Virtual Interview with Forensic Experts
Think about it and share with someone:
--> What surprised you most about the field of forensics after watching this video? Drug Testing in Forensics- Video
Polygraphs- What are they & are they reliable?
--> Do you think you could convict (put someone in jail) based on the evidence of a polygraph test alone?
Answers to handwriting analysis in Station 2
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Forensics to prove innocence
Ronald Keith Williamson Oklahoma Conviction: 1988, Charges Dismissed: 1999
Ronald Williamson and Dennis Fritz were charged with the murder and rape of Deborah Sue Carter, which occurred in Ada, Oklahoma in 1982. They were arrested four years after the crime. Both were convicted and Williamson received the death penalty. In 1997, a federal appeals court overturned Williamson's conviction on the basis of ineffectiveness of counsel (Williamson v. Ward, 110 F.3d 1508 (10th Cir. 1997) aff'g 904 F. Supp. 1529 (E. D. OK 1995)). The Court noted that the lawyer had failed to investigate and present to the jury the fact that another man had confessed to the crime. The lawyer had been paid a total of $3,200 for the defense. Recently, DNA tests from the crime scene did not match either Williamson or Fritz, but did implicate Glen Gore, a former suspect in the case. All charges against the two defendants were dismissed on April 15, 1999 and they were released. Williamson suffers from bipolar depression and has been hospitalized for treatment. Read "Life After Death Row" by Sara Rimer in The New York Times Magazine See Frontline: Burden of Innocence by PBS Watch an interview with Ronald Williamson Website attribution: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/4900#78 Dennis Williams Illinois Conviction: 1979, Charges Dismissed: 1996
Williams was convicted, along with three others (including Verneal Jimerson, above), for the murder of a young couple in 1978. After spending 18 years in prison, Williams was released on June 14, 1996 because new evidence pointed to the fact that all four men were wrongly convicted. Much of the investigative work which led to the defendants' release was done by three journalism students. Recent DNA tests indicate that none of the four men were involved in the crime, and another man has confessed to the murder. Charges against Williams, and two others who received lesser sentences in the same case, were dropped on July 2, 1996. Cook County State's Attorney Jack O'Malley apologized to the four wrongly convicted defendants, including Verneal Jimerson, who had also been on death row. (David Protess and Rob Warden, A Promise of Justice (Hyperion 1998) and New York Times, 7/3/96). Read "DNA Tests and a Confession Set Three on the Path to Freedom in 1978 Murders" by Don Terry in The New York Times Website Attribution: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/4900#62 Just for Fun- You can do this -->
** Just for fun: Gather a partner or group of people to play the game 2 Truths and a Lie.
Here is how you play: Instructions: Tell the group that each person will introduce him- or herself by stating two truths about their life and one lie. The rest of the participants will guess which statement is the lie. Example: Hi, I'm Mary. My hair was almost to my waist in 4th grade, I talked to Justin Beiber in an airport coffee shop, and I once vomited on a plane. Look for the signs that they might not be telling the truth! |