George
Castelle is the chief public defender in Kanawha County (Charleston),
West Virginia.
Since 1993, he has represented the interests of all West Virginia prisoners in an investigation into fraud in the West Virginia State Police Crime Lab, and is currently representing the interests of all West Virginia prisoners in a renewed investigation of the crime lab. His work in that investigation resulted in the exposure of the fraud committed by chief serologist Fred Zain, and the discrediting of Zain’s entire career in West Virginia, Texas and 10 other states.
In 1997, Mr. Castelle received the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Reginald Heber Smith Award for exposing crime lab fraud and freeing innocent prisoners wrongfully convicted by false scientific data and erroneous eyewitness identification.
He has tried cases and worked closely with experts in DNA analysis, serology, eyewitness testimony, repressed memory, false confessions, linguistics, ballistics, toolmark examinations, fingerprints, shaken baby syndrome, pathology and polygraph examinations.
