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SUPA Forensics

SUPA Forensics. First acknowledgement of use of science in crime is with Sherlock Holmes stories. Welcome to Forensics. What is forensics Science?. Use of the scientific method in the legal arena. The transfer of scientific techniques to aid the legal process.

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SUPA Forensics

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  1. SUPA Forensics First acknowledgement of use of science in crime is with Sherlock Holmes stories.

  2. Welcome to Forensics

  3. What is forensics Science? • Use of the scientific method in the legal arena. • The transfer of scientific techniques to aid the legal process. • The use of science and technology to provide evidence.

  4. What is Evidence? • Must be relevant to the case at hand. • Must be more probative than prejudicial on the issue. • Probative evidence:tending to prove a particular proposition or to persuade you of the truth of an allegation

  5. Forensic Evidence? • IT IS NOT CSI…. • Is used to establish whether a particular person or thing COULD be at a particular place at a specific time.

  6. Hieronymus Bosch1450-1516 an eccentric Dutch painter of religious visions who dealt in particular with the torments of hell.

  7. St. John on Patmos, approx. 1485Make three observations:

  8. St. Christopher Carrying the Christ Child through a Sinful World,Bosch, c1520

  9. Temptation of St Anthony

  10. Temptation of St Anthony(Detail)

  11. Hieronymus BoschMadman or Medical Analyst • So we dig deeper and find that amputated limbs were saved during Bosch's time so they might be rejoined to their owners at the last judgment. • Amputation is a gangrenous prevention • The odd vegetable creature is painted in the shape of a mandrake root. Mandrake was the herb used to stanch the feverish pains of St. Anthony's Fire. • The distillery used to reduce medicinal herbs.

  12. As a Forensic Scientist what are some questions you would ask? • Does he have any diagnosis medical or psychological conditions? • Apocalyptic personality? • What was also happening at that time?

  13. Historians Know: What can be going on at that time? • St. Anthony's Fire was rampant. • fiery pain, hallucinations, disorientation, muscle cramps, convulsions, miscarriages, *gangrene • Today we know that St. Anthony's Fire was caused by a form of Rye/grain fungus called ergot.

  14. St. Anthony’s Fire: Ergot *Ergot of rye is produced by a lower fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that grows parasitically on rye, other grains and wild grasses.

  15. Structural Analysis ergotamine Lysergic Acid

  16. Serotonin Blocker? Serotonin (on the left) and Lysergic Acid ( on the right) *Serotonin is known to control mood, emotion, sleep and appetite

  17. Structural Analysis Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Lysergic Acid (LSD)

  18. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide(LSD) • LSD is one of the most powerful known hallucinogenic drugs. • It was invented in 1938, derived from mushrooms. • SO WHO CARES?

  19. Hieronymus BoschMadman or Medical Analyst • Bosch's Paintings actually documented beliefs and medical procedures used to assist with St. Anthony’s Fire. • Amputation is a gangrenous prevention • odd vegetable creatures= mandrake root • The distillery used to reduce medicinal herbs.

  20. Ergot in history • Furthermore, since ergot baked in bread dough forms LSD, the disease also led to terrifying hallucinations • Indeed there is the belief that the Salem witch-hangings that went on in Salem, Massachusetts (1692) occurred during an outbreak of rye ergot.

  21. Salem Witch trials(June -September of 1692) • 19 men and women were convicted of witchcraft and hung • 100s of others faced accusations of witchcraft. • Dozens languished in jails.  • 1 man was pressed to death under heavy stones

  22. Salem witch trials (1692) According to historian Mary Matossian in her book Poisons of the Past, she noted symptoms of the people to be sensations of: • Prickling or ants crawling on the skin • Distortions of the face • Paralysis • Hallucinations • Convulsive violent seizures • Dementia • All these symptoms were consistent with those suffering from ergotism.

  23. What is forensics Science? • Use of the scientific method in the legal arena. • The transfer of scientific techniques to aid the legal process. • The use of science and technology to provide evidence.

  24. Major Scientists: • Mathieu Orfila: 1814 father of forensic toxicology.

  25. Mrs. Lafarge Mathieu Orfila

  26. Major Scientists: • Alphonse Bertillon: 1879 father of Criminal Identification • -developed Anthropometry: a series of body measurements as a means of distinguishing one individual from another. -Used for two decades and was later replaced by fingerprinting.

  27. Francis Galton: 1892 the first finger printer • Undertook the study, classification and filing of fingerprints. • Leone Lattes: 1915 developed a method of determining a blood type form a dried sample.

  28. Calvin Goddard: analyzed Firearms and refined bullet Identification by using a Comparison microscope.

  29. Edmond Locard: • 1910: one of the first site based forensic labs. • Founder of Institue of Crimminalistsics at the universiy of Lyons

  30. Locard’s Exchange Principle: • The exchange of materials between two objects that occurs whenever two objects come into contact with one another. • First major case: Counterfeit coins • Analyzed metallic particles found in clothing, same as the counterfeit coins

  31. Activity: Discuss with a partner what measurements you would take as part of the Bertillon method.

  32. Do Now • Think about the role of the forensic scientist • Write the different jobs or roles they play

  33. CSI? Grizzleman video

  34. Forensic Evidence is Used • To establish that a particular person or thing was at a particular place at a specific time. • To establish that something was done with a particular tool: e.g., this bullet came from this weapon, this cutter sliced this tape, this letter was typed on this printer, or this glass came from this window. • To establish a relationship between people: e.g., that these people are siblings, or that this person is likely to be the child of those parents.

  35. What’s wrong with the previous slide? • Science is a process that permits one to test hypotheses. It is common knowledge that science cannot prove anything more complex than a simple fact. • Science operates by falsifying hypotheses not proving them.

  36. Forensic Evidence Should Be Used • To test whether, rather than to establish that, a particular person or thing was at a particular place at a given time. • To test whether, rather thanto establish that, something was done with a particular tool: e.g., this bullet could have come from this weapon, this cutter could have sliced this tape, this letter may have been typed on this printer, or this glass could have come from this window. • To test whether a relationship exists between people: e.g., that these people could be siblings, or that this person is likely to be the child of those parents.

  37. Locard’s Exchange Principle Every contact leaves a trace! Whenever two objects come together they must affect each other in some way. Something is likely to be exchanged between them!

  38. Principle of Individuality Two objects may be indistinguishable, but no two objects are ever identical. Things can at least be put in classes or even individualized in useful ways.

  39. What is Evidence? • Evidence is information that can and should influence the beliefs of an observer about a specific legal question (e.g., guilt or innocence; liable or not). • Evidence must be relevant to the question at hand and must be more probative than prejudicial on that issue.

  40. Name one thing that you learned today about the role of a forensic scientist

  41. Organization of Crime Laboratories • NO single law enforcement or investigative agency with unlimited jurisdiction so four major labs were set up: • FBI • Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives • US Postal Inspection Service

  42. Basic Full service Physical Science Unit Biology Unit Firearms Unit Document Examination Unit Photography Unit Optional Services Toxicology Unit Latent Fingerprint Unit Polygraph Unit Voiceprint Analysis Unit Evidence-Collection Unit Services of the Crime Lab

  43. Basic Services: Biology Unit • Biologists and Biochemists are used for: • DNA identification and profiling of dried blood and other body fluids • The comparison of hairs and fibers • The comparison of Botanicals

  44. Basic Services: Firearms Unit • Examination of: • Firearms and their discharged bullets • cartridge cases and shotgun shells • Garments and objects examined to determine type of gun and position of shooter. • And the comparison of marks made by tools

  45. Firearms Unit • Close Contact Gunshot Wound - .380 ACP close range wound with powder burns. • Close Contact  Gunshot Wound - muzzle flash injury from a M14 fitted with a flash suppressor

  46. Firearms Unit • position of the shooter!! Historical case

  47. Basic Services: Document Examination Unit • Ascertain documents authenticity • Analysis of: handwriting and typewriting • ink and paper • Visible depressions • Obliterations • Erasures • Burned and charred documents

  48. Basic Services:Photography Unit • A complete photographic laboratory is maintained to examine and record physical evidence. • May use: digital imaging, infrared, Ultraviolet and x-ray photography techniques • Aids in court case photographic exhibits for court presentations

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