Ch. 10) Blood

You learned a great deal about the use of blood in forensics. Some examples are blood stains, spatter analysis, blood typing & serology, blood detection, calculating impact angles, etc. What did you find most interesting? Please explain why.

Ch 8.) Toxicology

State the poisoning case that you have chosen to do your research project on. Summarize the case very briefly and tell us what format you will be presenting it in. Finally, tell us why you chose this case in particular. Thanks for sharing with all of us and good luck with your research!

Ch 7.) Drugs - Student Drug Screening

Some schools are administering urine tests to teenagers to determine if they have been using drugs. Tobacco has recently been added to the list of drugs tested in some of these schools. Random drug testing of students has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, but opponents say such tests violate the students' rights. Please answer the following questions. If you prefer protect your opinions from your peers, please hand in your answers on a sheet of paper. 1. Do you think it is an invasion of individual privacy to be subjected to random drug testing in school? 2. How about for participating in extracurricular activities? 3. Do you think tobacco products should be included in the drug testing programs? 4. Is tobacco a drug? 5. What Constitutional Amendment pertains to individual privacy? 6. Do you think random drug testing should be allowed for places of employment?

Ch 6.) Fibers - The Amanda Davies Case

Examine the Amanda Davies case study closely. Good points of reference may be the web and your text on page 125. Question: Upon further examination what could have been done differently to make a better case for the prosecution? Explain.

Ch 5.) Splitting Hairs: Linking Crime to Hair

Investigators often find hairs, both human and animal, at crime scenes. Medical Examiners must determine whether the hair came from the victim, the perpetrator, a visiting friend, other family member, or the family pet. As you have now learned there are many properties that can distinguish one hair from another. Question: 1. Briefly summarize in a short paragraph a crime that has been solved with the help of hair analysis. 2. The John Vollman case is a world-famous case. Gaetane Bouchard (16 years old) was murdered in Edmundston, NB, Canada by John Vollman (20 years old) from Madawaska, Maine in 1958. There were a few major pieces of evidence uncovered. One of which was a single hair. Why is this such a famous case?

Ch 4.) Fingerprints

Adapted from Clues in Crime and Leigh Grass We all have many pieces of identification such as a social security card, school ID, driver's license and much more. However your fingerprints are perhaps one of the best forms of identification. Legislation is underway in some state assemblies to implement thumbprint identification to make it more difficult for people to obtain false identification. If a person tries to use false information to obtain a license, their thumbprint woul b checked with the database. If the print were traced to another identity, the license would not be given. Thumbprint identification is also being discussed (and in some cases used) by car rental, credit card, travel and banking industries. Civil liberty groups argue that these thumbprint databases will inevitably be abused and evolve into the way for "Big Brother" to spy on citizens. QUESTION 1: What do you think as a Forensic Science student? Should our thumbprints join our names and social security numbers as required means of identification? Discuss the positive and negative aspects of using thumbprint identification. QUESTION 2: Have the events of September 11, 2001, made measures like these more necessary? Why or why not?

Ch 3.) The Crime Scene - The O.J. Simpson Trials

Forensic science always begins by collecting evidence at a crime scene. Let us examine the O.J. Simpson crime scene... First, check out the following site: http://pages.infinit.net/reparvit/nicole12.html which lists 101 PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT PROVE O.J. SIMPSON MURDERED EX-WIFE NICOLE BROWN-SIMPSON & RON GOLDMAN. With all this evidence against him it seems O.J. got away with the murders of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman.
 
Next, please view several sites about the O.J. Simpson Criminal and Civil trials. As you review this chilling story, reflect on the evidence and how both trials turned out (Youtube has excellent clips from the trial). 

Finally, share with us your personal thoughts concerning the overwhelming amount of evidence and the results of both trials... 

Chap 2.) WHEN EVIDENCE LEADS TO EXONERATION

We've been discussing many different types of evidence this chapter. One type of evidence that we have discussed is testimonial evidence. We have seen in case studies, such as the case of Ronald Cotton, that testimonial evidence is sometimes later proven to be false. Exonerations are often possible due to biological evidence. On CSI-type shows, this is usually in the form of body fluids found at a crime scene. DNA testing on these shows seems to be a weekly occurrence when in fact most criminal cases out in the "real world" have no biological evidence available. Only a fraction of criminal cases include DNA testing. Since the mid 1970's when the U.S. Supreme Court legitimized the death sentence (again), over 100 inmates have been exonerated by DNA evidence. So, DNA evidence is not only used to place criminals at a crime but also to prove the innocence of the wrongly accused. According to these figures, approximately 1 in every 7 people on death row in the U.S. have been exonerated throughout the last quarter century! Makes you wonder how many innocent people were executed before DNA testing was available. Furthermore, one must wonder about all the cases in which DNA is not available. Probative evidence would have to be overwhelmingly in their favor to prove them innocent in the absence of DNA testing. Still today, some exonerations occur only several years after an innocent person has been behind bars or worse...after they have been wrongfully executed. Politicians agree that although not perfect, the U.S. still has the best criminal and judicial system in the world. Please post your reflections/feelings on this topic while answering the following questions: 1. Share one case of mistaken identity and explain how the wrongly accused was exonerated. 2. Admittedly, human error is inevitable since humans are involved in all aspects of sentencing a criminal. Knowing this, should the U.S. Supreme Court ban the death sentence? 3. How are the wrongly accused currently compensated for their emotional distress, defamation, and lost time spent in jail? Do you have an idea to improve this process?

Ch 1.) Welcome!

"What Courses Should I Take in High School to Prepare for a Career in Forensic Science?" That is a question I am often asked. It is recommended by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences that you concentrate on obtaining a solid background in math and sciences. Courses they suggest are biology, chemistry, human anatomy, physics, and of course forensic science (if your school is lucky enough to offer it). They also suggest you take a composition or writing course since forensic scientists do a lot of writing as well. 1. Please discuss the reason(s) why you signed up for Forensic Science. 2. In chapter one we have discussed many fields of forensic science. Which do you find most fascinating? Explain.