Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction

Southall, Ashley. "Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science

Fiction." The New York Times. N.p., 19 Oct. 2017. Web.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/nyregion/dna-phenotyping-new-york-police.html

In the article “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call it Science Fiction” Ashley Southall discusses how the New York Police Department turned to a forensic technique called phenotyping to attempt to identify the severed body parts of a woman. Phenotyping uses DNA from the biological matter people leave behind to predict their appearance. Scientists scan a person’s genes for variations known to influence traits and then plug those markers into a set of algorithms to generate a profile. In this case, the tests revealed that the woman was primarily of sub-Saharan African descent and her sex and ancestry to create a generic sketch of a face from a database of demographic information.

        Critics have raised concerns about the lack of peer-reviewed science surrounding phenotyping and the fact that the way that the DNA is collected and used is susceptible to human bias, error, and abuse. Dr. Yaniv Erlich, a computer science professor at Columbia University who studies genetics, said the idea that phenotyping could meaningfully predict something as complex as individual looks is “on the verge of science fiction.”

Police officials are focused on using phenotypes to identify victims, but they could still use it to search for suspects. The problem with using the technology for suspects is that it puts actual people under suspicion without any basis in fact or science according to Robert Perry, the legislative director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. On the other hand, Chief Katranakis explains that, “The power of exclusion from phenotyping is greater than that of inclusion.” In other words, phenotyping helps the police avoid targeting the wrong people in their investigations.

        This article is important because it deals with a forensic technique growing in popularity as a tool to help investigators identify victims and search for suspects. It is definitely still a controversial science and very much in the early stages of development, so it is significant that the author described phenotyping in such detail and introduced the reader to its benefits and shortcomings. This article is also important because while another breakthrough in DNA technology is groundbreaking and can close cases when applied to forensics, the expanding possibilities of DNA often result in a violation of privacy or an unfair use of the information. For example, Southall mentions that the New York State Commission on Forensic Science recently adopted guidelines for familial testing (DNA searches for relatives of potential suspects) which can be an invasion of privacy and can result in bias concerning which people are targeted for genetic surveillance.

Overall, Southall wrote an incredibly interesting and thorough article. She drew the reader into the article by describing a real case that phenotyping is being used to solve in order to illustrate the type of standstill and cold cases that this technology is most useful for. She also included faces developed using phenotyping to help the reader better understand how the science works. Southall also did a great job presenting the arguments of proponents and critics of phenotyping in order to paint a complete picture of the technology. However, I think that the author could have discussed how accurate phenotyping actually is. She writes about how the science has helped investigators solve crimes and cited some specific ones, but she didn’t include exactly how that happened. I think it would have been very helpful if she had shown the differences between an image developed through phenotyping in relation to a picture of the actual person or if she had used an expert quote to describe how close the science comes to resembling the person.

Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction

Southall, Ashley. “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/nyregion/dna-phenotyping-new-york-police.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic+Science&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection&_r=0.

In Ashley Southall’s article, “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction,” she discusses how phenotyping is used in crime investigations in order to develop a visual of the victim. Southall discusses a case in which various body parts of a twenty to forty-five year old woman were found. She states that, “In phenotyping, scientists scan a person’s genes for variations known to influence traits like skin color, eye color, geographical ancestry and freckling. They then plug those markers into a set of algorithms to generate a profile.” In the case involving the remains of a twenty to forty-five year old woman, scientists were able to develop a visual drawing of what she may have looked like based on their examinations of her remains. Having the ability to do this they were able to move the case forward. However, Southall brought our attention to that fact that, “critics have raised concerns about the lack of peer-reviewed science behind the technology and the creeping expansion of how DNA is collected and used in criminal investigations, where it is susceptible to human bias, error and abuse.” Although there were such concerns raised, Chief Katsanakis, the commander of the Forensic Investigation Division states that, “the Police Department was ‘fully aware’  of the uncertainty surrounding phenotyping.” In having this advantage being able to reconstruct a visual of a victim, it helps in moving forward a case, new or  reopened, as well as being able to bring justice to the victim’s family.  

Ashley Southall’s article, “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction,” brings up a very important fact which is relevant to our society. Having new technology at our access, scientists are able to use this to their advantage to reconstruct a visual image of a person from their remains.

This article explained both sides, discussing both the advantages of developing a visual image of a victim as well as the concerns which were raised when discussing phenotyping utilizing newer technology. I also thought that it helped to better understand the topic as she discussed various cases as well as input from people such as the Commander of the Forensic Investigation Division. Although I thought that Southall’s article was well written, I wished that she would have discussed more about what goes into developing the visual image, as well as what goes into examining the remains in order to obtain a visual.

Mississippi Court Overturns Convictions in 1993 Slayings

Hana Eddib 10/29/17

Forensics current event 6

Amy, Jeff. “Mississippi Court Overturns Convictions in 1993 Slayings.” Forensic Magazine, 27 Oct. 2017, www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/mississippi-court-overturns-convictions-1993-slayings.

On October 27th, a Mississippi Supreme Court revoked a man's conviction of three murder charges due to the questionable use of bite mark evidence. In 1993, Sherwood Brown was convicted of slaying 82-year-old Betty Boyd, 48-year-old Verline Boyd and 13-year-old Evangela Boyd. Because jurors believed he committed these murders while also committed felony child abuse, they sentenced him to death. Forensic evidence at the crime scene included all three bodies in Betty Boyd’s house, and a trail of bloody footprints lead to multiple houses including Brown’s. When arrested, his sneakers matched the pattern of the shoe prints found in the house. Although, at the time DNA testing didn’t exist, the Supreme Court granted it’s use in 2012. That proved that the blood from the shoe prints were male while the blood in the house was females. The evidence is question was a bite mark on Brown’s wrist said to be given by Evangela.  The article explained, “Dr. Michael West, a forensic odontologist who has testified in many Mississippi criminal cases, determined the cut matched Boyd’s teeth, a conclusion echoed by a second forensic odontologist at the trial” (Amy 2017). However, when swabbing the inside of Boyd’s mouth for evidence they found that the male DNA within her mouth did not match Brown. Tucker Carrington, a lawyer for the Mississippi Innocence Project, states, “this result is more evidence supporting a 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences that found bite marks could not be used to reliably identify an individual” (Amy 2017). Upon fresh evidence, the court scheduled a new hearing. The state has denied past requests for appeals, and dismissed the testimony of someone claiming Brown told him he was guilty, since he was doing it for a lesser sentence. Brown’s parents claim he was at home at the time of the crime and forensic evidence of fingerprints, palm prints and hair don’t match Brown creating the question; is he guilty?

This article is very relevant to the world. It discusses the issues with forensic evidence and it’s importance on a case. This is what we are studying in forensics and it is important to identify how what we are learning is used in the real world.

The article explained the circumstances of the case very well. It was very easy to follow. It was also easy to identify the evidence being questioned. However, I would’ve liked more information explaining the history of appeals and trial history as it was confusing to follow. I also would’ve wanted clarification on whether the conviction that was overturned who the death penalty or the guilty conviction in it’s entirety as that was hard to follow as well. However, overall, I think the article was very informative and interesting to follow.

Crime Scene Investigation Activity

This week, this year's two sections of the Forensics Science course have begun their Crime Scene Investigation activity. In this activity teams of from four to five students have to document and record a crime scene set up in their classroom.

The students are responsible for logging all evidence, precisely measuring the locations of the evidence and photographing the over all scene and each piece of evidence. When they log the evidence, they are required to determine how they would like the Forensic Lab to analyze/evaluate the evidence. The part of the criminologist's job that they will not undertake is the actual collection and packaging of the evidence.

As the course proceeds they will learn about and practice numerous protocols involved with evidence analysis.

Zixi and Ashley take measurements to precisely locate a piece of evidence. Griff records the measurements taken into their Evidence location log. Each piece of evidence must be located by measurements from two axes in the room. In this case Zixi and Ashley are taking the measurement from the East wall of the room. Their second measurement will be from the North wall of the room.

Zixi, Ashley and Griff taking evidence location measurements.

Ashley and Zixi measure the exact location of the fallen chair, which is indicated by the evidence marker C.

Members of a different Investigative Team, Catherine and Michelle are taking measurements for the location of the bag of white powder indicated by evidence marker 1A.

Spencer and Andrew stop to discuss what the evidence might indicate about wht occurred at this crime scene.

Part of the process requires the student teams to make a rough sketch of the crime scene and complete an evidence disposition log. The evidence disposition log identifies each piece of evidence and the type of analysis the team would like of that evidence.

The clipboard on the left contains the evidence photolog, which includes a description of each piece of evidence that was photographed. The students will digitize this log and the description will include a "hyperlink" to its photograph. The clipboard on the right contains the Evidence Location Measurements.

Tape measures and Evidence Marker Cards

 

Finding the Names Among the Ashes: Identifying Bodies After a Fire

YiFei Wu

Current Events: Finding the Names Among the Ashes: Identifying Bodies After a Fire

10/27/2017

French, Laura. "Finding the Names Among the Ashes: Identifying Bodies After a Fire". Forensic mag.

https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/finding-names-among-ashes-identifying-bodies-after-fire

In the article "Finding the Names Among the Ashes", the author described Forensic Scientists nowadays could use advanced technology to figure out how to analyze the remain body ashes in fire and scan the remaining skeleton. "Depending on how intact the remains are and how much damage has been done to the body by the heat of the flames, investigators will turn to different methods in order to make the quickest and most reliable identification possible. According to Anthony Falsetti, a board-certified forensic anthropologist and professor at Arizona State University’s School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, investigators will often look to a victim’s dental records first, if possible." This quote described in detail how investigators identify the body after the fire. DNA remained in his/her teeth is an important information for Forensic Scientists to identify the identity of that victim.

This also related to our lives every day because there are natural disasters all around the world, sometimes people could die in an accident, such as the fire. And now Forensic Scientists have advanced technology to determine the identity of the victim which helps their family to find out where their relatives are.

I think overall this article described how advance technology could work in Forensic Science to identify those ashes.  But I think they still need to improve.

Careers in Medicine

Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction by Ashley Southall

Martha Thomas

Current Events: Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction by Ashley Southall

10/19/2017

Southall, Ashley. “Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017,

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/nyregion/dna-phenotyping-new-york-police.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%20Science&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

“Using DNA to Sketch What Victims Look Like; Some Call It Science Fiction” by Ashley Southall is a well written article that discusses the benefits of using DNA based Phenotyping in criminal cases, despite controversies.  DNA Phenotyping is a process where scientists use traces of DNA in order to determine a deceased person’s race, age, and new technologies have the power to even predict facial structure.  This  process is often thought of as inaccurate and cases that rely  heavily on this type of science are often met with protests from defense or civil liberties lawyers. But phenotyping  has been instrumental in identifying the body of a victim of a murder in Bushwick, Brooklyn, North Carolina, and many other places.  Phenotyping is becoming increasingly accurate Dr. Yaniv Erlich of Columbia University,who described this process as “on the verge of science fiction.” Still, scientists tend to use this process to rule out previously though  suspects or victims, instead of identifying entirely new people linked to  the crime.

This article effectively connected this forensic technology to courtroom ethics.  While it is important for criminal scientists to use all available technologies to solve crime, it is also important for them to use their discretion and not present inaccurate Phenotype sketches in courtroom. Even though the  author of this article believed strongly in Phenotype technology, I believe that there is reasonable cause for this technology’s ban or required licensure in  many states, and that it should continue to be regulated in order to protect citizens’ from unruly trials.

This article gave strong examples of murder cases where Phenotyping played important roles in victim identification: Bushwick and Brooklyn. However, this article failed to explain the specific clues that scientists look for in DNA to determine what a person might have looked like. I am especially curious as to what the clues that indicate facial structure are.  This article would be improved if it included information and details about the scientific process of Phenotyping.

Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence

Alexander Rizzo

Current Event #5

Review

Title:

Court: Examine if Austin Crime Lab Botched Death Penalty Evidence

https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/court-examine-if-austin-crime-lab-botched-death-penalty-evidence

Areli Escobar, an inmate on death row in the state of Texas, claims in the following article that the Austin police crime lab may have completed “shoddy work” regarding the evidence that put him in jail for crimes including the rape and murder of Bianca Maldonado. DNA evidence on jeans, a shirt, and shoes tied to Escobar will be re-performed in order to prove Escobar guilty. Escobar's lawyers claimed that analysts conducting the DNA tests were, “poorly trained” and were cross-contaminating the samples.  

The relevance of this article regarding forensic science is that the experiments regarding the article are DNA tests in order to solve a murder case. This case is extremely important for not only Escobar but also effect Maldonado’s family because if Escobar is telling the truth, then Bianca’s killer may still be free. It is also important because this is a crime that includes the death penalty. If Escobar is proved guilty, then he might be killed. Finally, this case is important because if it is true that the Austin police crime lab is conducting DNA tests that are not accurate, than many other trials may also have to be reviewed.

Some of the strengths of this article include that all of the relevant information is included in the article. What would have made the article better, would be more information regarding the crime and more information on the Austin police crime lab. What I would like to know is if this is the first case in which the legitimacy of the crime lab was being questioned or if this was one of multiple accusations. However, the article was interesting and to the point.

Nobody Trains for This’: Crews Sift California Wildfire Ruins for Traces of Victims.”

Gross,. Sam USA Today,‘Nobody Trains for This’: Crews Sift California Wildfire Ruins

for Traces of Victims.” Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Oct. 2017,

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/10/15/crews-sift-ruins-for-california-wildfire-victims/765803001/.

The article I read by Sam Gross “ Describes what they volunteer firefighters are doing to attempt to ID bodies of victims of the wildfires. Firefighters have to slowly and careful search houses with dogs who attempt to get a ‘hit’,” When one of the dogs “hit,” or indicated to its handler that it had picked up a scent, that dog would be rotated out and another would sweep the area again.” A hit is simply the dogs picking up the scent of human remains. “The fire here burned so hot and so fast, that … the crew was sifting for bone fragments — it’s unlikely they’d find anything more in a house that had burned as completely as this.” When the crew believes they have the location of human remains. A forensic anthropologist i called in to do a very in depth search of the small area to find any bone fragments. If bone is identified, the area is closed off and becomes the corner’s, then they begin trying to identify the victim.

This article addresses how deadly these fires can be, and how some people still decide and stay. This fire was so hot that all that was left was bone fragments, some people lost all their possessions if they decided to leave, but those who decided to stay lost everything, including their life.

I thought is article was very well written. Mr. Gross incorporated quotes to emphasis how deadly this fire was, as well as how hard it will be going forward to find and ID all the victims. He ended the article on a up note, saying that of the 1,600 people reported missing after the fire, only 74 remain. Over 1,500 have been found and returned to their family.  Gross, Sam. “'Nobody Trains for This': Crews Sift California Wildfire Ruins for Traces of Victims.”

Florida Man Awarded $37,500 After Cops Mistake Glazed Doughnut Crumbs For Meth

The article “Florida Man Awarded $37,500 After Cops Mistake Glazed Doughnut Crumbs For Meth,”  by Laurel Wamsley for NPR, discusses about how roadside test kits aren't all that foolproof. Daniel Rushing was driving a church friend off at her job at a nearby 7/11 when he got pulled over for speeding. When asked if they could check the car Mr. Rushing said fine, “As long as I don't get a ticket.” After an extensive search by four police officers, they found white crystals in the backseat which they believed to be meth. The officers used a field testing kit, and the test claimed the substance to be meth. Mr. Rushing went to jail for more than 10 hours before being released on bail. Further lab tests help to prove that the substance was in fact just glazed donut crumbs. But this isn't the only time field lab tests weren’t accurate. Karlos Cache, a handyman, was arrested on possession of drugs when field lab testing kits said drywall dust was meth. The problem is, officers rely heavily on these field lab testing kits when they aren't all that reliable. The kits are very inexpensive and cost 18 dollars for a pack of ten.

Infact a 2016 investigation done by the New York Times and ProPublica found that tens of thousands of people are innocently convicted. The report writes "Some tests ... use a single tube of a chemical...which turns blue when it is exposed to cocaine. But also turns blue when it is exposed to more than 80 other compounds, including methadone, certain acne medications and several common household cleaners.” But meth isn't the only drug field kits are mistrusting. State law enforcement lab in Florida found that “half of all seized ‘illegal’ drugs weren't illegal drugs at all.” This lack of validity costed the law enforcement $37,500. Mr. Rushing said “I thought it was the right thing to do.”

This article was extremely relevant when looking at how accurate arrests are. I think a major reason for the invalid tests are due to lack of funding. This is because when law enforcement offices are buying these tests, they often go for the cheaper often. But this often prefers cost than accuracy. By doing so, this could cost the police department fees in legal battles when these tests falsely claim something as a drug. Its an important discussion for our law enforcement to think about what they're buying, as well as its overall effectiveness when helping to keep people safe.

Overall I thought this article was excellently written. It had plenty of quotes and links to back up the investigation claims and police reports. However, I wish they gave more visuals to help the reader understand how these tests can be mixed up. For example, a picture of the test reacting to meth as well as one of the other compounds it also reacts to.

Wamsley, Laurel. “Florida Man Awarded $37,500 After Cops Mistake Glazed Doughnut Crumbs For Meth.” NPR, NPR, 16 Oct. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/16/558147669/florida-man-awarded-37-500-after-cops-mistake-glazed-doughnut-crumbs-for-meth.

Case Reveals Legal Rules of Thumb Tricky with iPhone Sensors

https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/10/case-reveals-legal-rules-thumb-tricky-iphone-sensors

Case Reveals Legal Rules of Thumb Tricky with iPhone Sensors

I read the article “Case Reveals Legal Rules of Thumb Tricky with iPhone Sensors” for the magazine Forensics on the Scene and in the Lab. The article covered recent court rulings on whether or not the touch ID feature on older versions of the IPhone are covered by the fifth amendment rights or not. The 5th amendment prevents suspects from incriminating themselves by answering questions in a court of law or artifacts at the scene of a crime that are not covered by a police warrant. For example, in a court of law, no one is required to give the personal password to a smart device. Companies will not turn over customer information either, but if a police/ investigative team wishes to crack the combo they are permitted to under the law. A difference in the touch ID feature, is that “Touch ID and similar technologies have made fingerprints akin to a key,” the filing said. “Instead of carrying that key on a metal ring, Apple users now carry five potential keys on each hand.” This information was connecting back to a child pronography case, where authorities asked the residents of the house/ alleged criminals to open all IPads and IPhones in the house to search for footage. This piece of evidence was brought up by the defense attorney to the judge claiming that it was a violation of fifth amendment rights and that anything discovered on the devices should be thrown out. This situation and question is now being discussed by judges in different districts, trying to determine whether or not it was a violation of fifth amendment rights, and if the court of law needs to create any amendments to the law to include touch ID with protection.

This article was a very important conversation to be brought to the public's attention. With the rapid increase in technologies advancements, our courts need to be amending laws to accommodate for these advancements. With new technology coming out every few months, the government needs to create a bureau or cabinet of lawyers, judges, and officials to oversee how these technologies can impact criminal procedures in a court of law so that law enforcement officials do not throw out evidence based upon misconduct. Personally I think that technologies such as touch ID and passwords should be rightfully protected under the law and by major companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Android. In other court cases we have seen Apple stand by their customer contacts and have not breached these when pressured by courts, which I find very comforting. I also think that it is very important for upcoming generations to know that laws will start adapting to changing times, and will mold to protect a growing community influenced and interconnected with technology.

Overall I found the article very informative. I though the overall message was well developed and the examples were helpful but it was relatively short. Though the story was written today, I am intrigued to see if the writer will follow up on upcoming news and findings regarding this court case and what conclusion is drawn about touch ID protection under the law.

Lucy Rizzo

October 18, 2017

Forensics

Current Event #5

2017 New York City Girls Computer Science and Engineering Conference

New York University Courant's WinC, Princeton University's GWiSE, and Google cordially invite your high school girls to the

We invite young women in high school to this conference to learn about an education and career in computer science and engineering. The program will give young women a taste of the creativity and innovation involved in these STEM fields and show how they can help change the world.

The event includes:

• Talks by computer science and engineering professors, graduate and undergraduate students
• Demos of exciting on-going research projects
• Technical workshop lead by Google employees
• Fun, structural design competition with prizes!
• + more!

We'd like to invite you and 8 of your high school girls to this conference. We require at least one teacher come with their students to this event.

Date and Time:

Friday, November 17, 2017

8 AM - 3:30 PM

Location:

Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, 10th floor

New York University

60 Washington Square South

New York, NY 10012

Please sign up using this form by October 30:

http://bit.ly/2017GirlsConf 

For more information, visit our website at:

http://nyuwinc.org/hs-conference/

40 Years, 3 Sisters, 1 DNA Test: The Story of a Cold Case

Alexander Plaza

Mr.Ippolito

10/11/17

Forensics Article Review

Press, The Associated. “40 Years, 3 Sisters, 1 DNA Test: The Story of a Cold Case.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/10/09/us/ap-us-cold-case.html.

The article I read was “40 Years, 3 Sisters, 1 DNA Test: The Story of a Cold Case” by the associated press. The article talks about Ruby Williams’ third child, Brenda, who had been missing since 1978. Constantly praying for her return, nearly 40 years later the family went to a symposium held by the detectives about cold cases. A sculpted bust of an unidentified deceased person at the symposium looked like a match to the photo the family brought with them and the police swabbed their cheek to see if the DNA matched. The first news they received was that the DNA ruled out the possibility of the body belonging to Brenda. The family had thought the police had given up after that but months later the police called with news. They had matched Brenda’s DNA with that of a jawbone found in 1986.They were unable to determine how Brenda died, but the Williams family held a funeral for Brenda with her jawbone and had received closure after many years.

The article that I read showed how important DNA is to forensic science and how so much information can be gained from little physical evidence. The article also shows how long it can take for cases to be solved and to process evidence. Forensic science can be very important to point detectives to determining guilt or innocence in cases but this time the investigation provided melancholy news and provided a family with closure.

The article was did well to realistically show how forensic science is conducted in the world and how slow the process can be. However, the article very briefly mentions the discovery of the jawbone and what happened behind the scenes in the forensic lab. The article would do well to elaborate towards the end to explain what exactly was going on in the forensics lab and what tests were being done rather than leaving the reader guessing at why the investigation took so long. Nonetheless, the article was well written.

Otto Warmbier Suffered Extensive Brain Damage, Coroner Confirms

Justin McCarthy
Forensics 12H

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event 4: Otto Warmbier’s Autopsy.

Due October 12th 2017

Kolata, Gina. “Otto Warmbier Suffered Extensive Brain Damage, Coroner Confirms.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/health/otto-warmbier-north-korea-autopsy.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/health/otto-warmbier-north-korea-autopsy.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%20Science&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

From New York Times journalist, Gina Kolata, the latest forensics current event ironically does not occur in our country but instead occurs in North Korea. Mrs. Kolata examines the circumstances around the event by emphasizing that from the tragic events that have transpired for Otto Warmbier in North Korea had resulted in his death after being held captive for over a year in Kim Jong Un’s totalitarian regime. Kolata expresses the ramifications that have resulted from the “college student” who was “imprisoned” in North Korea before returning the USA in a “Vegetative State” (Kolata) after suffering extended brain damage at the hands of the North Korean regime. Kolata expresses that the effects that have resulted from this tragic accident is compelling because not only did the young college student die, but the fact that he was tortured by North Korea makes America infuriated with the lack of humanity that Kim Jong Un has installed within his country.

I believe that from reading this article it not only opens my mind to Forensics, but it also opens my mind to the torture and the pain that innocent civilians are suffering right now in North Korea and other countries like them. Kolata speaks to me personally because she makes it clear that the way this young college student was handled by Kim Jong Un’s puppets is disturbing because it brings us back in time when had numerous crimes against humanity occur during World War II. Thus when his body was returned to his parents, Kolata describes the disturbing scene. “The images clearly showed that his brain had been starved of oxygen and that large tracts of cells had died, Dr. Sammarco said. The medical diagnosis is anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy” (Kolata). I believe that from Kolkata's perspective this not only enlightens me about the corruption that occurs when any human is tortured, but the fact that doctors now have the ability to determine what caused this once College Student to suffer a terrible fate by being killed by torture in North Korea.

While I am a very big supporter on the way Gina Kolata wrote this article, such as describing the autopsy as well as the parents perspective on their son’s death in North Korea,  I believe that were some issues that could have been explained better by the author. First off, though she mentions “Warmbiers imprisonment in North Korea” (Kolata), she doesn't exactly go into detail into what caused this American student to be imprisoned in the worst country in the world. Another issue that I also thought Kolata could have expanded and improved on was more on the political ramifications and the outroar that America people acquired from this terrible tragedy. “In the United States, most families would opt for palliative care for a relative in a vegetative state resembling Mr. Warmbier’s, she added. That would consist of providing pain medications and sedatives to soothe them” (Kolata). By introducing this theme into her work a little more, I believe it would the reader with a good metal picture and realization what occurs to prisoners in North Korea. While Kolata has a couple issues in her article, the overall theme that I took away was that I was impressed because she did great job analyzing the events that this young man who suffered hell in North Korea.