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DOJ Funds Improvement of Rape Case Testing

rwaters — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Florida International University (FIU) and Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (PBI) have announced that FIU has been awarded $349,130 from the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice. The grant will support the continued development of a faster and more accurate method of processing DNA evidence for rape prosecutions using PBI's Pressure Cycling Technology Platform.

Washington Considers Collecting DNA upon Arrest

rwaters — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:16:29 +0000

Anthony Dias is the poster boy for why police and prosecutors hope Washington will join a growing number of states that require people to give DNA samples as soon as they're arrested in a serious crime, rather than when they're convicted.

New Science Used to Fight Arson Convictions

rwaters — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:42:46 +0000

A death row inmate in Ohio is hoping the state parole board will give him the chance to argue that a mysterious "man in red" could have started the arson fire that killed his 3-year-old son.

Forensic Research Extends Detection of Cyanide Poisoning

rwaters — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:20:15 +0000

Assistant professor of criminal justice Chi-Chung (Jorn) Yu is studying a new biomarker for cyanide poisoning, which may extend its detection window in death investigations by weeks, if not months.

Unless cyanide is found at the time of death on the mouth or nose, elevated cyanide concentration can only be found for up to two days under current toxicological testing, according to Yu.

Research Shows Genes Influence Criminal Behavior

rwaters — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Your genes could be a strong predictor of whether you stray into a life of crime, according to a research paper co-written by UT Dallas criminologist Dr. J.C. Barnes.

Forensic Pathologists Translate Tragedies Into Answers

rwaters — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Murder, mystery, and mayhem rule the landscape of television, where talk shows and crime scene investigation dramas use autopsy reports from forensic pathologists as bills of fare to whet our appetites for not only who “dunnit” but also how they did it.

Drug Diversion Investigators Support Crack Down on Meth Production

rwaters — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:58:21 +0000

The National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI)—a nonprofit organization that facilitates cooperation between law enforcement, healthcare professionals, state regulatory agencies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers in the prevention and investigation of drug diversion—today released the following statement in reaction to proponent testimony in the Ohio House of Representatives on House Bill 334.

Film Saved Life of West Memphis 3 Suspect

rwaters — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:20:15 +0000

Peter Jackson believes Damien Echols would be dead now if not for a 1996 documentary that cast doubt on the man's guilt in three child murders.

And Amy Berg, Jackson's colleague on the Sundance Film Festival premiere "West of Memphis," believes former Death Row inmate Echols and two other men might still be in prison if not for the independent investigation launched by "The Lord of the Rings" filmmaker and his wife, Fran Walsh.

Holocaust Graves at Treblinka Revealed

rwaters — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Using a range of geophysical surveying tools including ground penetrating radar, resistance survey, and electrical imaging, forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls has laid to rest doubts about the existence of mass graves at the Treblinka death camp in Poland.

Traditional Physical Autopsies Still Gold Standard

rwaters — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

TV crime shows like Bones and CSI are quick to explain each death by showing highly detailed scans and video images of victims’ insides. Traditional autopsies, if shown at all, are at best in supporting roles to the high-tech equipment, and usually gloss over the sometimes physically grueling tasks of sawing through skin and bone.