Reopened rape case

The article I read explains how a case about a man who was convicted of raping and murdering a 10 year old girl in 1990 is being reopened again. The man was convicted based on the evidence of one hair being found at the crime scene however it was later on determined that the hair did not originate from a “negroid” but rather a man who has a “caucasoid” mother so it could not have come from the suspect. The man’s lawyers therefore claimed that they needed more evidence in order to rightfully convict the suspect however all evidence had been destroyed after the trial. When the man’s lawyer’s kept calling different judges they later found out that a woman had a bag of evidence left. The lawyer’s now expect the evidence to be processed on March 28th for further testing.

This article is extremely relevant to the scientific and criminalist community since it shows that science can bring light to evidence over time since techniques are always being improved and new ways of testing evidence might be invented. It also shows how important it is to test every piece of evidence in a case in other to rightfully convict someone. The article also challenges beliefs that a suspect can be convicted with only one piece of hair and as we have learned in class, most hair found at the crime scene is in the talogen stage so it does not contain a significant amount of DNA.

I thought this article did a good job explaining the process that the lawyers went through trying to find more evidence however they did not explain why this bag of evidence had never been tested. It was really unclear as to why evidence had been destroyed after the trial and how a judge could convict someone based on only one piece of hair when that piece of hair also contradicted that the suspect was guilty.

Works cited:

Augenstein, Seth. "Virginia Inmate, Serving 100 Years for Rape Based on Hair, to Get New DNA Testing." Forensic Magazine. Forensic Magazine, 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 02 Mar. 2016. <http://www.forensicmag.com/news/2016/02/virginia-inmate-serving-100-years-rape-based-hair-get-new-dna-testing>.

"How Microscopic Algae Are Helping Forensic Teams Catch Criminals." The Conversation. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.

http://theconversation.com/how-microscopic-algae-are-helping-forensic-teams-catch-criminals-57407?

The environment can leave a traces of evidence into a criminal.  Diatoms are microscopic algae that can be retrieved from anywhere in the water and are used to determine death from drowning. They are very tiny and flow in the water and are inhaled into the body when someone drowns.  They are then transported through the circulatory system into the lungs, brain, and bone marrow.  When the diatoms are observed under the microscope, they can be compared to the water where the  body was found.  If the diatoms are not present in the body, this could mean the victim was not killed by being drowned.   If the diatoms are different from the ones found in the water where the body was found, then this might mean that the body was drowned and then moved to a second location.  They are also trace evidence indicators.  Criminals pick up evidence from a crime scene while leaving their own beyond.  Diatoms are abundant in many different types of environments and can be found anything: clothing, footwear, and personal belongings.  

This article is very important to crime scenes and the field forensics in general.  The field of diatom analysis is very important, and will be emerging in the future. More and more scientist will begin to observe these microscopic algae more and more carefully.  You can have one single diatom on a person’s sneaker and they can instantly be convicted guilty.  

This article was very well organized.  It elaborated on all of the scientific terminology that was used and could not be understood until explained.  Also, there were pictures inserted into the article of scientists observing the diatoms under microscope.  There were also microscopic pictures of what the algae looked like.  At the end of the article it was helpful how the author explained why this field would be important for the future.

The article, The Forensics of Snake Venom, by Douglas M. Main, explains how new DNA testing has increased justice in cases of smuggling dried cobra venom. In in Kerala, India authorities have made many arrests for venom trafficking. The activity is on the rise and includes milking highly venomous snakes, and then transporting the good and selling it at a very steep price. It’s illegal to trade in venom from any snake species protected under the country’s Wildlife Act, including the Indian cobra. But unfortunately, not all of the caught smugglers have been locked away due to inconclusive evidence. Before genetic analysis there was no way to prove which snake the venom came from. After a raid on a hotel room in Kerala, the local magistrate sent venom samples to the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad. For the first time, scientists were able to analyze DNA within the venom to prove that it came from the Indian cobra, or Naja naja. The study at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad found that the process of milking venom sheds epithelial cells. These cells contain DNA which, when analyzed, can reveal the type of snake it derives from.  

Because of the conclusion of genetic analysis testing smugglers are facing the justice they deserved. They were charged with illegal hunting and trafficking of a protected animal, both of which are punishable by a prison sentence up to three years and/or a fine of about $500. The new discovery will stop the trafficking of the of venom, which will help clean up Kerala, India, where it was being used as a recreational drug. Illegal hunting of and trade in snakes and other reptiles is an enormous problem in South Asia, the process brings animals to extinction, which in turn harms all the wildlife in their habitat. Because of this new process Kerala will return to its peaceful state.

I personally thought this article was very interesting and drew my attention. I was expecting to find an article about a case about a shooting or something cliche. Instead it lead me to see the larger extent of forensic science spreading its influence all the way in Kerala India. It made me see just how science is affected by everything in this world. The article itself was old, but had links to more recent and related articles, which made my summary more relevant. The inclusion of the experts within the article also made the genetic analysis easier to comprehend.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/the-forensics-of-snake-venom/

Main, Douglas M. "The Forensics of Snake Venom." Green Blog. New York Times, Web. 08 May 2016.