Criminal Justice System

Pathway to Justice:
The Changing Face of the Criminal Justice System and Forensic Science

Forensic science has perpetuity transformed our criminal justice system. Justice, “the quality or fact of being just, the principle of fairness that like cases should be treated alike, a particular distribution of benefits and burdens fairly in accordance with a particular conception, the principle that punishment should be proportionate to the offence, the administration of law according to prescribed and accepted principles, conformity to the law; legal validity, to treat or judge fairly, bring to justice to capture, try, and usually punish” (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2011). Our system of justice, in theory, is based
Forensic science is the application of scientific principles and techniques relating to matters of criminal justice; collection, examination, and analysis of physical evidence. Forensic science includes scientific areas; physical sciences (physics, chemistry, and biological sciences). Biological sciences are further specialized by biochemistry and biomedical sciences, pathology, odontology, anthropology, entomology, toxicology, and technology. Technological specialties include mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as, information and digital technology such as computers and other digital devices. In addition, forensic psychiatrists and psychologists are a specialization in forensics, behavioral science. These experts make the determination whether a person is competent to stand trial, their role revolves around whether or not a defendant had the mental capacity to form an intent to commit the crime and whether they knew right from wrong. Behavioral forensic scientists are also used to aid law enforcement and forensic pathologists in cases of serial crimes by creating psychological profiles of such criminals, they may even help in interviewing and interrogating
During the next thousand years, there were many advances in science. Toxicology was once of the first forensic sciences to emerge. The earliest case occurred in 1840, a man had died under mysterious circumstances, a French scientist Matheu Orfilia examined the remains and concluded the man had ingested arsenic, which occurred as a result of an intentional poisoning, the victim’s wife was later convicted of the crime. During the 18th and 19th centuries there was advances made in personal identification. Bertillion, a French criminologist, developed a method of recording physical features of a person that would be unique to that person. The Bertillion system was subsequently used by law enforcement and prisons in Europe and the United States up until 1903. In 1903 a criminal by the name of William West was being admitted into the Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas, it was found that there was a man with the same name and same set of measurements already incarcerated at the facility, unreliability of the identification system led the study of fingerprints. Modern blood and body fluid typing began around 1900 when Karl Landsteiner proved that human blood came in different types, his studies led to the ABO blood typing system. Landsteiner’s early work led to the discovery of other blood antigen systems, from these discoveries came the forensic typing of blood to distinguish one person from another.