Release time: 2026-03-28 14:20

🕯️ A Mournful Tribute to Dr. Henry Lee 🕯️

On 27 March 2026, Dr. Henry Lee, the internationally renowned forensic scientist, passed away at the age of 87.

All members of the International Psychology Management College (IPMC) offer this tribute to express our deepest respect and remembrance for a scholar who devoted his life to upholding scientific justice.

Throughout his career, he handled over 8,000 cases, participating in the reinvestigation of the Kennedy assassination, the O.J. Simpson murder case, the DNA analysis for the Clinton scandal, and the identification of victims of 9/11. His work spanned 46 countries across the globe.

But he never called himself a “super detective.”

He said, “I am simply a scientist. I let science speak, let evidence speak. I say only as much as the evidence allows.”

Those were words he lived by for his entire life.

Born in Rugao, Jiangsu, in 1938, Dr. Lee was the eleventh of thirteen children. His father perished in the Taiping Wheel disaster, and his mother single-handedly raised all thirteen children to earn their doctorates.

At eighteen, he passed the entrance exam for a maritime academy but, due to financial constraints, instead enrolled in a police academy with free tuition. At twenty-six, he set off for America with two suitcases and fifty dollars. He studied by day, worked as a waiter by night, and taught kung fu at weekends.

When asked why he always chose the harder path—leaving a promising career as a police officer in Taiwan to go to America; leaving research with a Nobel laureate to pursue forensic science when no one else was interested; leaving a tenured professorship for a lab director position at half the salary—he would reply, “I’ve been a fool all my life.”

Yet it was this very “fool” who brought forensic science from the laboratory into the public eye, who let evidence speak in courtrooms, and who helped bring countless miscarriages of justice to light.

In one of his lectures, he told young students, “In the age of social media, fake news and online harassment are widespread. If you decide to pursue this profession, you must keep an open mind, hold fast to your principles, and be prepared.”

A convict he helped put behind bars once wrote to thank him, saying, “Thank you for always telling the truth, while some American police officers don’t.”

Telling the truth, not taking a position in advance, letting the evidence speak—this was the principle he defended throughout his life.

In June last year, he was appointed Honorary Professor at Fudan University. He delivered a 90-minute lecture standing, and at the end playfully tossed his police badge to the students, saying, “Catch it!”

At the time, he said, “I’ll be ninety in two years. Many of my friends can’t move anymore by that age. I’m still okay—I can still travel, give talks, and come meet young friends like you.”

Since its founding, IPMC has been dedicated to turning psychology into a practical tool, training professionals who can serve society with a spirit of scientific integrity. Dr. Henry Lee’s life has been the most powerful embodiment of that very spirit.

He showed us that no matter which field we are in, if we hold to our principles, respect the facts, and let the evidence speak, the path is both possible and worthwhile.

Though he is no longer with us, his legacy endures.

All members of IPMC offer our deepest respect to Dr. Henry Lee.