Forensic bitemark identification: weak foundations, exaggerated claims
نویسندگان
چکیده
Several forensic sciences, especially of the pattern-matching kind, are increasingly seen to lack the scientific foundation needed to justify continuing admission as trial evidence. Indeed, several have been abolished in the recent past. A likely next candidate for elimination is bitemark identification. A number of DNA exonerations have occurred in recent years for individuals convicted based on erroneous bitemark identifications. Intense scientific and legal scrutiny has resulted. An important National Academies review found little scientific support for the field. The Texas Forensic Science Commission recently recommended a moratorium on the admission of bitemark expert testimony. The California Supreme Court has a case before it that could start a national dismantling of forensic odontology. This article describes the (legal) basis for the rise of bitemark identification and the (scientific) basis for its impending fall. The article explains the general logic of forensic identification, the claims of bitemark identification, and reviews relevant empirical research on bitemark identification-highlighting both the lack of research and the lack of support provided by what research does exist. The rise and possible fall of bitemark identification evidence has broader implications-highlighting the weak scientific culture of forensic science and the law's difficulty in evaluating and responding to unreliable and unscientific evidence.
منابع مشابه
Forensic dentistry: 2. Bitemarks and bite injuries.
UNLABELLED While the practice of human identification is well established, validated and proven to be accurate, the practice of bitemark analysis is less well accepted. The principle of identifying an injury as a bitemark is complex and, depending on severity and anatomical location, highly subjective. Following the identification of an injury as a bitemark, the comparison of the pattern produc...
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Forensic odontology (dental forensics) can provide useful evidence in both criminal and civil cases, and therefore remains a part of the wider discipline of forensic science. As an example from the toolbox of forensic odontology, the practice and experience on bitemark analysis is reviewed here in brief. The principle of using visible bitemarks in crime victims or in other objects as evidence i...
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Bitemark evidence in a homicide usually involves a perpetrator biting the victim prior to or around the time of death. This paper presents a case in which a homicide victim bit his assailant. A suspect taken into custody was found to have what appeared to be a human bitemark on the proximal phalanx of his right thumb. Scale photographs of this injury were obtained and compared to the dentition ...
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When examining most traditional sciences a thorough review of the relevant primary literature is usually sufficient to provide the investigator with a sound insight into the discipline. Forensic science differs in this regard, as it is presented in two main arenas: the peer-reviewed forensic journals and the Courts of Law where testimony is proffered. Because of this duality of scientific asses...
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عنوان ژورنال:
دوره 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016