The History Of Forensic Science

The popular television show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations has been on the air for 12 years, and it has brought forth the behind-the-scenes actions of criminal investigations, even if its portrayals are not always scientifically accurate. This has caused an interest in the forensic sciences that has led most people to a skewed view of how a criminal investigation actually works. The reality of a criminal investigation is that it is generally more tedious and difficult than the theory of criminal investigation would have you believe. By examining the forensic and investigative procedures of the case of Pamela Foddrill, it is apparent that the theory of criminal investigation was not representative of the procedures concerning examination

The definition of forensic science is any scientific research, method, or theory used to analyze evidence in an attempt to solve legal cases (Cho). In recent years, there has been growing public interest in forensic science, arguably because of the numerous television programs that glamorize its practices. This phenomenon is part of what is known as the CSI effect, or the process through which devoted fans of popular crime dramas develop unrealistic notions of forensic science methods, practices, and their applications in real life cases (Mancini 544; Stevens 37; Ley, Jankowski, and Brewer 52). The CSI effect has had more negative impacts on forensic science and society than positive impacts, especially in regards to what goes on in the

This truth forms an essential link between the enforcement of law and protection of the public in the administration of justice.” Forensic pathology is clearly a crucial role in the justice system. You have to be a little weird and crazy to have a passion for the kind of work that the coroners and M.E. go through on an everyday basis. They use past knowledge to make decisions on how death occurred and they come across many different postmortem changes in dead bodies. Every field is important in forensics, but pathology advocates for truth and justice to dead

between a cut (an injury that is longer than deep) and a stab wound (an injury

Although he was in jail, five more crimes with the same distinctive patterns occurred. Though another man name Dennis McGruder had been arrested and charged with those crimes the prosecution still moved forward with Willis’ case (Warden). The only piece of physical evidence in this case was a scrap of toilet paper; which, contained traces of semen on it. (In 1992, after two separate jury trials Willis was convicted based on identification of eyewitness identifications, as well as the rape victims. He was sentenced to one hundred years in prison. The prosecution in this case failed to disclose to the defense attorneys that they had received a report; which, stated that one of the rape suspects had type A blood. This was exculpatory evidence as Willis had type B blood. Dr. Fish’s hand written lab notes concluded that the secretor of the semen had type A blood; however in her official report and later her testimony, she falsely testified that she was unable to complete the test because the biological sample was too small to test. In 1997, under a new law granting him the right to seek DNA testing, Willis filed a petition. Prosecutors claimed that the biological evidence had been lost, but was later found. The DNA sample was tested and found to exclude Willis as the donor. After eight years of incarceration, another man Dennis McGruder confessed to the crimes after being linked via DNA. Willis (Fisher, 2014) was released from custody

The book gives a general overview of the field of forensic science. The sections of the book include “The Scene of the Crime; Working the Scene--The Evidence; Working the Scene of the Body Human;

Sherlock Holmes was yet another bright example of what needed to be fixed along the lines of what Forensics was at the time. Alas, After Sherlock’s statement, there was already one reliable way to test blood used by Henry Letheby, a professor of chemistry at the London Hospital, earlier than Holmes in 1864, conducted through the celebrated murder trial of Franz Muller. Even this was a huge stepping stone to the evolution of forensic science, yet again through the Great Detective, setting a base line of what is needed to continue.

The scientific knowledge and technology have developed significantly over the past decades in our society compared to olden days.These developments enhanced the importance of the forensic science field of the crime investigation where it is defined as the “application of science to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system”(Textbook, p.4). As a result, the police agencies have gained significant benefits over the advanced forensic science where they can collect more critical evidential information related to the crime from both crime scenes and the body. It allowed the police agencies to increase the crime arrest rates and gain the member of society’s both trust and confidence from it. In

Bloodstain pattern analysis is one of the oldest and most important disciplines of forensics. Its importance and validation increases when used in combination with other evidence in court.

There is no substitute or shortcuts for a careful and thoughtful approach. A forensic scientist cannot leap into conclusions as to what happened based on what little information he has with him or her. They have to figure out every possible theory of the crime, keeping the ones that have not been crossed out by incoming information at the scene. Reasonable implications about what happened are shaped from the scene and appearance and information from witnesses. These theories will help guide the investigator be able to recognize the evidence that is valuable and relevant to the case.

Forensic science has assisted law enforcement agencies across the nation with solving crimes with well-known techniques to include but not limited to fingerprint analysis, DNA analysis, ballistic analysis, and any type of digital forensics. These types of forensic analysis have become very popular with jury’s during trial because of shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Services, and Bones. What many jurors do not understand is what happens on television does not represent what actual crime scene investigators and forensic examiners do every day. Television shows like these show that forensic sciences are flawless.

In general, a forensic scientist’s job provides an objective, scientific analysis to discover the truth and use that truth in legal proceedings. Forensic scientists take items of evidence collected from crime scenes and determine their relevance to the case by examining and analyzing the evidence. There are various types of forensic scientists that specialize in specific examinations and analysis of different types of evidence. Eventually forensic scientists will testify in court and give their expert opinion on the item evidence that was analyzed by them. Personally, I have always been fascinated with forensic science because of the challenge of finding evidence and having to use that evidence to find the truth of what occurred at a crime scene.

To illustrate the subjectivity of DNA forensic a study was carried out by Itiel E. Dror and Greg Hampikian. The study entailed taking DNA from a real crime scene in Georgia that involved a Kerry Robinson who was indicted and then sentenced to prison for rape. As a part of his trial process a DNA test was carried out on him and it was found that he could not be excluded. Resuming to the study, a mixed sample of DNA evidence was given to 17 expert analysts who were asked to interpret the DNA sample. In the end their findings were inconsistence, with only one of them findings matching the judgement that

Forensic Science owes much of its development to countless people over thousands of years. Scientists from around the world are credited with expanding the doctrines and procedures used to classify or contrast physical information acquired from a crime scene. Also these scientists saw the need to consolidate these various concepts into logical methods that could be applied within the Criminal Justice system. However, while the acceptance of science in criminal cases has been around since before the Roman Empire, the idea of forensic science as a career is not quite 100 years old.

Modern forensic toxicologists and serologists analyze various body fluids, tissues, and organs to detect drugs, poisons, and possible causes of crimes and deaths to aid in the process of criminal investigations. Alcohol/drug, and DNA analysis are some of the primary objectives of the forensic toxicologist and serologist. Advances in scientific research and technologies, and the advent of the forensic laboratory have allowed the forensic toxicologist and serologist to carefully analyze and segregate body fluids excreted by assailants or attackers in varying criminal acts.