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Last updated on October 13, 2007
Introduction
You are now able to pursue your career in forensic investigation. You will be presented with a selection of actual cases from the past and you will choose your position in investigating this case. Complete each of the tasks below and try to gain some insight into the workings of the investigation.
Cases:
The Brinks Robbery - Boston, MA 1950
The Lindbergh Kidnapping - Hopewell, NJ 1932
Rudolph Ivanovich Abel - Brooklyn, NY 1953
James Edward Testerman - Fort Oglethorpe, GA 1942
Charles Ross Kidnapping - Chicago, IL 1937
Assignment One
Select a role that you will fulfill in this renewed investigation. In other words, will you re-examine this case through the eyes of a coroner, lab technician, police invesigator, etc.? Which role you choose influences what evidence you focus in on. That's not to say that you can't include all types of evidence in your analysis, but you can zero in on the specific type of evidence you speacialize in more than another. Write down the crime investigation position you "hold," and briefly describe what a person in this career does on a daily basis. Also, list any special training and equipment you use. Make sure you use complete sentences.
Assignment Two
Next, write a brief summary of your case. Use at least three forensic terms in your summary. What evidence is especially relevant in this case? How was this evidence found? Was it reliable or not? If the case were re-tried, would this evidence help or hurt the suspect? Explain.
Assignment Three
Finally, write a critique of the original investigation. Was this case handled well? How or how not? If the convicted/freed person is alive today, would he be entitled to a new trial? In other words, was justice served? Could the technology today help to bring new light to this case?
Conclusion
Sometimes justice is fairly carried out in cases, both famous and infamous. Often, crime scene investigation evidence can heavily influence the outcome of a case. The case you have just investigated might very well have hinged on forensic evidence. If you had had the chance to work on this case, would history have been changed at all?
