Steven Hatfill: Innocent, Yet Accused

The most devastating result of the 2001 anthrax attacks is the lack of consequences for those persons responsible. There has not been enough evidence discovered or presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, to adequately declare exactly who is responsible for the anthrax attacks. Regardless, there has been great speculation around a man named Steven Hatfill, and a large portion of the American society has placed the blame for the attacks on his shoulders. By dispelling contradictory proof, dissecting evidence, and examining other possible solutions, Steven Hatfill can be proven innocent of any links to the 2001 anthrax attacks.

During the fall of 2001, envelopes containing a dry, toxic powder were mailed to numerous government and news media offices. This powder was a deadly biological weapon called anthrax. As a result of these mailings, there were eleven cases of inhalational anthrax and eleven cases of cutaneous disease (Duchin, 2003). Five people died and seventeen people became seriously ill (Linkous, 2004). John Ashcroft, the attorney general of the United States during that time period, declared to the American people that a man by the name of Steven Hatfill was a person of interest in the 2001 anthrax attacks case. Later, the FBI stated Hatfill was not a suspect, nor does it use the term person of interest (Hatfill, 2002).

Regardless, Steven Hatfill's name was on a list of potential suspects. He had been vaccinated against anthrax, and he had a wealth of knowledge about it because he was a biological weapons specialist. Although he was a biological weapons specialist, he never worked with or had experience with anthrax, prior to the attacks. In fact, the laboratory he was employed by only worked with wet anthrax, whereas the letters contained dry anthrax (Shane, 2002a). The FBI brought bloodhounds to Hatfill's apartment, but their reactions were doubted for significance in the case (Shane, 2002b). As Hatfill's name became synonymous with the term person of interest, the media began to search for other evidence to lead to his conviction. The media claimed Hatfill had access to a secret cabin in the woods, which turned out of be a friend's three-bedroom home where he often dined (Shane, 2002a).

The letters containing anthrax were mailed on September 17, September 18, October 8, and October 9 of 2001 from the Washington DC area. On those days, Steven Hatfill worked overtime at SAIC in Virginia 14 hours, 13 1/2 hours, 13 hours, and 11 1/4 hours, respectively. Also, one of the letters was mailed from New Jersey, and the first occurrence was in Florida. Hatfill was not in either state during September or October of 2001 (Hatfill, 2002). On June 25th, authorities searched Hatfill's apartment with his permission, and they searched it again on August 1st with a search warrant. They never discovered anything connecting him to the attacks during either search (Shane, 2002b). A polygraph test was administered to Hatfill, and he took it willingly. He passed without any question of his truthfulness. In 2002, the Justice Department representatives stated they had no evidence linking Steven Hatfill to the 2001 anthrax attacks (Hatfill, 2002).

Even though the evidence was not present, the FBI continued to hound Steven Hatfill. The unjust continuation of accusations led Hatfill to file a lawsuit. The lawsuit stated Hatfill's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was interfered with by the FBI and Justice Department. Hatfill claims Justice officials ordered a former employer to fire him from a teaching job funded by the federal government. He also claims the FBI cost him another job when they kept him under surveillance while being interviewed by a potential employer (Locy, 2003).

During an interview on CNN, Steven Hatfill posed the question, "If the FBI does not have me as a person of interest, then what does it have?" There are other suspects and possible explanations for the 2001 anthrax attacks. In the 1990s, Saddam Hussein received strains of the