Forensics of Blood

294). This means even after a week the blood has been cleaned up, luminol can still detect it. Also after applying luminol, the area needs to be darkened so that blue glow can be emitted. “The iron from the hemoglobin in the blood causes luminol to glow, so a blue glow is produced when the solution is sprayed where there is blood. Only a tiny amount of iron is required to catalyze the reaction” (Helmenstine, 2012). The use of luminol revealed that there were blood stains on the bed sheets and suspected that the woman was killed in her bedroom and that she did not go to work that day or leave the house.

When people usually hear the word forensics they usually automatically visualize crime scenes filled with things that can vary from blood, bullets, fingerprints ect. Unfortunately, it is not as cut and dry as you think, you're only seeing a small piece of the picture. The subject of forensics itself is very broad and actually involves a variety of different sciences all mixed together including, biology, chemistry, genetics, toxicology, phonetics, medicine, engineering, anthropology and many more. It is one of the fields of law enforcement, were technology and crime-solving all come together as one. Gathering the information needed to figure out what happened and the methods used to connect pieces of evidence to the crime scene were also not

However, back in the 1980s, detailed studies were done to try to accomplish this task. One specific comprehensive study was done in 1984 by Peterson et al. In this study, the analysts found that physical evidence was discovered in only about twenty to thirty percent of serious crimes (Peterson, 2013). When each of the crimes were studied separately, however, they found that only crimes such as homicide, drug, or rape resulted in a large chance of physical evidence being found at the crime (Peterson, 2013). Cases such as attempted murder, burglaries, and robberies yielded lower chances of the retrieval of physical evidence from the crime (Peterson, 2013). When considering all of these possible crimes, the most commonly collected evidence were controlled substances, and then in lesser amounts, there was other physical evidence such as blood, hair, firearms, and fingerprints (Peterson, 2013).

The world of Forensic Scientist is an amazing and fascinating place. There are so many aspects that go into forensic science but in this paper we are only covering bloodstain spatter patterns. Bloodstain spatter patterns are not solely used to solve crimes but I do feel it is one of the most important. Bloodstains never lie.

The understanding of blood spatter patterns is not a widely recognized forensic practice. Bloodstain pattern interpretation (BPI) is commonly used in murder investigations, but could be utilized in everything from simple assault to mass murders if the number of trained professionals increased. BPI can reveal critical information into reinventing a given crime scene. Everything from the number of blows, stabs or shots a victim was given, the movement that was undergone by the victim and assailant after bloodshed began, position of objects at the crime scene and the type of weapon, if any, that was used can be uncovered.

Blood spatter analysts are a crucial part of a homicide investigation. They examine the blood stains left behind at a crime scene with the help of criminal investigators. They try to find a pattern or trail with the blood to figure out what happened at the crime scene. These blood patterns can show where the victim was hit, how they were hit, if they struggled, and what kind of weapon the killer used. They use many techniques to collect evidence that can be analyzed at the lab. Common techniques are measuring the diameter of the blood drop, measuring the spatter zone, and taking pictures. Many analysts try to act out the homicide scene to piece together the crime scene and figure out what happened. They also sketch out the scene to go along

he Blood Spatter Analyst (also known as "Bloodstain Pattern Analyst") uses many techniques to collect and analze blood that has been left behind at a crime scene. They uses swabs and ultraviolet light, as well as photgraphy to collect and analyze trace evidence and recreate spatters. After analyzation of the spatter, they can determine what weapon was used, which direction the suspect or victim went, the number of wounds the victim suffered, the trajectry of a projectile, and what occured during a violent crime.

I attended the student breakfast last Thursday, September 14th, 2017 from 10-11 am given by Heather Ann Thompson. Thompson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian for her book Blood In The Water which is even being made into a motion picture. The main point that she reiterates throughout is that when viewing the prison system in America, you have to view as part of your family. For example, if someone you loved killed someone you love dearly, would you sentence them to life in prison? Or, if it’s just a random person who messed up and made a mistake, should they serve 30 years in prison? Although, as she mentions that the prison system is complicated and uncomplicated at the same time, there is no clear and distinct solution, the current

Bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA), known in the criminal justice field as blood splatter analysis, has been studied since the 1890s. Blood splatter, or bloodstain pattern constructional readings, is a technique that seeks to piece together the incident that caused an individual’s bleeding. Understanding blood splatter on a wall or various surfaces can be instrumental in formulating if a crime was committed and if the blood discovered at the crime scene can be used as evidence. The first documentation of blood splatter research occurred at the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Poland, by Dr. Eduard Piotrowski . During Dr. Piotrowski’s research and documentation period, where he used live bunnies to research blood splatter from head

There are different types of patterns that blood splatter makes. It can be a drop, a messy splatter, to just a little pool of blood it all just depends on what caused it to happen. Forensics and law enforcement officers can determine what kind of object was used in a murder case based on the blood splatter pattern.

belonging and family, whereas in the outside world they were seen as enemies. As a result, it becomes apparent that minorities from different backgrounds face similar difficulties when trying to assimilate into the American culture. It is through these difficulties that they begin to develop feelings of loneliness, and what can potentially motivate them to go down a path of delinquency, as it is a lot easier than having to face the challenges of trying to adapt to a different culture.

The evidence is adverse to the accused, and it could possibly lead to an unfairly prejudicial conclusion against the accused by misleading or confusing the juries. Also, as there is no statistical analysis to prove that the blood on the floor belongs to the victim, the evidence should not be used against the accused to convict him in this case. In addition, the victim’s blood found in the accused’s car would not be ideal to be used to directly prove his guilt in the death, because there is reasonable doubt that the blood left on the car was left from the argument at the station or other possible

Forensic science is a key aspect of Criminal Justice that helps rid the streets of lunatics and murderers. One of the most important fields of forensic science is blood spatter analysis. Under the Crime Scene Investigation, analysts gather the information that could eventually lead to a victim’s killer. Basic and complex information can be found when analyzing blood. We can learn what kind of weapon was used, the time of death of a victim and other important facts that can help a case. The pattern that the blood gives off give forensic scientists the tools that they need to help solve cases.

Today, more than ever, the quality of evidence in criminal cases is scrutinized because of contamination. Contamination is the introduction of something that physically corrupts a substance at a crime scene that was not previously there; it comes in many forms and most often times comes from the humans who investigate a crime scene. It is imperative that prevention of cross-contamination is implemented when gathering evidence. Several of the more sensitive forensic techniques such as trace analysis, bloodspatter interpretation, and DNA comparison are not being used to their fullest potential. Items of physical crime scene evidence are not always visible to the naked eye and may be easily overlooked so deliberate and methodical approach to collection and preservation of evidence is essential. Prosecutors have lost cases due to crime scene contamination; this could be prevented by simple and productive behaviors. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a leading case on physical evidence, stated:

Moving forward to questions of blood spatter interpretation, historically a subjective area of practice, the work of Trombka et al. (2002) sheds important light on how computerized analysis can now lead to the automation of many elements of blood spatter analysis. This is incredibly beneficial, for this particular CSI technique, because of the fact that computerized analysis brings about the type of parsimony, associated with rigorous hard sciences, which increases a discipline’s credibility in a court-of-law. Indeed, and because computerized spatter analysis will inevitably bring about greater reliability in spatter analysis, inasmuch as cases will now be analyzed in identical ways by different analysts, the discipline’s probative relevance to court cases is likely to be increased dramatically.