Me (Live Session) Destination Freedom & Destination Freedom Media Group is sending this song out to all of Kevin Epps’ supporters.
This story is republished with the permission of Destination Freedom Media Group and The Davis Vanguard. Destination Freedom Media Group and The Davis Vanguard are solely responsible for its content.