Masha Popovic
Mr. Ippolito
Forensics
9 February 2020
Current Event 15
Sandoval, Edgar, and Jan Ransom. “Tessa Majors Killing: Focus Turns to DNA Evidence.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/nyregion/tessa-majors-barnard-dna.html.
Article "Tessa Majors Killing: Focus Turns to DNA Evidence”,
talks about the murder of Ms. Majors and safeguarding the legal
rights of the suspects. Barnard Student, Tessa Majors, was
stabbed in a park mugging located in Manhattan earlier in December.
Three minors were suspected of attacking Ms.Majors and police were
waiting on DNA results that would allow prosecutors to charge the three
for the attack. One 13-year-old, was charged with second degree felony murder,
while the other two suspects were still in the process of being prosecuted. On
the night of the attack, investigators tested the victims clothes she
was wearing and pieces of clothing they recovered from the suspects.
However, there was only one link to the 13-year-old mentioned above.
The interesting detail is that, in April of 1989, there was an attack on a
jogger in Central Park performed by 5 teenagers; a very similar case
to that of Tessa Majors. Thirty years ago, the teens were accused of the
attack, but time after, were proven innocent a bit too late. For
the more recent investigation. Police officials are taking steps to protect
the teenagers legal rights and not wrongly accuse any of them.
I have deduced from this article that it is important to record/relate
back to previous cases. It can help make connections and point out certain details
that might not have been obvious at first glance.
This article spoke of an interesting case, involving minors and explain
the difficulties of protecting their legal rights. However, I was looking for way
more detail in this piece. I felt that the author did not elaborate enough on
techniques used by investigators and could have spoken more about the suspects
backgrounds.
3 comments:
Ellie Dessart
Mr. Ippolito
Forensics C Odd
4 March 2020
Current Event 17 Comment
Citation:
Sandoval, Edgar, and Jan Ransom. “Tessa Majors Killing: Focus Turns to DNA Evidence.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Dec. 2019,
www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/nyregion/tessa-majors-barnard-dna.html.
Link to Original Review:
https://bhscsi.blogspot.com/2020/02/masha-popovic-mr.html
Masha’s review was interesting and informative. Firstly, she did a good job condensing the original article, keeping her own summary concise. Secondly, she brought up a good takeaway from the article, mentioning how “it is important to record/relate back to previous cases.” This is crucial in ensuring law enforcement doesn't make the same mistake of wrongly convicting individuals. Thirdly, she provided a strong critique in her third paragraph, stating how “the author did not elaborate enough on techniques used by investigators.” As I was reading the original article, I also wished the authors had commented more on the specific methods they used to analyze the DNA evidence, so it was nice to see Masha acknowledge this too.
However, there were some aspects of her review Masha could have improved on. Firstly, I had some clarity issues with the writing. For example, in the first paragraph, I had trouble understanding the line “there was only one link to the 13-year-old mentioned above.” What “link?” A DNA hit? Further, there were some grammatical errors and misuse of punctuation that made it difficult to read. Secondly, Masha could have included some more personal input. Specifically, in the second paragraph, I would have liked her to expand on her thoughts and further explain how the article connects to our understanding of forensic science.
Overall, I enjoyed Masha’s review. By reading her summary and analysis, I learned how crucial DNA evidence is in connecting suspects to crimes. Additionally, when minors are the prime suspects of a case, it becomes harder to fully reach justice for the victim while simultaneously trying to protect the legal rights of the young defendants. Will the teenagers receive minimal punishment because of their age? It’ll be interesting to see where investigators draw the line.
Clara DeMagalhaes Current Event #16
Sandoval, Edgar, and Jan Ransom. “Tessa Majors Killing: Focus Turns to DNA Evidence.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/nyregion/tessa-majors-barnard-dna.html.
https://bhscsi.blogspot.com/2020/02/masha-popovic-mr.html
Masha’s review of her chosen article was interesting and well-written. One aspect that was well done was how her summary was clear and concise, giving a good overview of the article without making it too wordy or confusing. Another good thing about the review was the takeaway from the article. The fact that Masha derived it herself also made the connection feel more personal. Lastly, the critique was thought out well and looking back at the article, I definitely agree with it and believe that the author could have delved into more specifics.
One aspect that could be improved is the formatting of the review. The summary was far longer proportionally compared to the other two paragraphs, which felt lacking in comparison since they had less information and detail. I think that elaborating more on the praise, criticism, and connections would make the structure feel more consistent. Another small critique is that there were some grammatical errors, which can be easily righted with proofreading and/or a program that specializes in grammar.
The story was very intriguing and definitely had important lessons to take away from the events that occurred. As Masha mentioned in her writeup, it’s very important to gain knowledge by examining past events so that mistakes aren’t made in the future. I’d be interested in learning more about the ways that legal rights of teenagers are being modified in the future.
Olivia Martin
Mr. Ippolito D Odd
February 23, 2020
Current Event #16
Sandoval, Edgar and Jan Ransom. “Tessa Majors Killing: Focus Turns to DNA Evidence.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Dec. 2019,
.
.
Masha’s review of the New York Times article, “Tessa Majors Killing: Focus Turns to DNA Evidence.” by Edgar Sandoval and Jan Ransom was very informative and interesting. Firstly, I thought Masha’s summary was very well-written. She clearly explained the background information regarding the crime and how forensic scientists were able to identify the killer. Additionally, I thought Masha made an interesting link regarding a similar crime to the one committed. She observed how in the previous crime, the teenagers were falsely convicted, which is unlikely to happen in this case as police officials are taking more action to protect teenagers’s legal rights. Finally, I thought Masha integrated details in her review efficiently. She included multiple cases and facts about them throughout her summary.
Masha’s review was well-written, but there were a few things she could improve upon. Firstly, Masha did not mention much about how the DNA of the murder was identified. She mentions where the DNA came from, but not how the results were obtained. Additionally, Masha could have included a bit more about forensic science and its relevance to the case.
I learned about a murder case and its connection to a previous case. I was originally intrigued to read Masha’s review as the title was very interesting. I now have a better understanding of how different crimes can be connected in order to solve new cases more efficiently.
Post a Comment