Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Criminal.
New Data on DNA
DNA Methylation You do not need a degree in biochemistry to get the gist of forensic DNA. Everyone gets the fact that DNA is unique to each human being, and can be used to connect a perpetrator to a crime. The first crime solved by the analysis of DNA was in 1988 in England when Colin Pitchfork was convicted of murder, thanks to the efforts of Alec Jeffreys. We've come a long way, baby. New developments in DNA forensics are both remarkable and frightening. We'll start with what is remarkable.
By Monica Bennett8 years ago in Criminal
Basic Ballistics
Ballistics is a science that encompasses more than you think it does. There are several disciplines including internal ballistics which deals with the actual propulsion of a bullet through a gun, while external ballistics is the analyzing of the bullet's path through the air. There are several things that can influence a bullet's flight path, such as wind, weather, and air drag. Impact of a bullet is categorized as terminal ballistics. This leads to analyzing the angle and depth of wounds and impacts into walls or ceilings and various objects which have been struck. In April of 1925, Calvin Goddard established the Bureau of Forensic Ballistics in New York City with C. E. Waite, Philip O. Gravelle, and John H. Fisher. The biggest advance in ballistics was the invention, by Gravelle, of the comparison microscope. This device enabled scientists to see a crime scene bullet at the same time as a bullet test-fired from a suspect's gun.
By Monica Bennett8 years ago in Criminal
The First 24 Hours
Libraries, bookstores, and the internet failed me. Just when I needed them the most, I spent over three days looking at every book that any local store had, any story or report that I could find on the internet, but none of what I found came from side of the story that I currently stood on. So none of my questions on how I was supposed to deal could be answered.
By Alizza Marie8 years ago in Criminal
You Don’t Know Whether You are Coming or Going in 'Roman J. Israel'
When I saw the preview for Roman J. Israel, I wondered how I had missed this real life Civil Rights lawyer from the front lines of early 70s injustice. I eventually learned the esquire was a fictional character, and despite the outdated fro and retrograde wardrobe, the setting was present day. Even so, the trailer tidbits and performance prove Denzel can still obviously bring it, but no amount of chops, can save all the back and forth this film subjects you to.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Criminal
Icarus Fell
It’s probably almost ten o’clock on a Tuesday in late April. I sit at my desk finishing the final bit of a joint I’d rolled. I roll a second one and watch an episode of a show I’ve seen twice, at least. My window looks out over a stretch of road between two dorm rooms, and I spend ample time watching other students walking up or down, alone or together, quiet or yelling. Sober or not. It’s in that moment, when a quiet student walks up the hill, when the dialogue of the show barely piques my attention, when I truly realize I am truly stoned, that my phone begins to ring.
By Harper Estey8 years ago in Criminal
Ten Famous Prison Breaks in History
It's amazing to see what prisoners go through and the creative plans they come up with to escape. Very few succeed, let alone live to tell the story. But those who do survive and succeed are part of a very small group and later recognized for their ridiculous feat. Here are ten famous prison breaks in history.
By Rob Gordon8 years ago in Criminal
Bloodstain Patterns
Blood is a substance with characteristics you probably don't think about. Tap a blood drop and it's sticky, walk through a blood stain and it's slippery. It is a non-Newtonian fluid and behaves much like ketchup. During a violent encounter, blood will stick to surfaces in patterns called blood spatter. The correct term is spatter, not splatter. These patterns can be read by someone who has been trained to do so, and they may discern the story of a violent crime as easily as you read this. Blood spatter occurs when blood is impacted by a violent attack. Droplets fly through the air and deposit on surfaces. The shape of a droplet changes depending on the type of surface it hits. Drops on glass will be very different from drops that land on wood. The angle of impact changes the shape of blood drops as do the velocity and distance traveled. Stains will either be round or elliptical depending on the angle of impact. If you measure the width and length of a droplet, you can determine the angle of impact. From this information, the location of the victim and perpetrator during the attack may be determined.
By Monica Bennett8 years ago in Criminal
The Stranger Next Door (Pt. 3)
It was the morning after the night before and I felt like death. I could hear the voices of my friends downstairs as I struggled to enter the waking world. How they had the energy to still be giggling like children, I will never know. I could hear the kettle boiling, no doubt somebody was making tea and coffee for the sore heads in my living room. The thought of caffeine helped me lift my heavy head from the pillow and drag myself downstairs.
By Sophia Merici8 years ago in Criminal
Separating from Signs of Separatism
“So why don’t you wear it?” Mikail Foreman asked. “I don’t think that it is rational,” Ashford Collums said. Collums looked at the nooses, and the guillotines, and large stones, and gigantic swords that swung around the necks of the populace. He remained the only person in the building in Dover, Delaware not donning such hardware.
By Skyler Saunders8 years ago in Criminal
Death in the Air
June 18th 2002, five days after my last kill. My targets had become so easy that I no longer have to plan how to kill them, I just show up and it was done. My targets left themselves wide open like a back door, it’s no wonder they’re dead with no witnesses.
By NaMa Blaque8 years ago in Criminal
