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Friday, October 12, 2007

Scientist Pleads Guilty, But Not to Bioterrorism

posted by on October 12 at 11:03 AM

Critical Art Ensemble, “dedicated to exploring the intersections between art, technology, radical politics and critical theory,” took yet another one for Team Science today. CAE (not to be confused with Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis, a goat disease) is home and playground to Dr. Robert Ferrell, a professor of Human Genetics; the scientist is known for his high-tech art involving harmless bacteria. He may be facing twenty years in prison for being innovative.

A few years ago, the Dep’t of Justice slapped Ferrell with charges of bioterrorism. When those charges could not be substantiated, after lots of money and lots of time had been spent trying to make them stick, the DOJ downgraded the crime to mere mail and wire fraud. Today, a press release from the CAE Defense Fund announces that Ferrell has pled guilty to these smaller charges in order to avoid a federal trial. The mail and wire fraud charges involve some technicalities over how Ferrell and his colleague Steve Kurtz handled the transfer of funds and equipment during the research and installment of the project.

This exhibit, dubbed “The Marching Plague” and involving petri dishes full of Serratia marcescens (an anthrax simulant, albeit a harmless one), is one of the traveling installations under fire.

Looking over the case, it doesn’t seem that Dr. Ferrell’s so much scared of the DOJ as he is really really sick. The man has had non-Hodgkins lymphoma for the past 27 years, malignant melanoma, and three strokes since the charges were brought against him. I think he’s just tired.

Come on, science! Are you going to let the government bully you around like this? At least twenty years in jail isn’t as bad as decapitation or getting burned at the stake. I guess that would depend on which jail you’re in, though.

RSS icon Comments

1

Ummm, NO. Bob Ferrell isn't the artist ... he's just the guy who bought some harmless dead bacteria and passed them along to Steven Kurtz (who is the artist) in his installation. Here's a news report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about this absurd miscarriage of justice.

Apropos of nothing, I was in another department at Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health when Ferrell was hired. Though I didn't have anything more than a nodding acquaintance with him, he did some valuable work with some of my colleagues.

Posted by N in Seattle | October 12, 2007 12:52 PM
2

Whoops, thanks for the clarification.

Posted by Katelyn | October 12, 2007 12:55 PM

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