New Technology Detects Chemical Weapons In Seconds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005102708.htm# This article is about Scientists at Queen's University Belfast who are developing new sensors to detect chemical agents and illegal drugs which will help fight against the threat of terrorist attacks. These new sensors will use special gel pads to 'swipe' a person or crime scene to collect a sample. It is then analyzed by a scanning instrument that can tell us if there is a presence of chemicals. This works within seconds. The scanning instrument will use Raman Spectroscopy. It involves shining a laser beam onto the sample and measuring the energy of light that scatters from it to determine what chemical compound is present. this type of spectroscopy is not sensitive enough to detect low concentrations of chemicals, so to see the concentration, the sample is mixed with nanoscale silver particles making us able to see the smallest trace. Since this happens in seconds, it will help stop terrorism, because they will know if they are dangerous faster. Eventually what scientist will hope to do is use the new sensors for developing a breathalyzer for roadside drug testing.

Innocent but Dead

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/opinion/01herbert.html

This article is about a Texan named Cameron Willingham, who was executed by lethal injection in February of 2004. For the murders of his three children. The original reports said that he had set the house on fire allowing his three young children to die on December 23, 1991. When the fire was going, statements were originally taken stating the Willingham was making many attempts to get into the small house and rescue his children, eventually he was restrained and handcuffed. During trial, evidence showed that arson was most likely the cause of the fire. This is because of deep charring at the base of some of the walls and patterns of soot that made them suspicious. Forensic Scientists also noticed what they felt were ominous fracture patterns in pieces of broken window glass, leading them to believe that Willingham committed the crime, even though there had been no motive. He was put on death row and executed after 12 years despite the fact that influential scientists were making groundbreaking discoveries, all proving that the fire was not arson. Willingham was proven innocent; however, it was too late for him because he had been lethally injected.

Protection Or Peril? Gun Possession Of Questionable Value In An Assault, Study Finds

October 1, 2009

This article discusses the findings of a study done by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The purpose of this study was to find the effectiveness of having a gun during an assault. The results of this study were shocking. It estimates that people who are trying to protect themselves with a gun are approximately 4.5 times more likely to be shot during an assault than people not carrying a gun.

This will make people think twice about carrying a gun for safety's sake. The reasons for the results of this study are unknown, but there are many potential causes. Perhaps people without guns are more likely to comply with their assaulter's demands. Or, those who have guns get shot while they are trying to extract it. Whatever the causes for these results, this study shows that having a gun does not necessarily make you safer during an assault.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930121512

Murder of Annie Le

 

            The murder of Annie Le has made many headlines in the20past week. Authorities suspect and have charged Clark with the murder of Le. Both Le and Clark were Yale students working in the laboratory. Le’s body was found inside a wall, she was proved strangled to death.  Clark was arrested 5 days ago in the Super 8 motel after he had been tailed and had given a DNA sample. Originally authorities said that they had matched his DNA to that found at the crime scene. The body was found in the Amistad building which is a lab for technicians. This new lab is home to thousands of animals. Le was to be married just days after her death. Clark came into suspicion early last week after there were bruises and scratches on his chest (possibly defensive wounds) he also failed a lie detector test. Clark was put in a state prison for protective custody. 

The murder of Annie Le has been all over the media in the past 2 weeks. Such a brutal murder at such a prestigious school in uncommon and has effected everybody at the school and many others throughout the country. Although the DNA analysis was not explained, i know that this science would be relative to forensic science. In fact every test that has been run pertaining to the crime scene is related to forensics. 

Although this article did not focus as much on science as i would have liked, it was simply an informational article that was well written. The cruelty was well-explained and so were the events leading up to the charge and arrest of Raymond Clark III.

Current event post.

The article Who Says You Can't Do That? Crime Scene Photography: Capturing the Scene, presented in a review by Meghan Bond was very interesting and well written. Meghan does a good job of explaining to the reader what the job of the photographer is and how significant it is. She also gives details in explaining what kind of things the photgrapher must do. For example, the photographer must have field notes and diagrams that match up to the still pictures.  Meghan also does a good job of emphasizing the importance of crime scene photos in court cases because visual evidence is vital. I also commend her on using a direct quote from the article, it gives the reader of the review more of a detailed understanding of what the article was about. Although the review was excellent there were some things that she could have added to make it better.

            Perhaps if Meghan could have gone into detail on how the photographs are presented in court. I think that this would have interested the reader by giving some background information on the court process of presenting visual evidence. I also think that this review of the article could have been better if she added some sort of conclusion. In this conclusion she could once again state the significant factors of the article so that the reader could finish the article with a complete understanding of photography in crime scenes.

            I was impressed by this review because it was thorough and well written. I also learned about the way photographers go about a taking pictures in a crime scene. For example, how they are supposed to depict what happened at the scene instead of photographing everything even the extras. Before reading this article I did not realize how important crime scene photographers were to a court case