Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System

Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System PDF Author: M. Chris Fabricant
Publisher: Akashic Books
ISBN: 1636140386
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Now in an expanded paperback edition, Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant presents an insider’s journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role junk science plays in maintaining the status quo. "Fierce and absorbing . . . Fabricant chronicles the battles he and his colleagues have fought to unravel a century of fraudulent experts and the bad court decisions that allowed them to thrive." —Washington Post From CSI to Forensic Files to the celebrated reputation of the FBI crime lab, forensic scientists have long been mythologized in American popular culture as infallible crime solvers. Juries put their faith in "expert witnesses" and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are still on death row today, condemned by junk science. In 2012, the Innocence Project began searching for prisoners convicted by junk science, and three men, each convicted of capital murder, became M. Chris Fabricant's clients. Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System chronicles the fights to overturn their wrongful convictions and to end the use of the "science" that destroyed their lives. Weaving together courtroom battles from Mississippi to Texas to New York City and beyond, Fabricant takes the reader on a journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role forensic science plays in maintaining the status quo. At turns gripping, enraging, illuminating, and moving, Junk Science is a meticulously researched insider's perspective of the American criminal justice system. Previously untold stories of wrongful executions, corrupt prosecutors, and quackery masquerading as science animate Fabricant’s true crime narrative. The paperback edition features a brand-new index as well as an updated introduction and final chapter chronicling the Innocence Project’s continued fight against junk science in courtrooms across America.

Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System

Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System PDF Author: M. Chris Fabricant
Publisher: Akashic Books
ISBN: 1636140386
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 349

Get Book Here

Book Description
Now in an expanded paperback edition, Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant presents an insider’s journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role junk science plays in maintaining the status quo. "Fierce and absorbing . . . Fabricant chronicles the battles he and his colleagues have fought to unravel a century of fraudulent experts and the bad court decisions that allowed them to thrive." —Washington Post From CSI to Forensic Files to the celebrated reputation of the FBI crime lab, forensic scientists have long been mythologized in American popular culture as infallible crime solvers. Juries put their faith in "expert witnesses" and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are still on death row today, condemned by junk science. In 2012, the Innocence Project began searching for prisoners convicted by junk science, and three men, each convicted of capital murder, became M. Chris Fabricant's clients. Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System chronicles the fights to overturn their wrongful convictions and to end the use of the "science" that destroyed their lives. Weaving together courtroom battles from Mississippi to Texas to New York City and beyond, Fabricant takes the reader on a journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role forensic science plays in maintaining the status quo. At turns gripping, enraging, illuminating, and moving, Junk Science is a meticulously researched insider's perspective of the American criminal justice system. Previously untold stories of wrongful executions, corrupt prosecutors, and quackery masquerading as science animate Fabricant’s true crime narrative. The paperback edition features a brand-new index as well as an updated introduction and final chapter chronicling the Innocence Project’s continued fight against junk science in courtrooms across America.

Forensics Under Fire

Forensics Under Fire PDF Author: Jim Fisher
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813544246
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Television shows like CSI, Forensic Files, and The New Detectives make it look so easy. A crime-scene photographer snaps photographs, a fingerprint technician examines a gun, uniformed officers seal off a house while detectives gather hair and blood samples, placing them carefully into separate evidence containers. In a crime laboratory, a suspect's hands are meticulously examined for gunshot residue. An autopsy is performed in order to determine range and angle of the gunshot and time-of-death evidence. Dozens of tests and analyses are performed and cross-referenced. A conviction is made. Another crime is solved. The credits roll. The American public has become captivated by success stories like this one with their satisfyingly definitive conclusions, all made possible because of the wonders of forensic science. Unfortunately, however, popular television dramas do not represent the way most homicide cases in the United States are actually handled. Crime scenes are not always protected from contamination; physical evidence is often packaged improperly, lost, or left unaccounted for; forensic experts are not always consulted; and mistakes and omissions on the autopsy table frequently cut investigations short or send detectives down the wrong investigative path. In Forensics Under Fire, Jim Fisher makes a compelling case that these and other problems in the practice of forensic science allow offenders to escape justice and can also lead to the imprisonment of innocent people. Bringing together examples from a host of high-profile criminal cases and familiar figures, such as the JonBenet Ramsey case and Dr. Henry Lee who presented physical evidence in the O. J. Simpson trial, along with many lesser known but fascinating stories, Fisher presents daunting evidence that forensic science has a long way to go before it lives up to its potential and the public's expectations.

The Science of Crime Scenes

The Science of Crime Scenes PDF Author: Max M. Houck
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128498773
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 462

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Book Description
The Science of Crime Scenes, Second Edition offers a science-based approach to crime scenes, emphasizing that understanding is more important than simply knowing. Without sacrificing technical details, the book adds significantly to the philosophy and theory of crime scene science. This new edition addresses the science behind the scenes and demonstrates the latest methods and technologies with updated figures and images. It covers the philosophy of the crime scene, the personnel involved at a scene (including the media), the detection of criminal traces and their reconstruction, and special crime scenes, such as mass disasters and terroristic events. Written by an international trio of authors with decades of crime scene experience, this book is the next generation of crime scene textbooks. This volume will serve both as a textbook for forensic programs, and as an excellent reference for forensic practitioners and crime scene technicians with science backgrounds. Includes in-depth coverage of disasters and mass murder, terror crime scenes and CBRN (Chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear) – topics not covered in any other text Includes an instructor site with lecture slides, images and links to resources for teaching and training

DNA and the Criminal Justice System

DNA and the Criminal Justice System PDF Author: David Lazer
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262621861
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Examines the impact of DNA technology on issues of ethics, civil liberties, privacy, and security.

Snapshots of Research

Snapshots of Research PDF Author: Richard D. Hartley
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1452238510
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
Immerse your students in contemporary and classic scholarly research and readings from the major branches of the criminal justice system This text/reader is a comprehensive, cutting-edge overview of the main research methods used in the fields of criminology and criminal justice. Snapshots of Research offers a wide range of modern research examples, as well as several classic articles, including a broad range of readings from the four major branches of the criminal justice system—policing, courts/law, juvenile justice, and corrections—that are relevant to career paths students may be interested in pursuing.

Criminalistics: Forensic Science, Crime and Terrorism

Criminalistics: Forensic Science, Crime and Terrorism PDF Author: James E. Girard
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
ISBN: 1449654363
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 543

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Book Description
Criminalistics: Forensic Science, Crime and Terrorism, Second Edition introduces readers with no background in biology or chemistry, to the study of forensic science, crime analysis and application. Principle topics such as fingerprint identification, DNA, paint and glass analysis, drug toxicology, and forensic soil characterization are thoroughly explained in a reader-friendly manner. Unlike other texts available on this topic, this Second Edition is updated to include comprehensive coverage on important homeland security issues including explosives, weapons of mass destruction, and cybercrime. Key Features: * New case studies and updated sections on analysis of fingerprints and questioned documents offer recent developments and findings in this critical field. * Two new chapters on chemistry and biology equip readers with the foundation and tools necessary to understand more advanced topics. * Extensive updating of Chapter 11 “Drug Use and Abuse,” provides the latest methods of drug testing and analysis by federal and state law enforcement agencies. Instructor Resources: * Answers to end of chapter questions * Lecture Outlines * Test Bank * PowerPoint Lecture Outlines Student Resources: * Companion Website (secure) featuring: - web links - interactive glossary - interactive flashcards - chapter spotlights - crossword puzzles *Access to the student companion website can be purchased here http://www.jblearning.com/catalog/9780763789947/. Bundles: * Criminalistics with Brown Lab Manual * Criminalistics with Companion Website * Criminalistsics with with Brown Lab Manual and Companion Website * Criminalistics with Current Topics in Ethics eChapters

Forensic Evidence

Forensic Evidence PDF Author: Terrence F. Kiely
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420038060
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
Focusing on issues raised at Interpol‘s 14th Forensic Science Symposium, this volume offers a complete overview and analysis of the scientific and legal aspects of each of the forensic disciplines. It updates cases and discusses recent applications of Frye/Daubert, the admissibility of eyewitness identification, the explosion of cases and statutes addressing post-conviction DNA, the rise in attention to cold cases, and other challenges. This is the book that those in the forensic sciences need to have on hand to successfully prepare for what may await them in the courtroom.

Science and the Criminal

Science and the Criminal PDF Author: Charles Ainsworth Mitchell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description


Unfair

Unfair PDF Author: Adam Benforado
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0770437761
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
A legal scholar exposes the psychological forces that undermine the American criminal justice system, arguing that unless hidden biases are addressed, social inequality will widen, and proposes reforms to prevent injustice and help achieve true equality before the law.

Fundamentals of Forensic Science

Fundamentals of Forensic Science PDF Author: Max M. Houck
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 012800231X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 737

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Book Description
Fundamentals of Forensic Science, Third Edition, provides current case studies that reflect the ways professional forensic scientists work, not how forensic academicians teach. The book includes the binding principles of forensic science, including the relationships between people, places, and things as demonstrated by transferred evidence, the context of those people, places, and things, and the meaningfulness of the physical evidence discovered, along with its value in the justice system. Written by two of the leading experts in forensic science today, the book approaches the field from a truly unique and exciting perspective, giving readers a new understanding and appreciation for crime scenes as recent pieces of history, each with evidence that tells a story. Straightforward organization that includes key terms, numerous feature boxes emphasizing online resources,historical events, and figures in forensic science Compelling, actual cases are included at the start of each chapter to illustrate the principles being covered Effective training, including end-of-chapter questions – paired with a clear writing style making this an invaluableresource for professors and students of forensic science Over 250 vivid, color illustrations that diagram key concepts and depict evidence encountered in the field