The Forensic Examiner - Winter 2008

Power Pen of the

Handwriting Study Gives Powerful Insight Into the Minds of Killers, Celebrities

Fateful Decisions

Officers Often Must Make Life-and-Death Decisions in a Fraction of a Second

DVD Destruction

Critical Evidence Stored on DVDs Could be in Danger

$7.50 U.S./$9.50 CAN

KIMON IANNETTA (pictured here) AUTHOR OF THE BEHAVIORAL PROFILING & RISK ASSESSMENT USING WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

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Letter to the Editor

Erlichiosis Confirmed in Victim of Probable Hobo Spider Bite Dear Editor, In my article “Necrotic Spider Bite or Tick Bite? Hobo Spider Venom or Ehrlichial Bacteria?” (The Forensic Examiner, 16, No. 4 [2007], 42-55), I had shown a symptomatic similarity between necrotic spider bite and tick bite. The spider bites in question were, probably, though confirmed in one case, inflicted by the hobo spider of the Pacific Northwest (Tegenaria agrestis). Particularly during winter and spring, serious systemic symptoms, in addition to local symptoms, had developed in some victims and were shown in the article as being similar to those of ehrlichiosis, a ticktransmitted hematological illness. The article suggested that T. agrestis, which does not cause serious symptoms in Europe, may be contaminated with or be a vector of ehrlichial bacteria; or, alternately, that the victims had suffered unidentified exposure to infected ticks.

A case of probable T. agrestis bite, occurring in August of 2006 in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada (100 miles north of the United States, near Calgary), has since come to my attention and confirmed the possibility that ehrlichial bacteria are transmitted by the spider.

The adult male victim, a medical professional, 60 years old at the time of the bite, had read my article on the subject in The Forensic Examiner and contacted me in January of 2008. After working in his yard, in a rocky area (where previously an ant nest had been discovered), he had noted, the following day, local symptoms on the front of his thigh indicative of a spider bite. He suspected that the offending species had been T. agrestis, as his symptoms matched those described in the article. He knew from reliable sources that T. agrestis was present at least 100 miles east of his town.

At the bite site, he had observed: two puncture wounds (from the spider’s fangs, ca. 5 mm apart); a red area, which had grown to about 3 cm in diameter; formation of a vesicle, enlarging to a boil, which he lanced, draining a clear fluid. The dead skin was sloughed off, revealing grayish-brown numb skin underneath, which formed a numb scar.

Systemically, for two weeks following the bite, he suffered severe fatigue. In October of 2006, he injured his knee and noticed unusually severe bruising. He also was aware that, since the spider bite, he had experienced diminished well-being.

In the fall of 2007, in preparation for joint surgery, a very low platelet count was discovered. From November 2007 to March 2008, platelet values fluctuated between 49x103/mm3 and 69x103/mm3. (Normal values in humans range from 250x103/mm3 to 400x103/mm3.) Cancer was suspected as possible cause. During the same period, the white blood cell (WBC) count fluctuated between 2.6x103/mm3 and 3.2x103/mm3, contrasting with the normal human range of 5x103/mm3 to 9x103/mm3.

Platelet and WBC counts similar to those seen in the bite victim have been noted in acutely ill ehrlichiosis patients, though the patients’ values recovered during the second week of illness; among four patients, the lowest values were 49 x103/mm3 (platelets) and 1.1x103/ mm3 (WBC) (Fishbein et al., 1987).

After the bite victim had contacted me in January of 2008, testing of his blood for ehrlichial bacteria was initiated, and he was immediately prescribed the pertaining antibiotic (tetracycline) by his attending physician. The patient noted that after the first dose of tetracycline, his symptoms of declining health, such as fatigue,

bleeding gums, and easy bruising, began to reverse. Although his platelet count (and WBC count), by March of 2008, had remained as low as before, improved platelet function—reduced bleeding and bruising—was apparent.

The laboratory results confirmed infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of granulocytic ehrlichiosis. The attending laboratory (National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) suggested the results (single serum end point titers >64) to indicate a past, not current, infection. (A regular laboratory had failed to yield results but had confirmed the absence of Lyme disease.)

The patient’s physician prescribed long-term treatment with tetracycline. The patient has also accepted homeopathic treatment under my care, which includes the homeopathic use of his own blood (isode) (Richardson-Boedler, 1994), akin to a vaccination.

Victims with unexplained chronic symptoms, who recall a spider bite occurring in the Pacific Northwest or neighboring regions during any season, should receive careful testing for signs of a past infection with ehrlichial bacteria.

References Fishbein, D. B., Sawyer, L. A., Holland, C. J., Hayes, E. B., Okoroanyanwu, W., Williams, D., et al. (1987).

Unexplained febrile illnesses after exposure to ticks. Infection with an Ehrlichia? Journal of the American Medical Association, 257, 3100-3104.

Richardson-Boedler, C. (1994). The use of patientmade blood isodes (nosodes) in infectious diseases including HIV-infection. Homoeopathy International, 8(1), 21-23. n

Cornelia Richardson-Boedler NMD, MA, MFT, DABFE, DABFM, CCP, DACe, FACFEI

The Forensic Examiner Issues Call for Articles The Forensic Examiner® is issuing a call for articles dealing with forensic science. For information on how to submit an article, go to: www.theforensicexaminer.com/guidelines. html.

Articles dealing with any forensic science subject will be accepted for consideration.

All articles must be approved through The Examiner’s peer-review process before being published.

The Examiner especially encourages articles in the following subjects: (800) 592-1399

• Forensic nursing • Forensic consulting • Forensic medicine • Forensic accounting • Computer forensics • Sensitive information protection Articles dealing with new technology or new techniques are also strongly encouraged.

The Examiner always welcomes case studies that give insight into forensic science. Case studies can focus on one or more interesting cases.

The Examiner would like to start a new regular feature on cold cases. Anyone may submit an article on a cold case or recommend a case to be featured.

Finally, The Examiner proposes that short fictional articles, of between 600 and 1,000 words, be submitted. The story should present a mystery containing clues that involve real-life forensic science. The conclusion of the story should reveal the solution to the mystery. n Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 5

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VOLUME 17 • NUMBER 4 • Winter 2008

The Official Peer-Reviewed Journal of The American College of Forensic Examiners

The American College of Forensic Examiners International (ACFEI) does not endorse, guarantee, or warrant the credentials, work, or opinions of any individual member. Membership in ACFEI does not constitute the grant of a license or other licensing authority by or on behalf of the organization as to a member’s qualifications, abilities, or expertise. The publications and activities of ACFEI are solely for informative and educational purposes with respect to its members. The opinions and views expressed by the authors, publishers, or presenters are their sole and separate views and opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of ACFEI, nor does ACFEI adopt such opinions or views as its own.

The American College of Forensic Examiners International disclaims and does not assume any responsibility or liability with respect to the opinions, views, and factual statements of such authors, publishers, or presenters, nor with respect to any actions, qualifications, or representations of its members or subscriber’s efforts in connection with the application or use of any information, suggestions, or recommendations made by ACFEI or any of its boards, committees, publications, resources, or activities thereof.

Feature Articles

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Technology and Terrorism: How the Internet Facilitates Radicalism

By Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-IV

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Behavioral Profiling and Risk Assessment Using Written Communication

By Kimon Iannetta and Reed Hayes

53

To Shoot or Not to Shoot: Response and Interpretation of Response to Armed Assailants

By Matthew J. Sharps, PhD and Adam B. Hess

65

Eyewitness Memory: Can Suggestion Be Minimized in the Investigative Interview?

By Wayne G. Whitehouse, PhD; Emily Carota Orne, BA; and David F. Dinges, PhD

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DVDs: An Emerging Forensic Problem That May Constitute Untrustworthy Evidence

By Steve Cain, MFS, MFSQD, DABFE, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABRE

Write about a fascinating forensic case.

Case studies exploring forensic investigations on any topic, case, or crime—including deception, theft, murder, historical cases, and any others—are welcome. These case studies could discuss serial killers, famous fraudsters, cold cases, or any other type of case. Case studies should focus on how forensic techniques, tools, and investigations were used to break the case or solve a mystery. These could be cases you’ve worked on or simply cases that fascinate you.

Submit an article for peer review.

The Forensic Examiner® is always looking for articles on research, new techniques, and findings in the various fields of forensics. To submit an article for peer review, or for complete submission guidelines, please visit www.acfei.com or write to editor@acfei.com.

40 6 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

How to Submit: Whether you wish to submit an article for peer review, a fascinating case or forensic case profile, or an article on a current issue in the field of forensics, send your writing electronically (either in the body of an email or as an attachment) to editor@acfei.com. Or, send in your writing on a disc or CD to Editor, Association Headquarters, 2750 E. Sunshine, Springfield, MO 65804.

www.acfei.com

The Forensic Examiner Creed I do affirm that: I shall investigate for the truth.

I shall report only the truth.

I shall avoid conflicts of advocacies.

I shall conduct myself ethically.

I shall seek to preserve the highest standard of my profession.

As a Forensic Examiner, I shall not have a monetary interest in any outcome of a matter in which I am retained.

I shall share my knowledge and experience with other examiners in a professional manner.

I shall avoid conflicts of interest and will continue my professional development throughout my career through continuing education, seminars, and other studies.

As a Forensic Examiner, I will express my expert opinion based only upon my knowledge, skill, education, training, and experience.

The light of knowledge shall guide me to the truth and with justice the truth shall prevail.

To all these things, I affirm to uphold.

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Case Studies/Current Issues

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Prison Violence: Does Brutality Come With the Badge?

By Bruce Gross, PhD, JD, MBA

29 32 86

George Lawlor: An Early Visionary

By Katherine Ramsland, PhD, CMI-V

For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time

By Charles Murray

Falsely Accused: Innocent Texas Man Does Time, But Real Rapist Avoids Conviction

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By Kara Goeke

Also in this Issue

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Interview with Nanette Philibert, PhD ACFEI News Book Reviews

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Publisher: Robert L. O’Block, MDiv, PhD, PsyD, DMin, DD (Hon) (rloblock@aol.com) Editor in Chief: John Lechliter (editor@acfei.com) Executive Art Director: Brandon Alms (brandon@acfei.com) Associate Editor: Amber Ennis (amber@acfei.com) Assistant Editor: Logan Forester (logan@acfei.com) Advertising: John Lechliter (john@acfei.com) (800) 592-1399, ext. 174

ACFEI Executive Advisory Board Chair: David E. Rosengard, RPh, MD, PhD, MPH, FACFEI, CMI-V, CHS-V, DABFE, DABFM, DABECI, FACA, FAPA, MTAPA, FAAIM Vice Chair: Michael Fitting Karagiozis, DO, MBA, CMI-V John H. Bridges III, DSc (Hon), CHS-V, CHMM, CSHM, DABCHS, FACFEI Jamie J. Ferrell, BSN, RN, CFN, CMI-III Douglas E. Fountain, PhD, LCSW, DABFE, DABFSW Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, CHS-III, ABPP Lee Heath, DABLEE, CHS-V Brian L. Karasic, DMD, MScFin, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFM, DABFE Michael G. Kessler, Cr.FA, CICA, FACFEI, DABFA, DABFE Marilyn J. Nolan, MS, FACFEI, DABFC, DABCIP Thomas J. Owen, BA, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE, CHS-V Vincent B. Van Hasselt, PhD, DABCIP, DABLEE, CFC Ben Venktash, DABFET, DABFE, CHSP, REA, FRSH(UK), FIET(UK)

2008 Editorial Advisory Board Louay Al-Alousi, MB, ChB, PhD, FRCPath, FRCP(Glasg), FACFEI, DMJPath, DABFM, FFFFLM Nicholas G. Apostolou, DBA, DABFA, CPA, Cr.FA Larry Barksdale, BS, MA E. Robert Bertolli, OD, FACFEI, CHS-V, CMI-V Kenneth E. Blackstone, BA, MS, CFC, DABFE David T. Boyd, DBA, CPA, CMA, CFM, Cr.FA Jules Brayman, CPA, CVA, CFD, DABFA, FACFEI John Brick, PhD, MA, DABFE, DABFM, FACFEI Richard C. Brooks, PhD, CGFM, DABFE Steve Cain, MFS, DABFE, DABRE, FACFEI , MF-SQD, DABLEE Dennis L. Caputo, MS, DABFET, REM, CEP, CHMM, QEP, FACFEI Donald Geoffrey Carter, PE, DABFET David F. Ciampi, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS Leanne Courtney, BSN, DABFN, DABFE Larry Crumbley, PhD, CPA, DABFE, Cr.FA Jean L. Curtit, BS, DC Andrew Neal Dentino, MD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Francisco J. Diaz, MD James A. DiGabriele, DPS, CPA, CFSA, DABFA, Cr.FA, CVA, FACFEI John Shelby DuPont Jr., DDS, DABFD Scott Fairgrieve, Hons. BSc, MPhil, PhD, FAAFS Edmund D. Fenton, DBA, CPA, CMA, Cr.FA Per Freitag, PhD, MD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Nicholas Giardino, ScD, FACFEI, DABFE David H. Glusman, CPA, DABFA, CFS, Cr.FA, FACFEI Karen L. Gold, PysD, FACFEI, DABPS Ron Grassi, DC, MS, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE James Greenstone, EdD, JD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABECI, CMI-I, CHS-III Roy C. Grzesiak, PhD, PC Richard C. W. Hall, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, MD, FAPA, FAPM, FACPsych Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, ABPP, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS, CHS-III James Hanley III, MD, DABFM, FACFEI Nelson Hendler, MD, DABFM David L. Holmes, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS Leo L. Holzenthal Jr., PE, DABFET, FACFEI Linda Hopkins, PhD, CFC, DABPS, DABRE Edward J. Hyman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS Zafar M. Iqbal, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Nursine S. Jackson, MSN, RN, DABFN Paul Jerry, MA, DAPA, DABFC Scott A. Johnson, MA, DABPS, DAACCE

Philip Kaushall, PhD, DABFE, DABPS, FACFEI Eric Kreuter, PhD, CPA, CMA, CFM, DABFA, FACFEI Ronald G. Lanfranchi, DC, PhD, DABFE, DABFM, DABLEE, CMI-IV, FACFEI Richard Levenson, Jr., PsyD, DABFE, DABPS, FACFEI Monique Levermore, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS Jonathon Lipman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS, DABFM Judith Logue, PhD, FACFEI, DABFSW, DABPS, DABFE, DABFM Jennie Martin-Gall, CMI-I Mike Meacham, PhD, LCSW, DABFSW, FACFEI David Miller, DDS, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABFD John V. Nyfeler, CHS-III Jacques Ama Okonji, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS Norva Elaine Osborne, OD, CMI-III Terrence O’Shaughnessy, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFE, DABFM George Palermo, MD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Ronald J. Panunto, PE, CFC Larry H. Pastor, MD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Theodore G. Phelps, CPA, DABFA Marc Rabinoff, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, CFC Harold F. Risk, PhD, DABPS, FACFEI Susan P. Robbins, PhD, LCSW, DABFSW Jane R. Rosen-Grandon, PhD, DABFC, FACFEI Douglas Ruben, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS J. Bradley Sargent, CPA, CFS, Cr.FA, DABFA, FACFEI William Sawyer, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Victoria Schiffler, RN, DABFN, FACFEI John V. Scialli, MD, DABFE, DABFM Howard A. Shaw, MD, DABFM, FACFEI Henry A. Spiller, MS, DABFE, FACFEI Marilyn Stagno, PsyD, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS Richard I. Sternberg, PhD, DABPS James R. Stone, MD, MBA, CHS-III, DABFE, DABFM, FACFEI Johann F. Szautner, PE, PLS, FACFEI, DABFET William A. Tobin, MA, DABFET, DABLEE, FACFEI Robert Tovar, BS, MA, DABFE, DABPS, CHS-III Brett C. Trowbirdge, PhD, JD, DABPS, FACFEI Jeff Victoroff, MD, DABFE, DABFM Patricia Ann Wallace, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, CFC Raymond Webster, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Dean A. Wideman, MSc, MBA, CFC, CMI-III, DABFE

The Forensic Examiner® (ISSN 1084-5569) is published quarterly by The American College of Forensic Examiners International, Inc. (ACFEI). Annual membership for a year in the American College of Forensic Examiners International is $165. Abstracts of articles published in The Forensic Examiner® appear in National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Gale Group Publishing’s InfoTrac Database, e-psyche database, and psycINFO database. Periodicals Postage Paid at Springfield, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. © Copyright 2008 by the American College of Forensic Examiners International. All rights reserved. No part of this work can be distributed or otherwise used without the express permission of the American College of Forensic Examiners International. The views expressed in The Forensic Examiner® are those of the authors and may not reflect the official policies of the American College of Forensic Examiners International.

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ACFEI Executive Advisory Boards American Board for Certification in Homeland Security Executive Committee: Chairman of the Executive Board for Certification in Homeland Security: John H. Bridges III, DSc (Hon), CHS-V, CHMM, CSHM, DABCHS, FACFEI Lt. Colonel Herman Statum, US Army (Ret), MS, PI, CHS-V, DABCHS, CPP Robert R. Silver, PhD, MS, BS, CHS-V, DABCHS Members of the Executive Board for Certification in Homeland Security: Nick Bacon, CHS-V, DABCHS E. Robert Bertolli, OD, BS, FACFEI, DABCHS, CHS-V, CMI-V Brig. Gen. (Ret) J. Ronald Carey, PhD, CHS-V, DABCHS Paul P. Donahue, CHS-V, DABCHS, MBA, Cr.FA, CMA, CPP, CBM Billy Ray Jackson, ATS, CSC, CHS-V, DABCHS Rev. LZ Johnson, Col. U.S. Army (Ret.), BS, BA, CHS-V, DABCHS Andrew J. Jurchenko Sr., Col US Army (Ret), CHS-V, DABCHS Robert L. McAlister, BS, CHS-V, DABCHS, CUSA, ARM Janet M. Schwartz, PhD, FACFEI, DABCHS, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS, CHS-V Edward W. Wallace, CHS-V, Detective 1st Grade (ret.), MA, DABCHS, CHS-V, SCSA, LPI, BS, CFI I & II, CLEI, CTO, CDHSI Eric White, BS, CHS-V, DABCHS American Board of Critical Incident Professionals Chair of the Executive Board of Critical Incident Professionals: Gregory Mark Vecchi, PhD, CFC, CHS-V, DABLEE, DABCIP Vice Chair: Kent A. Rensin, PhD, DABCIP Monica J. Beer, PhD Sam D. Bernard, PhD, DABCIP, CHS-III Marie Leeds Geron, PhD, CHS-V, DABCIP Raymond H. Hamden, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABCIP, DABCHS, DAPA, CFC, CMI-V, CHS-V Marshall A. Jones, MS, DABCIP Marilyn J. Nolan, MS, FACFEI, DABFC, DABCIP Rev. Roger Rickman, ACC, CFC, CHS-V, CMI-I, SSI, CRS, DABCHS, DABCIP, DAPA, FABI, PI, SCS Debra Russell, PhD, CMI-V, CHS-III, CRC, CISM, DABCIP Dorriss “Ed” Smith, Col. US Army, CHS-V, DABCIP Vincent B. Van Hasselt, PhD, DABCIP Alan E. Williams, MS, CHS-V, DABCIP American Board of Forensic Accountants Chair of the Executive Board of Accounting Advisors: Michael G. Kessler, Cr.FA, CICA, FACFEI, DABFA, DABFE Stewart L. Appelrouth, CPA, CFLM, CVA, DABFA, Cr.FA, ABV, FACFEI Gary Bloome, CPA, Cr.FA Jules J. Brayman, CPA, ABV, CVA, CFFA, FACFEI, DABFA Stephen E. Cohen, CPA, ABV, FACFEI, DABFA, Cr.FA, CVA D. Larry Crumbley, PhD, CPA, DABFA, Cr.FA, CFFA, FCPA James A. DiGabriele, CPA, FACFEI, DABFA, Cr.FA, ABV, CFSA, CVA June M. Dively, CPA, DABFA, Cr.FA David Firestone, CPA, Cr.FA David H. Glusman, CPA, FACFEI, DABFA, Cr.FA Eric A. Kreuter, PhD, CPA, CMA, CFM, FACFEI, DABFA, SPHR, CFD, CFFA, BCFT Raimundo Lopez Lima Levi, CPA, DABFA Dennis S. Neier, CPA, DABFA Sandi Peters, CPA, Cr.FA Jay J. Shapiro, CPA, DABFA Joseph F. Wheeler, CPA, Cr.FA, CHS-III American Board of Forensic Counselors Chair of the Executive Board of Forensic Counselors Marilyn J. Nolan, MS, FACFEI, DABFC, DABCIP Vice Chair: Steven M. Crimando, MA, CHS-III Chair Emeritus: Dow R. Pursley, EdD, DABFC George Bishop, LPC, LAT, LAC, FACFEI, DABFE Laura W. Kelley, PhD, LPC, DABFC, FACFEI Robert E. Longo, FACFEI, DABFC Kathleen Joy Walsh Moore, FACFEI, DABFC, CHS-III DeeAnna Merz Nagel, Med, LPC, CRC, DCC, CFC Irene Abrego Nicolet, PhD, MA, DABFC Hirsch L. Silverman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFC, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS William M. Sloane, JD, LLM, PhD, FACFEI, DABFC, CHS-III, CMI-I, DACC, FACC, FAAIM, DCPC, MTAPA Gary Smith, MEd, FACFEI, DABFE Ava Gay Taylor, MS, LPC, FACFEI, DABFC American Board of Forensic Dentistry Chair of the Executive Board of Forensic Dentistry: Brian L. Karasic, DMD, MBA, MScFin, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFM, DABFE Members of the Executive Board of Dental Advisors: Ira J. Adler, DDS, DABFD Bill B. Akpinar, DDS, CMI-V, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFE, DABFM Stephanie L. Anton-Bettey, DDS, CMI-V Jeff D. Aronsohn, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, CMI-V Susan Bollinger, DDS, CMI-IV, CHS-III Michael H. Chema, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFE James H. Hutson, DDS, CMI-V, FACFEI, DABFD John P. Irey, DDS, LLC, CMI-V Chester B. Kulak, DMD, CMI-V, CHS-III, CFC, DABFE, DABFD Morley M. Lem, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFM, DABFE, DABPS

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John P. LeMaster, DMD, FACFEI, DABFD, CMI-V, CHS-III, DABFM Jeannine L. Weiss, DDS American Board of Forensic Examiners Chair of the Executive Board of Forensic Examiners: Michael Fitting Karagiozis, DO, MBA, CMI-V Chair Emeritus: Zug G. Standing Bear, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Members of the Executive Board of Forensic Examiners: Jess P. Armine, DC, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Phillip F. Asencio-Lane, FACFEI, DABFE John H. Bridges III, CHS-V, CHMM, CSHM, FACFEI, DABCHS, DABCIP Ronna F. Dillon, PhD, DABFE, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-III Nicholas J. Giardino, ScD, FACFEI, DABFE, RPIH, MAC, CIH Bruce H. Gross, PhD, JD, MBA, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS, DAPA Kenneth M. Gross, DC, FACFEI, DABFE, CMI-I Darrell C. Hawkins, MS, JD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE, CMI-V, CHSIII, F-ABMDII, IAI-SCSA, IAAI-CFI Michael W. Homick, PhD, DABCHS, CHS-V John L. Laseter, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, CMI-IV, CHS-III Jonathan J. Lipman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS Leonard K. Lucenko, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, CPSI Edward M. Perreault, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE Marc A. Rabinoff, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, CFC David E. Rosengard, RPh, MD, PhD, MPH, FACFEI, CMI-V, CHS-V, DABFE, DABFM, DABECI, FACA, FAPA, MTAPA, FAAIM Janet M. Schwartz, PhD, CHS-V, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS Richard Sgaglio, PhD, CMI-IV American Board of Forensic Engineering and Technology Chair of the Executive Board of Engineering and Technology Advisors: Ben Venktash, MS, DABFET, DABFE, CHSP, REA, FRSH(UK), FIET(UK) Chair Emeritus: David Albert Hoeltzel, PhD, DABFET, DABFE Vice Chair: Cam Cope, BS, DABFET, DABFE 2nd Vice Chair: Ronald G. Schenk, MSc, MInstP, Peng (UK), CHS-III, CMI-I Members of the Exective Board of Engineering and Technology Advisors: Nicholas Albergo, FACFEI, DABFET Kyle J. Clark, DABFET George C. Frank, CFC, DABFE Robert K. Kochan, BS, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE J.W. “Bill” Petrelli Jr., AIA, NCABB, TAID, FACFEI, DABFET, CFC Max L. Porter, PhD, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE, CFC, PE, HonMASCE, Parl, Dipl ASFE, FTMS, FACI Peter H. Rast, PhD, BS, MSFS, MBA, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE, DABLEE Oliver W. Siebert, PE, FACFEI, DABFET Kandiah Sivakumaran, MS, PE, DABFET Malcolm H. Skolnick, PhD, JD, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE James A. St. Ville, MD, MS, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFM American Board of Forensic Medicine Chair of the Executive Board of Medical Advisors: David E. Rosengard, RPh, MD, PhD, MPH, FACFEI, CMI-V, CHS-V, DABFE, DABFM, DABECI, FACA, FAPA, MTAPA, FAAIM Vice Chair: Michael Fitting Karagiozis, DO, MBA, CMI-V Members of the Executive Board of Medical Advisors: Terrance L. Baker, MD, MS, FACFEI, DABFM, CMI-V John Steve Bohannon, MD, CMI-IV Edgar L. Cortes, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-V, FAAP Albert Basil DeFranco, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-III James B. Falterman Sr., MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, DABPS, CMI-IV Malcolm N. Goodwin Jr., MD, MS, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, FCAP, Col USAF MCFS (Ret) Vijay P. Gupta, PhD, DABFM Richard C.W. Hall, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE Louis W. Irmisch III, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-V E. Rackley Ivey, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-V, DABMCM, DAAPM Kenneth A. Levin, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE E. Franklin Livingstone, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, DAAPM, FAAPM&R John C. Lyons, MD, FACS, MSME, BSE, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFET, DABFE, CMI-IV Manijeh K. Nikakhtar, MD, MPH, DABFE, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-V John R. Parker, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, FCAP Anna Vertkin, MD, CMI-V, DABFM Maryann M. Walthier, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE Cyril Wecht, MD, JD, FACFEI, CMI-V American Board of Forensic Nursing Chair of the Executive Board of Nursing Advisors: Jamie J. Ferrell, BSN, RN, FACFEI, DABFN, DABFE, CFN, CMI-III, SANE-A, Vice Chair: Dianne T. Ditmer, PhD, MS, RN, DABFN, CMI-III, CFN, FACFEI, CHS-III Chair Emeritus: Russell R. Rooms, MSN, RN, CFN, CMI-III, APRN, DABFN Marilyn A. Bello, RNC, MS, CMI-IV, CFC, CFN, SAFE, DABFN, DABFE

Rose Eva Bana Constantino, PhD, JD, RN, FACFEI, DABFN, DABFE, CFN, FAAN Renae M. Diegel, RN, SANE-A, CEN, CFN, CFC, CMI-III Lo M. Lumsden, ANP, GNP, EdD, DABFN, CFN, CHS-III, DABFE Yvonne D. McKoy, PhD, RN, FACFEI, DABFN Diane L. Reboy, MS, RN, CFN, LNCC, FACFEI, DABFN, CNLCP Suzette Rush-Drake, RN, PsyD, BSN, FACFEI, DABFN, DABFE Elizabeth N. Russell, RN, BSN, CCM, BC, DABFN, FACFEI LeAnn Schlamb, MSN, RN-BC, CFN, DABFN Sharon L. Walker, MPH, PhD, RN, CFN American Board of Forensic Social Workers Chair of the Executive Board of Social Work Advisors: Douglas E. Fountain, PhD, LCSW, DABFE, DABFSW Chair Emeritus: Karen M. Zimmerman, MSW, DABFSW, DABFE Susan L. Burton, MA, MSW, LMSW, DABFSW, DABLEE Judith V. Caprez, MSW, ACS, LCSW, DABFSW Peter W. Choate, BA, MSW, DABFSW, DABFE Judith Felton Logue, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFSW, DABPS, DABFM Michael G. Meacham, PhD, LCSW, DCSW, FACFEI, DABFSW Kathleen Monahan, DSW, MSW, CFC, DABFE Susan P. Robbins, PhD, LCSW, DCSW, BCD, LDC, DABFSW Steven J. Sprengelmeyer, MSW, MA, LISW, FACFEI, DABFSW, DABFE American Board of Law Enforcement Experts Chair of the Executive Board of Law Enforcement Experts: Lee Heath, DABLEE, CHS-V Vice Chair: Darrell C. Hawkins, JD, CHS-III, DABLEE, DABFE, CMI-V Chair Emeritus: Michael W. Homick, PhD, CHS-V,DABCHS Alan Bock, CHS-III, DABLEE Tom Brady, CHS-V, DABLEE Gregory M. Cooper, MPA, DABLEE Dickson S. Diamond, MD, CHS-III, DABLEE, DABFM John E. Douglas, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE Les M. Landau, DO,CHS-III, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABFE, DABFM Ronald G. Lanfranchi, PhD, DC, CMI-IV, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABFE, DABFM Leonard Morgenbesser, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE Hank Paine III, PhD, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABFC, CHS-IV John T. Pompi, BA, DABLEE, DABFE, CHS-III Stephen Russell, BS, DABLEE, CMI-II, CHS-III Oscar Villanueva, CHS-V, DABLEE David E. Zeldin, MA, CHS-III, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE American Board of Psychological Specialties Chair of the Executive Board of Psychological Advisors: Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, CHS-III, ABPP Vice Chair: Raymond H. Hamden, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABCIP, DABCHS, DAPA, CFC, CMI-V, CHS-V Chair Emeritus: Carl N. Edwards, PhD, JD, FAAFS, FICPP, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE Carol J. Armstrong, PhD, LPC, DABPS Robert J. Barth, PhD, DABPS Monica J. Beer, PhD John Brick III, PhD, MA, FAPA, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS Alan E. Brooker, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-III, ABPP-Cn Brian R. Costello, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE Ronna F. Dillon, PhD, DABPS, DABFE, CMI-V, CHS-III Douglas P. Gibson, PsyD, MPH, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-III Mark Goldstein, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS Thomas L. Hustak, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE Richard Lewis Levenson Jr., PsyD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, CTS, FAAETS Stephen P. McCary, PhD, JD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS, FAACP, DAPA Helen D. Pratt, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS Douglas H. Ruben, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, DABFM Richard M. Skaff, PsyD, DABPS Zug G. Standing Bear, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM Charles R. Stern, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, DABFM, CMI-V Brent Van Dorsten, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS Joseph C. Yeager, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE, DABPS Donna M. Zook, PhD, DABPS, CFC American Board of Recorded Evidence Chair of the Executive Board of Recorded Evidence Advisors: Thomas J. Owen, BA, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE, CHS-V Ernst F. W. (Rick) Alexanderson, BA, MBA, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE Eddy B. Brixen, DABFET Charles K. Deak, BS, CPC, FACFEI, DABFE Ryan O. Johnson, BA, DABFE, DABRE Michael C. McDermott, JD, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE Jennifer E. Owen, BA, DABRE, DABFE Lonnie L. Smrkovski, BS, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 9

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Online Education Expert Offers Advice

The Forensic Examiner® recently interviewed Nanette Philibert, PhD, who has served as an online education consultant for the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute.

Dr. Philibert, a faculty member of the Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration at Missouri Southern State University, is an expert on online education.

What issues have you addressed in your consulting work with the ACFEI? I met with the ACFEI staff to discuss process improvements for their training development efforts.

What have been the trends for online training courses?

The trend in online education is to offer multimedia-based courses designed to address the learning needs of time-challenged professionals.

Online training has taken the old correspondence school approach and replaced it with rich, interactive, responsive learning forums, which are comparable to brick-and-mortar venues.

What is important to consider when creating online training courses?

The knowledge, skills, and abilities that the

course needs to impart or develop in the student; the learning styles of the audience; and available technology.

What makes a good online training course?

A good course is one that facilitates the acquisition of the desired outcomes. Simply put, a good course is one that helps students learn what they need to learn. Additionally, a good course is one that maintains currency in the field of knowledge, which is constantly updated to include new trends and issues in its particular field of knowledge.

What are the/ advantages/disadvantages of online courses compared to live classroom settings?

Individuals differ in their learning styles.

Online courses aren’t for everyone—some individuals learn better in a classroom setting. Also, not everyone is computer literate or has access to technology.

What will the future hold for online education?

The future is wide open for online education.

Technology is cheaper and more accessible than it was 10 years ago. Everything from down-

loadable pod-cast lectures to simulated, online classroom environments with avatar professors and students will become the norm.

Who benefits the most from online training courses?

The time-challenged professional, the organization trying to minimize travel expenses, and the individual seeking development for professional growth and promotion all benefit from online educational opportunities.

What should students look for in online training programs?

Both students and organizations should seek affordable learning opportunities with proven outcomes. They should invest their time and money in courses that provide the learning opportunities and results needed for their specific, needed professional growth and development. They should look for well-developed, up-to-date, cutting-edge programs that utilize technology that assist the students in the learning process but don’t dominate it. They should review the course goals and objectives to ensure that the course is designed to meet their needs. They should seek recommendations from colleagues in their field who have found successful experiences via online training. n

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 11

ACFEI NEWS

Certification Recognizes Disaster Preparedness The American Board for Certification in Homeland Security has launched a new program: Certified in Disaster Preparedness.

The new program recognizes that emergencies and disasters appear in the news every day, and sometimes they appear very close to home. Disaster strikes from one direction or another, whether by intentional terrorist attack, uncontrollable natural occurrence, or through negligence or accident.

Progress has been made to improve the safety of the general public. Early warning systems for weather have been greatly enhanced, technology has improved the reactions and capabilities of our first responders, and government has increased the funding for agencies involved in counter-terrorism in both disaster management and post-disaster relief and rebuilding.

Now is the time for awareness and preparedness to become part of daily life. It is the time to become educated and certified.

Simple checklists and how-to pamphlets

s Water-rescue personnel prepare to load boats into the water that’s moving up SH 124 in High Island, Texas, September 12, 2008, as Hurricane Ike moved toward Texas. Guy Reynolds/Dallas Morning News/MCT

alone will not provide the kind of education needed to improve individual abilities or make the subtle lifestyle alterations necessary for adapting to the changes already thrust on the world.

This course prepares people for the worst

emergencies. It covers everything from terrorist attacks to tornadoes, and it guides the participant through every aspect of knowledge, training, and equipment. Though the worst-case scenario is a large-scale terrorist attack, the truth of the matter is that individuals are more likely to experience a natural disaster. Either way, those who are prepared for one are prepared for the other.

This course is for everyone, from the individual to the large group of volunteers. It is for the young homemakers, the elderly retired couple, the single parent, the wealthy professional, and the financially overextended family. It is for the members of our country’s armed forces. Security directors, emergency managers, and first responders will especially benefit. It is for everyone who wants to be safe in an increasingly dangerous world. It is for everyone who understands that security begins at home. n Call (800) 592-1399 for more information

The American Board for Certification in Homeland Security presents

Certified in Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Prep

Disaster Prep 101 will equip you to: • Set your business and family up for financial stability in the wake of a disaster • Effectively choose an evacuation destination • Protect yourself against a surprise chemical attack • And much, much more!

By becoming Certified in Disaster Preparedness, you will gain knowledge of the worst emergencies you may encounter. Though the worst case scenario is a large-scale terrorist attack, the truth of the matter is that individuals are more likely to experience a natural disaster or an attack at the local level, such as a bomb scare in a nearby school. The coursework will guide the participant through every aspect of knowledge, training, and equipment needed to prepare for such events.

Become Certified in Disaster Preparedness Today!

Call Toll-Free (800) 592-0960 or (800) 592-1399 | http://chs.acfei.com/dp101

Law CEEnforcement ARTICLE 1: Technology and Terrorism: How the Internet Facilitates Radicalism (Pages 14-20) ATTENTION ACFEI MEMBERS: Journal-Learning CEs are now FREE when taken online. Visit www.acfei.com.

TO RECEIVE CE CREDIT FOR THIS ARTICLE

CE ACCREDITATIONS FOR THIS ARTICLE

In order to receive one CE credit, each participant is required to

This article is approved by the following for continuing education credit:

1. Read the continuing education article.

2. Complete the exam by circling the chosen answer for each question. Complete the evaluation form.

3. Mail or fax the completed form, along with the $15 payment for each CE exam taken to: ACFEI, 2750 East Sunshine, Springfield, MO 65804. Or Fax to: 417-881-4702. Or go online to www.acfei.com and take the test for FREE.

(ACFEI) The American College of Forensic Examiners International provides this continuing education credit for Diplomates.

For each exam passed with a grade of 70% or above, a certificate of completion for 1.0 continuing education credit will be mailed. Please allow at least 2 weeks to receive your certificate. The participants who do not pass the exam are notified and will have a second opportunity to complete the exam. Any questions, grievances or comments can be directed to the CE Department at (800) 592-1399, fax (417) 881-4702, or e-mail: cedept@acfei.com. Continuing education credits for participation in this activity may not apply toward license renewal in all states. It is the responsibility of each participant to verify the requirements of his/her state licensing board(s). Continuing education activities printed in the journals will not be issued any refund.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

KEYWORDS: Terrorism, radicalization, foreign terrorist organizations

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:

TARGET AUDIENCE: security professionals, general public

1. Specifically describe how the positive features of the Internet can be used by terrorists to support radicalization.

2. List ways in which terrorists use the Internet.

3. Identify options for countering terrorist information operations on the Internet.

PROGRAM LEVEL: update DISCLOSURE: The authors have nothing to disclose.

PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT Extremist groups use the Internet for many reasons: to disseminate propaganda and spread disinformation; to recruit and train volunteers; to solicit funds from sympathizers; to gather data from open sources; to plan and coordinate attacks; to maintain communications—many of them encrypted—between members of a single terrorist group as well as with members of other terrorist groups; to provide tutorials on building and planting explosive devices; and to publicize their acts of violence and ultimately enhance the perceived image of their great strength. This article uses examples gathered from public sources to examine how the Internet is used to facilitate the radicalization of extremist groups, and it offers options for implementing an effective response.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS

(Answer the following questions after reading the article)

1 Many of the benefits provided by the Internet can be used by terrorists to support their agendas and expand radicalization. Which of the following is not one of those benefits? a. Fast transmission of multimedia information b. Lack of censorship or regulation c. Expensive development and maintenance of a Web presence d. Ease of access e. Large number of widely dispersed users 2 Terrorists use the Internet to: a. Disseminate training manuals and tutorials and distribute video and audio broadcasts produced by terroristrun media production companies b. Recruit volunteers to participate in electronic attacks and coordinate cyber attacks c. Distribute encryption software and solicit funds from sympathizers d. Publicize beheadings and other atrocities e. All of the above 3 Extremist messages promoted in video games are targeted to youths as young as: a. 2 years of age b. 7 years of age c. 12 years of age d. 15 years of age e. 25 years of age

4 Which of the following statements is not true? a. Over the past decade, the number of terrorist Web sites has increased significantly b. Pentagon analysts monitor terrorist Web sites, including those of more than 40 designated foreign terrorist organizations c. Radicalizing messages and operational instructions can be communicated through e-mail as well as via Web sites d. To date, most Islamic hacking operations have been aimed at Web sites maintained by the U.S. government and Web sites associated with U.S. defense and financial systems e. The cyber attacks launched so far have been well-organized, but ineffective 5 Citizen Dialogues, the Digital Outreach Team, and the Counterterrorism Communications Center are part of the: a. U.S. Department of State b. U.S. Department of Justice c. U.S. Department of the Treasury d. U.S. Department of Homeland Security e. U.S. Department of Defense 5 Which of the following would not be an effective way to counter terrorist information operations? a. Implement online multimedia information campaigns to combat extremist propaganda b. Help allied governments launch their online multimedia counter-narratives to combat violent extremism c. Actively encourage cross-cultural dialog d. Launch Denial of Service attacks to shut down all terrorist Web sites and demand that terrorists stop encrypting their communications e. Promote interagency initiatives that are designed to undermine ideological support for terrorism

EVALUATION: Circle one (1=Poor 2=Below Average 3=Average 4=Above Average 5=Excellent)

PAYMENT INFORMATION: $15 per test (FREE ONLINE)

If you require special accommodations to participate in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the CE Department at (800) 592-1399.

Name:

1. Information was relevant and applicable.

2. Learning objective 1 was met.

3. Learning objective 2 was met.

4. Learning objective 3 was met.

5. You were satisfied with the article.

6. ADA instructions were adequate.

7. The author’s knowledge, expertise, and clarity were appropriate.

8. Article was fair, balanced, and free of commercial bias.

9. The article was appropriate to your education, experience, and

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10. Instructional materials were useful.

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 13

CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

How the Internet Facilitates Radicalization xtremist groups use the Internet for many reasons: to disseminate propaganda and spread disinformation; to recruit and train volunteers; to solicit funds from sympathizers; to gather data from open sources; to plan and coordinate attacks; to maintain communications—many of them encrypted—between members of a single terrorist group as well as with members of other terrorist groups; to provide tutorials on building and planting explosive devices; and to publicize their acts of violence and ultimately enhance the perceived image of their great strength. This article uses examples gathered from public sources to examine how the Internet is used to facilitate the radicalization of extremist groups, and offers options for implementing an effective response.

By Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-IV

14 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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Introduction The Internet’s greatest assets—ease of access, fast transmission of multimedia information, immense and geographically dispersed audiences, lack of regulation or censorship, and inexpensive development and maintenance of a Web presence—are being used by extremist groups to achieve their terrorist agendas (Weimann, 2004). High on the list of their objectives is expanding the level of radicalization that supports the terrorist enterprise (Jenkins, 2007). Radicalization encompasses a mindset that incorporates violence as the supreme test of one’s belief. It is the necessary mental requirement for recruitment (Jenkins, 2007).

Information operations are crucial to radicalization, and terrorists use the Internet in many different ways to achieve this goal. Some uses are similar to those made by traditional organizations, such as distributing information and soliciting donations, and some are comparable to those made by the average user, such as searching for information (Weimann, 2004). Other uses, though, are distinctly ominous and horrific, such as providing tutorials on explosive devices and publicizing acts of violence.

games, chat rooms, Web sites, and online forums (U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, 2007). CDs, DVDs, training manuals, pamphlets, and copies of speeches are downloaded and modified to better fit terrorist goals and objectives (e.g., to target recruitment-aged youths or to intimidate those involved in the fight against the extremists), then are disseminated through postings on publicly accessible Web sites (Smith, 2006).

Messages are transmitted and repeated that accuse the United States and its allies of trying to shame and dishonor Muslim society and culture. Global jihadist messages are aimed directly at the individual, claiming “that the Islamic community faces assault from aggressive infidels and their apostate allies; it is threatened by military attack, cultural corruption, social disintegration, and substandard zeal” (Jenkins, 2007). Recruits are called to action to fight to restore dignity to Islam as a religious obligation required of all true believers (Jenkins, 2007). Although most of the messages are intended to appeal emotionally to youths between the ages of 7 and 25 years of age, some are targeted toward their parents, encouraging them to “support the jihad from [their] kitchens by raising children that support the cause” (Porth, 2006).

“The Internet has dramatically expanded the ability of Radical groups to recruit, train, motivate, and coordinate terrorists over vast distances without direct contact.”

Disseminating propaganda and recruiting supporters Over the past decade, the number of terrorist Web sites has grown from less than 100 to more than 5,000 (Kaplan, 2006). According to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, the sites are being used to create speeches, graphics, training manuals, slides, blogs, and Web casts, all for propaganda purposes (Porth, 2006). The sites offer tutorials on building bombs, sneaking into Iraq, setting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and killing U.S. soldiers, and are used to host videos and messages to expand recruitment and fundraising efforts. Some even offer video games where users as young as 7 years of age can pretend to be warriors killing U.S. soldiers (Kaplan, 2006).

Pentagon analysts monitor terrorist Web sites, including those of designated foreign terrorist organizations (Table 1) and their sympathizers and supporters (Kaplan, 2006).

Extremist groups routinely use the Internet to spread misinformation and false rumors, hoping to reach disaffected youth, and to enlist sympathizers and financial supporters. Video and audio broadcasts are produced by terrorist-run media production companies, and Islamic extremist messages are promoted in video (800) 592-1399

All messages are carefully worded and translated into targeted languages, including Arabic, Turkish, and Russian (Porth, 2006).

In a statement made by Susan Collins (R-Maine): The Internet has dramatically expanded the ability of radical groups to recruit, train, motivate, and coordinate terrorists over vast distances without direct contact. Terrorist can consult Web sites to learn techniques for shooting down helicopters, watch videos of hostage beheadings, read letters left by suicide bombers, or listen to messages from militant leaders. And, even if there were no Web sites, the Internet would still allow radicalizing messages as well as operational instructions to be passed along by e-mail. (U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, 2007).

Gathering data and planning attacks Last year, British military intelligence disclosed that terrorists were using aerial footage displayed by Google Earth to plan their attacks against British bases in Basra. In raids conducted on the homes of insurgents in early January 2007, the military found printouts of satellite photographs showing Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 15

Table 1: Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Primary Locations/Areas of Operation Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) Former and possibly current associates may be in Iraq and Lebanon

other towns in Pakistan; conducts insurgent and terrorist operations in Kashmir and Afghanistan

Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) Founded in the Basilan Province and operates primarily in the provinces of Sulu Archipelago, the Zamboanga peninsula, and Malaysia

Hizballah Operates in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Beka’a Valley, and southern Lebanon; has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Asia

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (al-Aqsa) Operates mainly in the West Bank but has conducted attacks inside Israel and the Gaza Strip Ansar al-Sunna (AS) Primarily central, western, and northern Iraq Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Algeria, the Sahel, and Europe Asbat al-Ansar Primary base of operations is in the ‘Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon Aum Shinrikyo (Aum) Principal membership is located in Japan; a residual branch is located in Russia Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Operates primarily in the Basque autonomous regions of northern Spain and southwestern France Communist Party of Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) Operates in rural Luzon, Visayas, and parts of northern and eastern Mindanao Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic Gama’a al-Islamiyya (IG) Operates mainly in the Al-Minya, Asyut, Qina, and Sohaj Governorates of southern Egypt; has an external presence in the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Yemen, and in various locations in Europe The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) Has an operational presence in every major city within the Palestinian territories Harak ul-Mujahedin (HUM) Based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several 16 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) S c a t t e r e d throughout Central Asia and probably parts of South Asia Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Scattered throughout South Asia, Central Asia, and Iran; areas of operation include Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) Pakistan and Kashmir Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) Based in Indonesia and believed to have cells in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines Al-Jihad (AJ) Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, the United Kingdom, and Yemen Kahane Chai (Kach) Israel and West Bank settlements Kongra-Gel (KGK/PKK) Operates primarily in Turkey, Iraq, Europe, and the Middle East Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LT) Based in Muridke and Muzaffarabad Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ) Punjab and Karachi Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Headquartered in northern Sri Lanka; controls portions of the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) Members are in Asian, Arabian Gulf, African, and European countries, particularly the United Kingdom

in detail the buildings and other vulnerable areas (e.g., tents, lavatories, and parking areas for armored vehicles) inside the bases. The photographs were believed to have been made within the past 2 years. In addition to being used for reconnaissance missions against British military bases, the images were reportedly being sold to rogue militias in the Basra marketplace. The British security services remain concerned that Google Earth’s aerial imagery could be used by terrorists to plan attacks against sensitive infrastructures, including electrical power stations (Harding, 2007).

Over the past few years, mujahideen (Muslim guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad) have been developing a form of online warfare called electronic jihad, where the Internet is used to wage economic and ideological warfare against the West. In particular, Islamic hackers belonging to six groups —Ansar Al-Jihad LilJihad Al-Electroni, Inhiyar AlDolar, Hackboy, Majma’ Al-Haker Al-Muslim, Majmu’at Al-Jihad Al-Electroni, and Munazamat Fursan Al-Jihad Al-Electronic—have used their Web sites to recruit volunteers to participate in electronic attacks, maintain communication between others engaging in online warfare, and coordinate their cyber attacks (Alshech, 2007). To date, most of the hacking operations have been targeted at religious Web sites that promote ideologies perceived to be incompatible with mujahideen beliefs (e.g., Christian Web sites) or those believed to be defamatory to Islam (e.g., non-Islamic forums and sites promoting women’s rights). Few attacks have been launched against Web sites maintained by the U.S. government, or those associated with U.S. defense or financial systems, although these sites are certainly of interest. In 2006, an Islamic forum conducted a survey among its participants concerning the targets they would like to attack.

Among those identified were the FBI and CIA Web sites, as well as the Web sites of Western financial institutions (Alshech, 2007).

The cyber attacks conducted so far have not been particularly effective, although they have been wellorganized. The online attacks are led by attack coordinators, who are responsible for posting links to the targeted Web sites and to the hacking programs that will be used by the participants against those sites. The attack coordinators also are responsible for encouraging Islamic forum members to participate, and they have been responding in increasing numbers (Alshech, 2007).

Two types of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks have been favored by the Islamic attackers. The first is message flooding, where a targeted Web server is overwhelmed with incoming data packets, causing network performance to slow down to an unacceptable level or stop altogether. The second is a variation of a buffer overflow attack known as a ping attack. A ping is a packet that allows an atwww.acfei.com

tacker to determine whether a given system is active on a network. In this type of DoS attack, a flood of pings is transmitted to a targeted site. The pings saturate the victim’s bandwidth and fill up the system’s buffer (memory space), causing network performance to deteriorate and the system to hang, crash, or reboot. These two types of DoS attacks are neither new nor particularly effectual, and in most cases, the targeted Web sites have returned to normal functioning within a few hours of the attack (Alshech, 2007).

There are signs that extremist groups are interested in carrying out more sophisticated types of cyber attacks. Disaffected youths who join the terrorist cause tend to be more comfortable using information technology than their elder counterparts, and the technological interdependencies of our critical infrastructures (e.g., banking and financial networks, electrical power systems, water treatment facilities, emergency services systems, transportation systems, and telecommunication systems) are tempting targets. On January 19, 2008, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency analyst Tom Donahue disclosed that online attacks had disrupted the power equipment in several regions outside of the United States, causing power outages in several cities (McMillan, 2008). Although not terrorist-related, these attacks did not go unnoticed by extremist groups, raising the specter of similarly caused events that might result in mass casualties, escalating levels of fear, and adverse economic reverberations.

Maintaining secret communications In January 2007, an encryption program called Mujahideen Secrets 1 was released on the Web site of Al-Ekhlaas, an Islamic forum and Al-Qaeda support group. The program provided users with the ability to encrypt files and e-mail messages using five different cryptographic algorithms, including 256-bit symmetric (secret key) encryption systems and 2,048-bit asymmetric (public key) encryption systems (Messmer, 2008a).

One year later, an enhanced version of the software was released on the same Web site.

Mujahideen Secrets 2 offers additional capabilities not included in Mujahideen Secrets 1, including an easier-to-use graphical user interface and the ability to encrypt chat communications (Vijayan, 2008; Messmer, 2008b). This latter capability is designed to better protect the identities and locations of terrorists while online (Anonymous, 2008).

Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) Morocco, Western Europe, Afghanistan, and Canada Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) Headquartered in Paris and has concentrations of members across Europe and at Camp Ashraf in Iraq National Liberation Army (ELN) Rural and mountainous areas of northern, northeastern, and southwestern Colombia, and Venezuelan border regions

Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) Predominately Iraqbased, with an extensive logistical network throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Iran, South Asia, and Europe Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) [Formerly Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)] Algeria, the Sahel, Canada, and Western Europe Real IRA (RIRA) Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Irish Republic

Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) Based in Lebanon

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Primarily in Colombia with some activities in neighboring countries

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Primarily Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip; central leadership resides in Syria

Revolutionary Nuclei (RN) Primary area of operation is in the Athens, Greece metropolitan area

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip

Revolutionary Organization 17 November Athens, Greece

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) Headquartered in Damascus with bases in Lebanon Al-Qaeda (AQ) Worldwide networks are augmented by ties to local Sunni extremists; while the largest concentration of senior members reside in Pakistan, the network incorporates members of al-Qaeda in Iraq and other associates throughout the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia

Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/ Front (DHKP/C) Turkey, primarily Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana Shining Path (SL) Peru, with most activity in rural areas United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Strongest in northwest Colombia

Source: Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (2007b, April 30). Country reports on terrorism, Chapter 6 – Terrorist organizations. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www. state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm

Publicizing acts of violence and enhancing the perception of strength For several years, jihadists have used the Internet to broadcast their atrocities and thereby promote an image of power. In 2002, the execution-style murder of journalist Daniel Pearl was electroni(800) 592-1399

s Hezbollah leaders and militaristic themes featured in a YouTube video.

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 17

sSara Berg, the sister of hostage Nicholas Berg, who was killed in Iraq, gathers sympathy cards from floral arrangements left at the family’s home in Chester County, Pennsylvania. MCT News Service.

cally distributed. Over the next 2 years, as better video compression and editing tools became available and network bandwidth increased, other videos were distributed (Glasser & Coll, 2005).

On April 9, 2004, a short video entitled “Heroes of Fallujah” was posted by Abu Musab Zarqawi’s followers, showing masked men positioning a roadside bomb in a hole in the road, then capturing the result as it destroyed a U.S. armored personnel carrier (Glasser & Coll, 2005). More graphic videos followed, including one distributed on May 11, 2004, that underscored the horrific partnership that had evolved between technology and terrorism. On that day, a link to a video showing Nicholas Berg’s beheading by Abu Musab Zarqawi was posted on the al-Ansar Web forum (Glasser & Coll, 2005). Since then, terrorist atrocities have been recorded and distributed online in almost real-time.

A 2006 National Intelligence Estimate concluded that “activists identifying themselves as jihadists

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… are increasing in both number and geographic dispersion” (Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2006). Jihadist operations are designed to draw attention, demonstrate capability, harm their enemies, galvanize the Muslim community, provoke and attract recruits to the cause (Jenkins, 2007), and ultimately, foster a perception of great strength (Kaplan, 2006). According to a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, the threat of terrorist violence against the United States will persist and evolve over the next 3 years (Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2007).

Implementing an effective response The increasing threat from radicalization requires a deliberate and comprehensive response. The options outlined below collectively form a coordinated counter to terrorist information operations; these options are suggested for further discussion.

Option 1: Develop a stronger connection with Muslim communities.

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To help prevent the alienation and isolation that many believe are the prerequisites for radicalization, we need to develop a better understanding of, and connection with, Muslim communities, both in the United States and throughout the world (Sutherland, 2007). Muslim community leaders should be active participants in improving crosscultural dialogue, and they should play an active role in influencing Muslim perspectives in other parts of the world (Sutherland, 2007). To assist in this endeavor, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs recently established Citizen Dialogues as part of their Strategic Speaker Program. Citizen Dialogues sends teams of American Muslims abroad to connect with Muslim communities in other countries, and individual speakers to talk about religious freedom, diversity, and Muslim life in the United States (Curtin, 2007). State and local governments must reach out to the Muslim communities, and individuals from the federal government (e.g., Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State) must continue to meet with leaders from these communities to further establish open lines of communication (Sutherland, 2007).

Option 2: Encourage the integration of immigrants.

Leaders in the Muslim communities can assist in the integration of new immigrants, and they should be encouraged to do so (Sutherland, 2007).

To assist in this endeavor, some promising community activities have been initiated by the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties within the U. S. Department of Homeland Security. For example, in Michigan, the Instructor’s Guide for Community Emergency Response Training has been translated into Arabic, helping American Muslims to become more actively involved in training efforts for emergency response. Although an encouraging start, much more needs to be done to promote assimilation.

Option 3: Implement a comprehensive online counter-narrative.

We must better understand the narrative used by violent extremists so that we can implement the necessary multimedia counter-narrative to combat extremism and promote integration (Sutherland, 2007). The Digital Outreach Team within the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs has established a U.S. presence in Arabic cyberspace (Curtin, 2007); however, to better compete with those who frequent terrorist sites, the federal government should launch additional Web sites, blogs, Web casts, video and audio broadcasts, chat rooms, online forums, and video games to create an online counter-offensive (U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, 2007).

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“Information operations are vital to radicalization; however, the United States and the international community have yet to marshal a coordinated and effectively resourced counter to the use of the Internet by extremist groups.”

Option 4: Assist our allies in implementing a comprehensive online counter-narrative.

How we enable and assist our allies in launching their online rebuttals and multimedia information campaigns is just as important as how we create and transmit our own counter-narrative. We must continue to develop sound relationships with allied governments (Sutherland, 2007), and help them to understand that although extremist propaganda and other online terrorist activities pose a significant danger to us, the threat is equally perilous to them.

Option 5: Promote interagency initiatives to undermine terrorist information operations.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs has established the Counterterrorism Communications Center, an initiative that draws together several U.S. government entities, including the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Experts from appropriate government agencies are assigned to the Center to develop and deliver proactive messages that are designed to undermine ideological support for violent extremism (Curtin, 2007), and to respond to statements and actions by terrorist groups and leaders (Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee, 2006). Working subgroups of the Center study different aspects of the philosophical struggle, including terrorists’ use of the Internet, television programming, and publishing technologies, and make appropriate recommendations for action (Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee, 2006).

Greater efforts need to be made to involve private sector entities in government interagency initiatives. The travel and tourism industry, the higher education community, and the business and labor communities have a collective interest in improving U.S. relations with individuals throughout the

The FBI’s Role: The FBI plays two important roles in protecting cyberspace: “1) The FBI is the lead law enforcement agency for detecting and defeating cyber-based attacks against the nation’s critical infrastructures by foreign adversaries and terrorists.

2) The FBI works to prevent criminals, sexual predators, and those intent on malicious destruction from using the Internet and online services to steal from, defraud, and otherwise victimize citizens, businesses, and communities.

Investigations can include unauthorized access (hacking) violations, denial of service attacks, Internet fraud schemes, malicious code (virus and worms), or copyright violations.”

Source: www.fbi.gov

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 19

world (Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee, 2006).

Conclusion Information operations are vital to radicalization; however, the United States and the international community have yet to marshal a coordinated and effectively resourced counter to the use of the Internet by extremist groups (Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, 2007a).

The Internet is used in numerous ways and, from the terrorists’ perspective, each is indispensable.

References Alshech, E. (2007, February 28). Cyberspace as a combat zone: The phenomenon of Electronic Jihad. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http:// www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894537514& pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Anonymous. (2008, January 29). Jihadi Website distributes new encryption program. Terrorism Focus. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article. php?articleid=2373929 Curtin, J. (2007, May 10). Violent Islamic extremism: Government efforts to defeat it. Testimony presented before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/051007Curtin. pdf Glasser, S. B., & Coll, S. (2005, August 9).

The Web as weapon. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/08/ AR2005080801018_pf.html Harding, T. (2007, January 13). Terrorists use Google maps to hit UK troops. The Daily Telegraph.

Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/13/ wgoogle13.xml Jenkins, B. M. (2007, April 5). Building an army of believers: Jihadist radicalization and recruitment.

Testimony presented before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment. The RAND Corporation. Retrieved February 13, 2008 from http:// www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT2781.pdf Kaplan, E. (2006, May 12). Terrorists and the Internet. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.cfr.org/publication/10005/ McMillan, R. (2008, January 19). CIA says hackers pulled plug on power grid. Network World.

Retrieved January 22, 2008, from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/011908-cia-says-hackerspulled-plug.html

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Messmer, E. (2008a, January 23). Al-Qaeda group claims to have strengthened its encryption security. Network World. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http:// www.networkworld.com/news/2008/012308-al-qaedaencryption.html Messmer, E. (2008b, February 1). Al-Qaeda group’s encryption software stronger, security firm confirms.

Network World. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/020108al-qaeda-encryption.html Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism.

(2007a, April 30). Country reports on terrorism, Chapter 1 – Strategic assessment. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82727. htm Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism.

(2007b, April 30). Country reports on terrorism, Chapter 6 – Terrorist organizations. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738. htm Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

(2006, April). Trends in global terrorism: Implications for the United States. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/Declassified_NIE_ Key_Judgments.pdf Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

(2007, July). The terrorist threat to the US homeland.

Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.dni.gov/ press_releases/20070717_release.pdf Porth, J. S. (2006, May 8). Terrorists use cyberspace as important communications tool. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://usinfo.state.gov/is/Archive/2006/ May/08-429418.html Smith, S. D. (2006, May 5). Terrorists use internet for propaganda, defense officials say. Military Connections. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.militaryconnections.com/news_story. cfm?textnewsid=1933 Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee. (2006, December 14). U.S. National Strategy for Public Diplomacy and

Strategic Communication. Retrieved April 17, 2008, from http://jmw.typepad.com/political_warfare/files/ stratcommo_plan_070531.pdf Sutherland, D. W. (2007, March 14). Threat of Islamic radicalization to the homeland. Written testimony to the United States Senate, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http://hsgac.senate.gov/_ files/031407Sutherland.pdf U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. (2007, May 3). Terrorists use Internet to recruit, train, launch attacks. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.senate.gov/~govt-aff/index. cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&Affiliation=C& PressRelease_id=1457&Month=5&Year=2007 Vijayan, J. (2008, February 4). Updated encryption tool for al-Qaeda backers improves on first version, researcher says. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http://www. computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=view ArticleBasic&articleId=9060939 Weimann, G. (2004). www.terror.net: How modern terrorism uses the Internet. Special Report No. 116, United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/ sr116.html n

Earn CE Credit To earn CE credit, complete the exam for this article on page 13 or complete the exam online at www.acfei.com (select “Online CE”).

About the Author Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-IV, is a Professor of Management Information Systems at Western Connecticut State University. She received her PhD in Information and Control Systems from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. She has written more than three dozen articles on information systems security, published in journals such as Computer Fraud & Security, Computers & Society, Data Security Management, The Forensic Examiner, Network Security, and Review of Business, and is the co-author of Information Security: Contemporary Cases (Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007). She is a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, American Society for Industrial Security, the Association for Computing Machinery, Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society, Computer Security Institute, Information Systems Security Association, InfraGard Connecticut, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers. www.acfei.com

Case Study

DOES BRUTALITY COME WITH THE BADGE?

By Bruce Gross, PhD, JD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS, DAPA (800) 592-1399

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 21

Despite the ratification of the Eighth Amendment in 1791, which bans the use of “cruel and unusual” punishment, reports of excessive violence perpetrated by correctional officers against inmates have been documented since the inception of the United States penal system. These complaints come not only from inmates, but also from federal authorities who acknowledge the problem is widespread.

(Gibbons & Katzenbach, 2006) According to the Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons, in 2005 there were 16,000 allegations of prison staff misconduct (including sexual and physical assault as well as the introduction of contraband) brought to the Office of the Inspector General alone (Fine, 2005). To date, there is no system for collecting data on a national level regarding excessive, non-lethal violence used by prison staff against inmates. Despite this, a simple Internet search regularly returns numerous links to articles regarding violence in state and federal prisons across the nation.

Excessive violence by guards exists and persists not only in state prisons, but in county jails as well.

For over 25 years the Cook County jail in Illinois (one of the largest jails in the U.S.) has been under judicial review as a result of extreme and unresolved overcrowding (Becker, 2008). In 2004, a special grand jury was convened to address the mass beating of inmates that took place in 1999. Despite this, the use of excessive violence by correctional officers against inmates has continued to the present.

Inmates have been choked, kicked, punched, and hit with objects, by single or multiple guards, for offenses that range from an act of violence against staff, to verbal insults towards staff, to failure to comply with instructions.

These “punishments” have resulted in inmates suffering everything from black eyes, contusions, lacerations, lost teeth, fractured noses and ribs, broken arms and jaws, as well as head trauma. For example, in 2007, an inmate was handcuffed and beaten by a group of guards in a clothing room for having exposed himself to a female officer. The inmate, who was left with severe head injuries, had a history of mental illness. In July 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice issued a 98-page report to the Cook County Sheriff and Cook County Board President outlining the atrocities.

The Study of Violence History is replete with incidents of seemingly decent people committing horrendous acts of violence in what they believe to be the pursuit or defense of justice and right. After World War II and the horrors of the Nazi Concentration Camps, several attempts to study such extreme and “evil” behavior were undertaken. While moral and ethical constraints make empirical research on the eti22 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

ology of such violence scarce, a few notable studies do exist.

In 1961, Yale University psychology professor Stanley Milgram conducted what his subjects believed was a study on memory (Milgram, 1974).

The participants were divided into two, seemingly random groups: the “teachers,” who were the actual subjects; and the “learners,” who were, in fact, confederates of the study. The “teachers” were instructed to read a list of words to the “learners” (whom they could not see) and to administer a “shock” (none was actually given) whenever the “learner” made a mistake. Each mistake was to be followed by a shock of increasing intensity.

Surprisingly, every “teacher” was willing to shock their “learner” up to 300 volts, and two-thirds gave the maximum shock requested: 450 volts. This was done despite the confederates’ claims of having a “heart condition” and while hearing the “learner” cry out in pain. In Milgram’s study, the subjects were very “normal,” “everyman” people, who performed rather horrific acts. The results of the study were taken as scientific “proof ” that “evil” or violent behavior might be more “ordinary” than we would like to believe.

Creating Evil In August of 1971, 10 years after the Milgram experiment, psychology professor Philip Zimbardo (who was friends with Milgram in high school) led a team of researchers at Stanford University in a study of the dynamics that develop within and between groups in a simulated prison setting (Musen & Zimbardo, 1991; Haney, Banks & Zimbardo, 1973; Zimbardo, 1971). Zimbardo placed an ad in a newspaper, offering recruits $15 per day for their participation in a two-week “prison simulation” study. Of the 70 respondents, the 24 who were the most mentally stable and physically healthy were randomly assigned to “prisoner” or “guard” groups. The 24 male college-student guards were predominantly white and middle-class. Rather than objectively observing the study, one of Zimbardo’s research assistants assumed the role of “warden” and Zimbardo, himself, took the role of prison “superintendent.”

Those subjects assigned to be guards were dressed in matching khaki “uniforms” and mirrored sunglasses (to block full eye contact). The day before the experiment began, the guards were given an “orientation” by Zimbardo in which they were told they could not physically harm or injure the prisoners.

However Zimbardo also told them, “You can create in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrariness that their life is totally controlled by us, by the system, you, me—and they’ll have no privacy. They’ll have no freedom of action, they can do nothing, say nothing that we don’t permit. We’re going to take www.acfei.com

away their individuality in various ways. In general what all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness. That is, in this situation we’ll have all the power and they’ll have none.”(Zimbardo, 1989) Those subjects who were assigned to the prisoner group were “arrested” at their homes and “charged” with armed robbery. With the assistance of the Palo Alto Police Department, the prisoners had their “mug-shots” taken at the station and were fingerprinted, strip-searched, sprayed for lice, and given their uniform (ill-fitting hospital gowns, knit-type caps, and no underwear) that were marked with their “prisoner number.” With a chain around their ankles, the prisoners were blindfolded and taken to the simulated “prison” in the basement of the psychology building on the Stanford campus.

Evil Interactions In order to erase the prisoners’ sense of individual identity, the guards were to refer to the prisoners by number rather than by name. Repeatedly, the guards had the prisoners “count-off ” and they were forced into extended exercising for any errors. As mattresses were valued in the prison, guards would remove them as punishment, forcing the prisoners to sleep on the cold concrete floor. Other forms of depersonalizing and degrading punishments were also employed by

the guards. For example, they made some prisoners wear paper bags over their heads; took uniform/gowns away from the prisoners; and some guards forced prisoners into simulating homosexual acts, and some prevented prisoners from using the bathroom.

By only the second day the prisoners were planning a riot. In response, the guards agreed to work “overtime” without compensation and ultimately used fire extinguishers to “calm” them. By the fourth day some of the prisoners were planning to “escape,” in response to which some of the guards (especially one) became increasingly malevolent. At this point, the “superintendent” and “warden” offered the prisoners the option of parole, which they could only obtain by forfeiting their full stipend.

Although some of the prisoners had accepted the terms of parole and signed away their pay, the option of parole was revoked. Despite this, none of the prisoners asked to leave the experiment.

Around this time a new prisoner was introduced to the prison. He immediately began objecting to how the guards were treating the prisoners, which only served to increase the guards’ mistreatment.

The new inmate went on a “hunger strike” for which the guards placed him in “solitary confinement” (that is, a closet). In an effort to create division between the prisoners, they were told the only

s Stanley Milgram t The shock generator

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s Phillip Zimbardo

Phillip Zimbardo Phillip Zimbardo is a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, and it remains controversial to this day.

The experiment, in which a simulated prison was set up, found that a third of the “guards” exhibited sadistic behavior only days into the scenario. Zimbardo is also the author of The Lucifer Effect, which examines the origins of evil.

way the new prisoner would be able to get out of solitary would be for all of them to give up their blankets; all but one refused to do so.

Numerous people (not associated with the study) had observed the “prison” but not one commented on the conditions under which the prisoners were living or how the guards were behaving. Only one person questioned the ethics or morality of the experiment, a female graduate student Zimbardo was dating at the time (and later married) and had brought in to the study to conduct interviews. Because of her concerns, after only 6 days Zimbardo ended the study. At their exit, many of the prisoners were showing signs of traumatization, while most of the guards were upset that the study had been shut down.

Putting Evil in Context During the 6 days of the study (known as the Stanford Prison Experiment [SPE]), approximately one-third of the guards exhibited “sadistic” behaviors. Zimbardo felt this was the result of the guards’ inability to resist the pressure of their role. Believing that people lose their ability to exercise moral judgment once in a group, he asserted that groups are inherently dangerous. Zimbardo concluded that when groups of people have unequal power, cruel and vile behavior would be the “natural,” inevitable expression of those in the role or group with power. In other words, Zimbardo

believed his study demonstrated that violence or extreme behaviors were the direct result of situational factors, rather than a reflection of the dispositions or personalities of the group members.

Although the guards’ tyrannical behavior may have been a “natural” reaction to the dynamics of the inherent power differential, it is also possible that it was due to any number or combination of other causes not accounted for by Zimbardo. The most obvious possibility is related to the fact that Zimbardo did not truly allow the dynamics of differential power to evolve independently. Instead, he literally set the stage for abuse in his “orientation” for the guards.

As such, the guards may merely have been responding to Zimbardo’s instructions and doing their best to comply and conform to what they believed was expected of them. If so, and at least in terms of the guards, the study was of how readily people would realize Zimbardo’s vision of a prison.

Another possible explanation for the brutality seen in the SPE is that the participants had more vulnerability to, or propensity for, cruelty than the screening methods were able to detect. This is especially so given the ad Zimbardo used to recruit subjects specifically indicated that the volunteers would be participating in a prison study. The issue of possible selection bias is borne out by a study conducted at Western Kentucky University. Having

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recruited subjects using two ads, one with and one without the words “prison life,” the researchers found that the students who volunteered for the “prison life” study possessed underlying propensities for violent or abusive behavior (such as social dominance, narcissism, aggressiveness, and the absence of empathy) (Carnahan & McFarland, 2007).

As “superintendent” of the prison, Zimbardo was a participant in his own study but was not part of the “guard” group. That is, he was not directly involved in the mistreatment of the prisoners. Despite this seeming detachment, Zimbardo did not independently perceive the immediate need to terminate the experiment, nor did any of his research assistants. The researchers were essentially vicarious participants in the mistreatment, suggesting they may have created a climate or culture of abuse prior to the onset of the project.

Of note, Zimbardo did not account for the twothirds of the guards that did not behave inhumanely towards the prisoners. Many of those guards asserted their authority, but with fairness. Others were quite kind to the prisoners and actually did them favors. Rather than indicating that a group with power over another group is dangerous, the results of the SPE might have been interpreted as supporting the premise that groups can foster prosocial behavior, reinforcing moral judgment.

Relevant terms:

The ‘Reality’ of Evil In May of 2002 the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired “The Experiment,” a reality show that chronicled the research of Alex Haslam and Steve Reicher, both psychology professors at universities in England (Reicher & Haslam, 2006a, 2006b; Haslam & Reicher, 2005). Funded by the BBC, the study was an effort to gain a fuller understanding of the results of the SPE. Where Zimbardo focused his findings on the “evil” side of internalized group membership, Haslam and Reicher believed that pro-social empowerment or resistance to tyranny can also be motivated by group membership.

Unlike the SPE, the researchers did not take an active role in the study, and (among other safeguards) they had an independent ethics committee that was fully empowered to end the experiment at any time should they deem it necessary. In addition, the participants underwent daily physiological and psychological screenings to assess for any changes in their status. Another significant difference between the SPE and the BBC Prison Study (as it became known) was that, initially, the prisoners had an opportunity to be “promoted” to the position of guard.

The hypothesis being tested was that as long as the prisoners had the possibility of promotion, they would not fully accept the prisoner-group iden-

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On June 30, 2007 —

• 2,299,116 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails – an increase of 1.8% from yearend 2006, less than the average annual growth of 2.6% from 2000-2006.

• 1,528,041 sentenced prisoners were under state or federal jurisdiction.

• There were an estimated 509 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents – up from 501 at yearend 2006.

• The number of women under the jurisdiction of state or federal prison authorities increased 2.5% from yearend 2006, reaching 115,308, and the number of men rose 1.5%, totaling 1,479,726.

• At midyear 2007 there were 4,618 black male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to 1,747 Hispanic male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 Hispanic males and 773 white male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 white males.

Credit: The Bureau of Justice Statistics 26 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

tity. At the beginning of the study the prisoners were very compliant and focused on earning a promotion. As soon as the option for promotion was removed, the prisoners became increasingly uncooperative and resistant towards the guards. At the same time, in addition to becoming more positive and empowered, the prisoners became increasingly organized and effective as a group.

On the other side, the guards were unable to reach a consensus regarding how to exercise their authority; that is, they never developed or established a shared identity. As a result, as a group the guards were disorganized and unable to maintain order among the prisoners. Psychologically, they showed signs of increasing despondency and “burn-out.” As might be expected, by the sixth day, the prisoners had organized an “escape” and after its attempt, the groups spontaneously began creating a more egalitarian system.

Although there was some self-governing or self-disciplining among the prisoners, there were some guards who remained unable or unwilling to use their authority or power. Among the guards a sub-group developed that included some of the prisoners that had been promoted. This emerging guard-group wanted to take a more rigid and harsh approach to running the prison. Surprisingly, those guards who had supported the egalitarian structure not only did not fight to maintain the status quo, but actually adapted to the “new order” sub-group. Seeing the direction in which the prison environment was inevitably moving, the study was terminated before its scheduled end date.

Although both the SPE and the BBC Prison Study ended early, Haslam and Reicher believed the results of their study were not the natural outcome of group assignment and mindless participation. Instead, they concluded their outcome reflected the result of the guards’ inability to form a shared vision and the egalitarian group’s (which included some guards) inability to turn their vision into reality. Consistent with Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theory, Haslam and Reicher assert that groups represent collective self-realization, and when a unified value or belief system is not manifested, individual members become increasingly willing to adopt those of another, seemingly more functional group. Although Haslam and Reicher acknowledge that context has an effect on individual and group behavior, they are not of the opinion that it is always and only in the direction of misconduct and brutality.

Good Born of Evil Both prison studies demonstrated that under some circumstances, some individuals resist going-with-theflow of group-associated brutality. Both studies focus on the group itself as a causative factor; that is, via mere membership or via assimilation of group identity. Both studies also point to the importance of leadership of, and within, groups. www.acfei.com

In the BBC Prison Experiment, the participants knew their behavior would be seen by a public audience that would include family and friends. This knowledge undoubtedly affected both guards and prisoners, perhaps inhibiting violence from the guards and keeping the prisoners from complete loss of self.

In the SPE, the participants also knew they were being observed, but in this case, by “superiors” who directly and tacitly condoned psychological and physical mistreatment.

How an individual behaves often varies based on who the individual knows or believes will be witness (at the time or after-thefact) to their behavior. As such, if a person with authority over a group of individuals varies in their zero-tolerance stance towards brutality, then brutality may emerge. This is especially so if pro-social values have not been instilled in the group.

Zimbardo felt tyranny evolved “naturally” in groups with unequal power. While it might not be “inevitable” as Zimbardo asserts, in light of World War II, brutality may result when unequal power is combined with the perception of unequal humanity. That is, when a group with power perceives a group with lesser power as “sub-human” in some way. In terms of inmates, guards and inmates are not equal in terms of socially conferred status, but are equally human. However, as the statistics show, they are not always treated as such.

In being sentenced to prison, inmates lose their liberty and, for the duration of their incarceration, guards control inmates’ freedoms.

From birth to death, people seem to have an inherent need to exert control over their self and the world in which the self exists. Even infants seemingly rebel in an attempt to influence their environment. Individuals in a closed environment where the option of obedience is all that is left of free will may soon come to feel and act like “caged animals.” If dehumanization of prisoners has been sanctioned in any way by prison hierarchy, the result may well be violence by guards and prisoners alike.

Ending Evil In 1979, Australian researchers conducted a prison study in which they created three different types of prisons (Lovibond, Mithiran & Adams, 1979). The first type was a simulation of a “standard custodial” medium security prison in Australia. The second, or “individualized custodial,” added training for the guards that focused on teaching them how to encourage and reinforce the self-respect of prisoners, while maintaining security. The third type, or “participatory” prison, removed the focus on secu(800) 592-1399

rity and trained the guards to encourage and reinforce pro-social and responsible prisoner behavior. In this prison, the guards were taught to respect the inmates, see their individuality, and to include them in decision-making. As might be expected, the violence exhibited by both guards and prisoners varied across prison types. The greatest brutality was seen in the “standard custodial” prison, and the least was seen in the “participatory” prison.

Certainly the incidence of excessive violence against inmates can be reduced, creating a more stable and safe prison environment.

Perhaps the first step might be to ensure that guards, as a group, have a shared vision of the purpose of prison, the role of authority, and the “value” of prisoners as individual humanbeings. This vision must be overtly and tacitly upheld by superiors within the prison system, who actively monitor that the guards retain their own sense of humanity.

Violence and extreme behaviors by guards against inmates have many sources. These include individual pathology, lack of accountability, Machiavellian leadership that condones tyranny, and a combination of other factors. In the prison studies mentioned here, it was not surprising that seemingly good people committed evil acts as individuals or a group. The most surprising finding was that in the face of such behavior, so few people acted proactively and humanely in response. Perhaps the adage is true, that real evil exists and flourishes when good people do nothing.

References

ida, Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons. Washington, D.C.: Vera Institute of Justice.

Gibbons, J.J. & Katzenbach, N. (2006). Confronting confinement: A report of the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons. Washington, D.C.: Vera Institute of Justice.

Haney, C., Banks, C. & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69-97.

Haney, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1998). The past and future of U.S. prison policy: Twenty-five years after the Stanford Prison Experiment. American Psychologist, 53(7), 709727.

Haslam, S.A., & Reicher, S.D. (2005). The psychology of tyranny: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely—or does it? Scientific American Mind, 16(3), 44-51.

Lovibond, S.H., Mithiran, X., & Adams, W.G. (1979).

The effects of three experimental prison environments on the behavior of non-convict volunteer subjects. Australian Psychologist, 14, 273-287.

Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority. New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row. Musen, K., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1991). “Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment.” (Documentary). Stanford, CA: Stanford University. Video or DVD can be ordered online: http://www.prisonexp.org/pdf/orderform.pdf Reicher SD & Haslam SA. (2006a). On the agency of individuals and groups: Lessons from the BBC Prison Study.

In: T Postmes & J Jetten (Eds.) Individuality and the Group: Advances in Social Identity. London, England: Sage.

Reicher, S., & Haslam, S.A. (2006b). Rethinking the

psychology of tyranny: The BBC Prison Study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 1-40.

Tajfel, H. (1978). Interpersonal behavior and intergroup behavior. In: H Tajfel (Ed.) Differentiation Between Social Groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup

Becker, G. C. (2008). Report of the findings of the investigation of the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office into conditions at the Cook County Jail. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.

relations. London, England: Academic Press.

Carnahan, C. & McFarland, S. (2007). Revisiting the

Zimbardo, P. G. (1971). The power and pathology

Stanford Prison Experiment: Could participant self-selec-

of imprisonment. Congressional Record. Hearings before

tion have led to the cruelty? Personality and Social Psy-

Subcommittee No. 3 of the Committee on the Judiciary,

chology Bulletin, 33(5), 603-614.

House of Representatives, 92nd Congress, First Session on

Fine, G. (2005). Insiders’ view of violence in prisons.

Corrections, Part II, Prisons, Prison Reform, and Prison-

Testimony of the U.S. Inspector General Glenn Fine.

ers’ Rights: California. (Serial No. 15) Washington, D.C.:

Transcript of Public Hearing, Hearing One, Tampa, Flor-

U.S. Government Printing Office. n

Tajfel H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In: W. G. Austin, & S. Worchel (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Monterey, CA.: Brooks/Cole.

About the Author Bruce Gross, PhD, JD, MBA, is a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners and is an Executive Advisory Board member of the American Board of Forensic Examiners. Dr. Gross is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Psychological Specialties. He has been an ACFEI member since 1996 and is a also a Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association.

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 27

Case Study

George Lawlor: An Early Visionary Forensic Detective Established Ireland’s Equivalent of British ‘Murder Squad’

By Katherine Ramsland

have met Mr. Luck several times, but I have always been introduced to him by his friends, Mr. Persistence and Mr. Hard Work.” So quipped Superintendent George Lawlor in a diary he kept in anticipation of writing his memoir. He never did, but Irish journalist Tom Reddy rescued him from oblivion by publishing his crime stories. Relatively unknown outside Ireland, Lawlor deserves more recognition than he’s received, because he established Ireland’s equivalent of England’s famous “Murder Squad” and brought scientific methods to the national police force. During his watch, his team of detectives had one of the best records in the world for solving murders.

Yet Lawlor was hardly a solid candidate for such a career. s Superintendent George Lawlor of the Technical Bureau sits at right with a colleague at his desk in Garda Headquarters.

Lawlor established Ireland’s first “Murder Squad.” Photograph, indexed P1/150/04, courtesy the George Pickow Collection of the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway.

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During his youth in the early 1900s, Lawlor considered police work to be “dull and monotonous,” and he soon had reason to despise authority. An idealist and Republican, he joined several movements that resisted British rule in Ireland, including the extremist Sinn Féin, and during the 1916 uprising in Dublin, when Lawlor was 18, he learned what it felt like to be on the wrong end of

a Bobby’s baton. Thrown into prison, he was held for more than a year, until his release after Britain signed a treaty. Free again, Lawlor watched his former comrades disintegrate into political factions, so he withdrew.

To earn a living, Lawlor decided to join the fledgling Irish police force, the Garda Síochána. Finding himself half an inch too short, he stretched up on his toes, and passed. However, he found the training to be no more than an uninspired imitation of methods used for the British police, which left recruits ill-prepared for investigating serious crimes.

Because he was intelligent and responsible, Lawlor became a detective sergeant in 1928, whereupon he received his first case.

Galway, in western Ireland, has long been famous for its horse racing, and during one season Lawlor was assigned with other detectives to watch for petty crimes. A man reported the theft of his gold watch and chain, on which his initials, W.R., were inscribed. Given the transient crowds, its recovery seemed unlikely, but then a scoundrel was caught committing fraud and the watch was found in his pocket. When W. R. received it back, he went to a pub and sang Lawlor’s praises to anyone who would listen. Gratified, Lawlor grew more interested in what it meant to “detect” and resolve a crime, which inspired him to read about other investigations, especially murder.

“I came to realize and appreciate,” he wrote in his diary, “that in the investigation of crime many old methods were becoming outdated and that the time had arrived when science should be applied to assist in crime investigation.” He grew aware of developments in the U.S., particularly with regard to the use of fingerprinting methods and trace evidence examination. By this time, Edmond Locard in France had set up the world’s first private crime lab, a sensational trial in Britain had brought international attention to fingerprint identification, and a U. S. appeals courts had affirmed fingerprint methodology as scientific. Blood types had been distinguished, ballistics was gaining a database, microscopy had improved, and there was even a vacuum apparatus to collect trace evidence. In addition, the popularity of Sherlock Holmes had brought more attention to the art of crime detection.

Lawlor took a correspondence course in fingerprinting and photography sponsored by Chicago’s Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 29

Garda Síochána The police force for Ireland is Garda Síochána, which means “Peace Guard of Ireland.” It is often referred to as “The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland.”

Here are some facts about Garda Síochána: • The Irish Free State was established in 1923, and the Garda Síochána Act of August 8, 1923 created the police force.

• The first commissioner to lead Garda Síochána was Michael Staines, who served for only 8 months.

His successor, Eoin O’Duffy, served for 11 years, until he was dismissed for encouraging a military coup.

• The Scott Medal for Bravery, established in 1925, is the highest honor that can be awarded to a member of the Garda Síochána. The medal was named after an honorary commissioner of the New York City Police Department, who made a donation to fund the honor.

• The Garda Síochána has taken part in United Nations peace-keeping duties since 1989, sending members to such locations as Angola, Cambodia, Cyprus, Mozambique, South Africa, and the former Yugoslavia.

Institute of Applied Science and became acquainted with a local forensic pathologist, who taught him about blood tests, toxicology, and wound analysis.

Lawlor even wrote a manual for identifying John Does by how their specific trades left distinct marks on fingers and hands.

Unfortunately, his colleagues failed to share his enthusiasm for these “newfangled” ideas, so he met with resistance. In fact, for the purpose of classifying fingerprints taken from prisoners, one doubting Thomas had simply used his own print rather than collecting them, resulting in a dismissal of the fingerprint system until the lazy maneuver was discovered. Thus, Lawlor had to prove the worth of the scientific approach.

Through his self-taught knowledge and skill, he eventually solved a case of murder that involved the coordination of expertise in several areas and gained him international attention. By this time, he led a special investigation unit for major crimes, the Garda Technical Bureau. He himself had suggested the blueprint for it in response to an essay contest, citing the need for widespread, standardized training in basic police methodology and emerging forensic science.

The body of young woman was discovered lying on a Dublin footpath, near a city park known as St. Stephen’s Green. The deceased was covered with a black overcoat, soon to be identified as hers, but her skirt had been removed and dumped onto her head and her panties had been pinned to a cloth used to drag her to this area. A nylon stocking and scarf were tied tightly around her neck.

Lawlor directed his team to place each article of clothing into a separate bag, and they searched the area for anything that could help identify the victim. The autopsy indicated that she had died from air embolism leading to heart failure, rather than from strangulation, as initially assumed. The stocking and scarf had been tied around the victim’s neck postmortem, staging the scene. It was also clear that an abortion had been performed, which seemed the likely cause of the embolism.

A search of records turned up Mamie Cadden, a convicted abortionist on that street, about 50 feet from where the victim lay. Mamie claimed she knew nothing about the incident, although a search of her premises turned up surgical instruments that could have been used. She kept a log of clients, identified by code, who purchased cures for minor ailments, and on the day before the murder, she had written “blue coat.” However, Lawlor noted something strange about this entry; it appeared to be over-written. He had his experts take photographs and refine them until the original entry was clear; they could now see that Mamie had first written, “black coat.” Mamie denied that was what it said, claiming she had written the first entry with red ink and had difficulty reading it, so she had traced

30 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

it over with blue ink. This suspicious circumstance nevertheless maintained her status as a suspect.

The search around the body dump site turned up some interesting items. The victim had been pulled several feet, as revealed in drag marks extending from the body back toward Mamie’s flat, where bloodstains were found in the hallway of her building. This gave the detectives reason to process the apartment, and they removed two coconut fiber floor mats, a rabbit fur cape, a red dressing gown, and several combs with head hair in them.

Making comparisons, they found that hairs and fur lifted off the victim’s black overcoat matched the rabbit fur coat, and this same fur was also found on the floor mats. Hair from the combs was similar in texture and color to strands of hair on the coat. Also, in the heel of the dead woman’s shoe they found two hair strands, one of which was remarkably similar to the rabbit fur. In addition, the victim’s head hair was consistent with hair lifted from Mamie’s dressing gown, and red fibers from the gown were similar to several fibers picked off the victim’s coat. More precisely, eighty-nine fibers were found on the dead woman from the floor mats, closely matched along seven different color shades, including a faded blue.

Lawlor was gratified to see how the physical evidence brought the case together, and he used the latest methods of microphotography to prepare exhibits for the judge and jury. Mamie Cadden was convicted of the murder.

Lawlor believed in coordinating his team and pooling information, so during each significant case he held daily conferences. They discussed suspects and motives until they whittled down possibilities to what seemed the most effective avenues for investigation. They also learned how to use the aura of science to trick suspects into believing they had evidence when they did not.

Lawlor also trained them in crime scene processing with exercises that had them on hands and knees going through an overgrown field. Sometimes they had to return to the same field the following day to identify something placed there overnight that they had not noticed before—even an item as small as a matchstick or hairpin. This kind of painstaking exercise assisted with another dicey case, a murder in Howth.

During the summer of 1948, in a lover’s lane area in the countryside south of Dublin, the body of a woman was found nestled into a hollow in a hillside. There was blood on her mouth, and it soon became clear that her killer had bludgeoned her about the head and face several times, and had manually strangled her. The Technical Bureau arrived to process the scene, photographing the body before removal, and then moving through the area.

Fourteen officers got down on their hands and knees to search for evidence. www.acfei.com

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They found two recent newspapers in the hollow, apparently used as seats on the wet grass the previous evening, and a cluster of a dozen burnt matches, as if someone was searching for something in the dark. Two expensive fountain pens were also found, one of them missing its clip. Not far away was a purse, stashed under a bush, which provided the victim’s name, Kay Boyne, a 38-year-old widow. Inside was a desperate love letter from someone named John, and her boyfriend turned out to be John Fanning (who claimed to be her unofficial fiancée).

Fanning admitted that he had been with Kay the evening before, but he said that a carload of her friends had picked her up, leaving him to find his own way home. He claimed he stopped at a pub and had then found a ride with a friend. Nevertheless, questions to his coworkers turned up an interesting item: Fanning had recently confided to one woman that he might commit suicide. His drink at the pub also proved to have been fabricated, but physical evidence tying him to the murder was lacking.

Then, through interviews, it became clear that both pens from the murder site had recently been in Fanning’s possession: the broken one belonged to him (he had the clip) and he had borrowed the other pen from a co-worker the day before the murder. A recognizable pen missing from Boyne’s handbag was found in a pocket of Fanning’s shirt, hanging at his house. When Fanning was searched, detectives found a number of recent scratches on several areas of his body, as if from a struggle, as well as bloodstains on his trousers. Then a stash of letters indicated that Kay Boyne had

been trying to break up with him and he’d been fiercely resistant.

Arrested for murder, he went to trial.

There, Fanning offered a confession, showing that whatever violence had occurred had been outside his consciousness—he had simply reacted from desperation. In fact, a medical examination indicated a physical anomaly that his defense used to buttress his apparent insanity: Fanning’s heart and liver were transposed—each was where the other should have been. Two medical experts testified that this congenital defect was associated with mental deficiency. The prosecutor had a difficult time proving there had been an intent to kill and the defense countered that since Fanning worked as a chemist’s assistant, he could easily have poisoned Kay if he had intended her harm. The homicide appeared to have been a tragic over-reaction.

After an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury found Fanning guilty but recommended mercy, as there was no evidence of malice aforethought. He received death, but this was later commuted to life. Lawlor found

himself rethinking his notions about motive, noting the tragedy in someone’s life of one false step, fueled by overwhelming emotional intensity. “Murder is murder … yet there are cases in which one feels that a line of demarcation may be drawn.”

Superintendent George Lawlor had a stellar career, working long hours for the Garda and incorporating every scientific innovation about which he learned. He offered advice freely to others who asked, and when he died in January 1961, he was consulting on a case for an inspector general from India. Despite his apparent obscurity, Lawlor deserves recognition as an early role model for an entire police force and an eminent advocate for the use of science in law enforcement.

References Reddy, T. (1991). The murder file: An Irish detective’s casebook. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.

Reddy, T. (2005). Murder will out. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.

Thorwald, J. (1964). The century of the detective. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. n

About the Author Katherine Ramsland, PhD, CMI-V, has published 33 books, including True Stories of CSI and Beating the Devil’s Game: A History of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation. Dr. Ramsland is an associate professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania and has been a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners since 1998.

For Most People, College is a Waste of Time

By Charles Murray, Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal Imagine that America had no system of postsecondary education, and you were a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch.

One of your colleagues submits this proposal: First, we will set up a single goal to represent educational success, which will take 4 years to achieve no matter what is being taught. We will attach an economic reward to it that seldom has anything to do with what has been learned. We will urge large numbers of people who do not possess adequate ability to try to achieve the goal, wait until they have spent a lot of time and money, and then deny it to them.

32 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

© 2008 Dow Jones & Company

We will stigmatize everyone who doesn’t meet the goal. We will call the goal a “BA.” You would conclude that your colleague was cruel, not to say insane. But that’s the system we have in place.

Finding a better way should be easy. The BA acquired its current inflated status by accident. Advanced skills for people with brains really did get more valuable over the course of the twentieth century, but the acquisition of those skills got conflated with the existing system of colleges, which had evolved the BA for completely different purposes. www.acfei.com

Certification is the Solution Outside a handful of majors—engineering and some of the sciences—a bachelor’s degree tells an employer nothing except that the applicant has a certain amount of intellectual ability and perseverance. Even a degree in a vocational major like business administration can mean anything from a solid base of knowledge to four years of barely remembered gut courses.

The solution is not better degrees, but no degrees. Young people entering the job market should have a known, trusted measure of their qualifications they can carry into job interviews. That measure should express what they know, not where they learned it or how long it took them. They need a certification, not a degree.

The model is the CPA exam that qualifies certified public accountants. The same test is used nationwide. It is thorough—four sections, timed, totaling 14 hours. A passing score indicates authentic competence (the pass rate is below 50%). Actual scores are reported in addition to pass/fail, so that employers can assess where the applicant falls in the distribution of accounting competence.

You may have learned accounting at an anonymous online university, but your CPA score gives you a way to show employers you’re a stronger applicant than someone from an Ivy League school.

The merits of a CPA-like certification exam apply to any college major for which the BA is now used as a job qualification. To name just some of them: criminal justice, social work, public administration and the many separate majors under the headings of business, computer science and education.

Such majors accounted for almost twothirds of the bachelor’s degrees conferred in 2005. For that matter, certification tests can be used for purely academic disciplines.

Why not present graduate schools with certifications in microbiology or economics— and who cares if the applicants passed the exam after studying in the local public library?

Certification tests need not undermine the incentives to get a traditional liberal-arts education. If professional and graduate schools want students who have acquired one, all they need do is require certification scores in the appropriate disciplines. Students facing such requirements are likely to get a much better liberal education than even our most elite schools require now.

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Certification tests will not get rid of the problems associated with differences in intellectual ability: People with high intellectual ability will still have an edge. Graduates of prestigious colleges will still, on average, have higher certification scores than people who have taken online courses—just because prestigious colleges attract intellectually talented applicants.

But that’s irrelevant to the larger issue.

Under a certification system, 4 years is not required, residence is not required, expensive tuitions are not required, and a degree is not required. Equal educational opportunity means, among other things, creating a society in which it’s what you know that makes the difference. Substituting certifications for degrees would be a big step in that direction.

The incentives are right. Certification tests would provide all employers with valuable, trustworthy information about job applicants. They would benefit young people who cannot or do not want to attend a traditional 4-year college. They would be welcomed by the growing post-secondary online educational industry, which cannot offer the halo effect of a BA from a traditional college, but can realistically promise their students good training for a certification test—as good as they are likely to get at a traditional college, for a lot less money and in a lot less time.

Certification tests would disadvantage just one set of people: Students who have gotten into well-known traditional schools, but who are coasting through their years in college and would score poorly on a certification test. Disadvantaging them is an outcome devoutly to be wished.

No technical barriers stand in the way of evolving toward a system where certification tests would replace the BA. Hundreds of certification tests already exist, for everything from building code inspectors to advanced medical specialties.

The problem is a shortage of tests that are nationally accepted, like the CPA exam.

But when so many of the players would benefit, a market opportunity exists. If a high-profile testing company such as the Educational Testing Service were to reach a strategic decision to create definitive certification tests, it could coordinate with major employers, professional groups and nontraditional universities to make its tests the gold standard. A handful of key decisions could produce a tipping effect. Imagine if Microsoft announced it would henceforth require scores on a certain battery of certification tests from all of its programming applicants. Scores on that battery would acquire instant credibility for programming job applicants throughout the industry.

An educational world based on certification tests would be a better place in many ways, but the overarching benefit is that the line between college and noncollege competencies would be blurred. Hardly any jobs would still have the BA as a requirement for a shot at being hired.

Opportunities would be wider and fairer, and the stigma of not having a BA would diminish.

Most important in an increasingly classriven America: The demonstration of competency in business administration or European history would, appropriately, take on similarities to the demonstration of competency in cooking or welding. Our obsession with the BA has created a two-tiered entry to adulthood, anointing some for admission to the club and labeling the rest as second-best.

Here’s the reality: Everyone in every occupation starts as an apprentice. Those who are good enough become journeymen. The best become master craftsmen. This is as true of business executives and history professors as of chefs and welders. Getting rid of the BA and replacing it with evidence of competence —treating post-secondary education as apprenticeships for everyone—is one way to help us to recognize that common bond. n

The essay printed above is adapted from Charles Murray’s new book, Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality (Crown Forum). In the book, Murray presents an argument that the current higher education system is outdated and needs extensive overhaul. He says that many students would be better served by attending trade schools or working for certifications rather than going deeply into debt for a costly Bachelor of Arts degree.

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 33

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Attention Forensic Educators The Commission on Forensic Education The Commission on Forensic Education, developed by The American College of Forensic Examiners, emphasizes the importance of forensic science programs in education and is committed to their expansion. The Commission offers guidance on instruction, provides help to those who teach or study forensic science, and reviews professional certification programs. The Commission is an effective and essential network that helps educators and students stay informed of the latest innovations, breakthroughs, and important research in the field. Commissioner membership is open to college and university administrators and full-time, part-time, and adjunct professors; Associate Commissioner membership is open to high school science teachers. The Commission helps educators advance the field and inspire future forensic professionals through providing supportive services: • Helping educators network with fellow teaching professionals and top experts in the field.

• Teaching potential students about the importance and the benefits of studying forensic science.

To join the commission, apply • Giving members a highly visible forum to publish and distribute their research. online at www.forensiccommission.com • Helping members stay current in a constantly evolving field by providing quality or call Anna at (800) 592-1399 continuing education.

• Providing certification programs that recognize achievement.

36 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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Jason Khoury Sharon J. Koch Ben Kohen-Kadosh Alex Kwechansky Joseph A. Langevin Daniel LaPadula Nika E. Larsen Trisha Latimer William S. Leach Paul S. Leonard Morgan Liddell Stacey M. Loggins John J. Lukaszewski Jr. Carlos J. Maggi John F. Magino Jessica D. Majors Mark A. Manzi Donovan P. Martin Kevin Maloney McIntyre Rudy Medrano Sandy Miller Michael S. Morton Jacqueline A. Olsen Thomas Olzak Ruth E. Ortolf Debra A. Ough

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New Diplomates Alireza Bagherian Stuart S. Hart Syed Shoaib H Shah

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New Life Members Marcus O. Durham Yvette M. Killian Christopher W. Reid Elizabeth L. Salley

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 37

Books by ACFEI Members

s True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show, by Katherine Ramsland

s Disaster Archaeology, by Richard A. Gould

s The Exam Cram 2: CISSP, by Michael Gregg

s Witness Preparation for Deposition and Witness Preparation for Trial, by Jan Mills Spaeth

True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show

Disaster Archaeology

By Katherine Ramsland, PhD

“Closure … is a universal human experience in which emotions surrounding uncertainties about the fate of a relative or friend lost in a disaster are resolved to some degree by identification of the victim through physical evidence.”

Richard A. Gould, author of Disaster Archaeology, has produced a work that not only acts as a primer on disaster archaeology and its many applications, but that also communicates his passion for the truth—a passion with which all forensic professionals are familiar.

Gould opens with a chapter defining disaster archaeology and goes on to discuss the prominent role of this demanding but important work during an era in which massive natural disasters and horrifying terrorist attacks have befallen our nation. Disaster archeology is particularly difficult because the task requires identifying remains while the physical and emotional effects of the disaster are still being felt. There are not thousands of years buffering scientist from subject—the deceased are members of the same society as the investigators.

Additional chapters discuss cases in a variety of locations—including the United States, Russia, even underwater—under a variety of circumstances: the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, an investigation in human rights violations from decades ago, a fire in a nightclub, and even prehistoric cannibalism. Gould samples the vast range of applications for forensic archaeology. Beyond simply educating his readers, Gould inspires with his dedication of bringing closure to those who have already been through too much.

Richard A. Gould is a professor of anthropology at Brown University and led full recoveries at the Station nightclub fire scene in Rhode Island. He is the author of Recovering the Past and Archaeology and the Social History of Ships. He is currently vice president and treasurer of Forensic Archaeology Recovery (FAR), a volunteer team based in Rhode Island.

Gould has been a member of the ACFEI since 2007 and is currently serving on the Commission on Forensic Education.

True Stories of CSI answers the question every fan of the TV show asks from time to time: “Could that really happen?” Katherine Ramsland takes us case-by-case through episodes that not only could happen, but did, detailing the real-life crimes that inspired some of the more shocking episodes of the show.

Each chapter opens with a brief description of an episode of CSI, then goes on to reveal the story of an actual crime that is disturbingly similar.

Ramsland’s work is notable not only for making the connection of fact to fiction that satisfies the curiosity of so many viewers, but also for her own natural storytelling ability.

Ramsland often lays the crime out chronologically, allowing her readers to experience the same twisting journey that police and forensic investigators took. Often, the revelation of new evidence points an investigation in a different direction or sows doubt in what seemed to be an open-and-shut case.

Ramsland brings us face to face with the cruel and calculating criminals that perpetrated such heinous crimes. These are not the creations of a team of writers, but actual people—liars, narcissists, psychopaths—dangerous criminals who once walked freely in our society.

Ramsland also brings to light the actual practice of forensic science. She examines the methods that brought these criminals to justice—technology that has been evolving at a break-neck pace these past decades, criminal justice procedure that determines the pace of the investigation, and even the coincidences that led police to the evidence that would name a killer and put him behind bars for life. These cases do not wrap up in a neat package in 60 minutes minus commercial breaks, but they definitely open the reader up to the real world of crime scene investigation.

Katherine Ramsland’s multiple degrees include a master’s in forensic psychology. She is the author of more than two dozen books and currently teaches forensic psychology as an assistant professor at DeSales University in Pennsylvania. Visit her Web site at www.katherineramsland.com.

Ramsland has been a member of the ACFEI since 1999, is a Certified Medical Investigator, and was a presenter at the 2007 ACFEI Conference.

38 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

By Richard A. Gould

The Exam Cram 2: CISSP

By Michael Gregg The Exam Cram 2: CISSP is a fast-paced presentation of facts—excellent in assisting any information systems security professional with the review www.acfei.com

he or she needs to perform well on the Certified Information Systems Security Profession, CISSP, exam.

Chapter topics run the gambit from physical security to cryptography, telecommunications to business continuity planning. In addition to the important facts that comprise the chapters, each chapter also contains various teaching tools including “hot lists” of crucial terms and concepts; alerts regarding the actual exam; tips, notes, and sidebars for additional information; and a “Need to Know More?” section that references additional sources of information.

Exam Cram 2 will prepare you not only with the information you’ll need to answer the questions correctly on the test, but also information regarding the exam itself with tips that will help test-takers reach their full potential on this exam, as well as practice questions in each chapter and two full practice exams at the end of the book. There is even a tear-out cram sheet that lists the most important facts for last-minute preparation and a CD with the preview edition of exam-simulation software.

Exam Cram 2: CISSP is the perfect marriage of a thorough presentation of information and tried and true education practices. Anyone preparing for the CISSP exam and anyone looking to expand their knowledge in the Information Security Systems field would do well to pick up this book.

Michael Gregg has more than 20 years of experience in the IT field. He holds multiple degrees and many certifications, including CISSP. He has consulted and taught for many Fortune 500 companies. He is a member of the ACFEI as well as the Texas Association for Educational Technology, and he has been a member of the ACFEI since 2004.

Witness Preparation for Deposition and Witness Preparation for Trial

By Jan Mills Spaeth, PhD

Perhaps more than in any other field, forensic professionals are called upon to contribute to courtroom proceedings. For those new to the process of serving as a witness and for those interested in improving the quality of their testimonies, Jan Mills Spaeth, along with the American Bar Association, has produced a two-DVD series to address preparation for both depositions and trials.

Witness Preparation For Deposition begins with a brief discussion of what can be expected at a deposition, as well as the purpose of the deposition.

Spaeth communicates valuable information to the viewer by expanding on the degree to which a deposition can influence the following trial, or even (800) 592-1399

influence whether a case goes to trial or is settled out of court.

Witness Preparation for Trial has a similar opening that explores not only what will be expected of a witness, but also what the witness will see and how the witness can expect the lawyers, judge, and jury to act.

Both DVDs cover Spaeth’s method of answering questions that, if followed, will allow the witness to avoid giving incorrect or misleading answers.

Spaeth then discusses the 10 critical qualities all credible witnesses must present, including competence, conciseness, and clarity.

Throughout the discussion, the DVDs include dramatized examples of witnesses, lawyers, judges, and jurors. Spaeth has produced a program that not only tells, but shows witnesses how to conduct themselves. This method of presentation makes the learning process more effective. Spaeth also gives viewers inside information—an expert’s perspective of the courtroom—so that witnesses can understand how their behavior will be perceived by attorneys, judges, and juries. Throughout the DVDs, Spaeth points out critical missteps that witnesses must not make in order to avoid being admonished by the judge, or, in severe cases, to avoid causing a mistrial.

These DVDs are essential for everyone who is called upon as a witness—both those new to the process and those with experience who want to establish themselves as credible and valuable witnesses.

Jan Mills Spaeth, PhD, has been a member of ACFEI since 1996. She has written extensively on legal issues, particularly jury selection, trial simulations, witness preparation, and case strategy.

Spaeth has been an educator for the University of Arizona and numerous colleges, and she has been a frequent guest on many television and radio talk shows and news broadcasts. Her Web site is www.azjuryresearch.com n

s Katherine Ramsland

s Richard A. Gould

s Michael Gregg

s Jan Mills Spaeth

Have a book you would like reviewed?

Mail it to:

Editor; The Forensic Examiner; 2750 E. Sunshine St.; Springfield, MO 65804 Be sure to include a press release.

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 39

Hayes d e e R a and

nett

on Ian

By Kim

40 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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Handwritten material often shows red flags for negative behavior that might not be detected through more traditional investigative techniques.

This cutting-edge risk assessment tool provides a discreet and unobtrusive way of validating hunches and gleaning useful information about suspected deceivers, assisting in the implementation of alternative possibilities in investigations.

Handwriting analysis is a comparatively quick analyses are admittedly brief and are not intended method of peering into a subject’s mind and is esto be exhaustive studies. However, additional propecially useful in detecting devious and potentially files that are interactive and more in-depth are availdangerous or risky behavior. The following samples able at http://www.trialrun.com/id4u/profiles.html. illustrate this method of predicting and tracking beHandwriting, being closely tied to one’s brain havior, revealing how the writer/suspect was feeland emotional responses, illustrates a person’s state ing at the time of the writing, as well as showing of mind at the moment pen is placed to paper. long-term behavioral patterns.

As moods and circumstances change, so the writThis dynamic method was developed and testing will change, often subtly, but sometimes more ed over a period of 10 years by the authors of dramatically. This calls for the evaluation of more this article, graphologist Kimon Iannetta and Dr. than one sample of writing for added accuracy James Craine, head of Neuropsychology Services and insight, whenever possible. This also permits Department at Hawaii State the analyst to consider the writing Hospital in Kaneohe, Hawaii. over a period of time, which can The basics regarding risk evaluaadd further clues to the investigation through handwriting are pretion process or contribute to betsented here. However, readers are ter understanding of crimes after encouraged to consider Iannetta’s the fact.

Danger Between the Lines, a resource manual pertaining specifiMichael Jackson cally to the evaluation of risk and The handwriting of Michael violence potential that resulted Jackson is clearly reflective of exfrom the Hawaii study. To help treme changes over many years. flesh out a useful profile of any Among the obvious benefits of subject, it is also recommended s Peculiar mood shift. graphological assessment is that that readers use the full set of 124 Forensic Profiling the subject need not be present when the examiCards (some of which are illustrated here), which nation takes place and, in fact, does not even have include all of the danger signs as well as the facilito participate in any testing procedure. There is, tators and inhibitors to dangerousness identified therefore, little chance that the material to be exby the study. Also recommended is Hayes’ Between amined will be consciously or deliberately altered the Lines, which covers a full range of graphological in hopes of creating a certain result. Drawbacks material outside the criminal context. include limited samples of writing—perhaps writProfiles of subjects presented herein are designed ten under adverse conditions—or the evaluation of to illustrate specific handwriting indicators and how written material produced after a crime has already they can manifest in individuals’ behavior. The been committed. The competence of the analyst

s Signature from early in Jackson’s career: self-protection shown in the encircled name; final n creates a barrier between self and the world.

s Although still self-protective (partially encircled name) Jackson has declared himself a star by the final burst of fireworks.

s Eccentric, exaggerated signature at the time of marriage to Lisa Marie Presley.

Taken from the marriage license, the unattractive signature looks like a jellyfish, revealing his need to hide or conceal, and covers much of the page, showing egotism and feelings of grandiosity.

s Publicly upbeat (rising baseline), privately turbulent (note tightly retraced stroke where marked)

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 41

s Jackson’s signature during his 2004 trial for child molestation fills the entire page, revealing his bigger than life self image; twisted upper zone formation shows distorted thinking and morals; excessively high M and n arches denote delusions of grandeur and compensation for feelings of self-doubt; poorly formed, variable midzone letters (“ichael,” “ackson”) suggest inability to deal clearly with everyday issues.

may also be a contributing factor as to the accuracy of the evaluation.

No analysis should be based on one or two factors or an individual finding in the writing. Rather, the writing must be carefully weighed and evaluated by taking all signs into consideration. People— including criminals—are complex. Red flags should be considered for both frequency and intensity, and positive factors should be weighed against negative.

It is to be noted that there is no specific “criminal type” as identified by handwriting, as crimes and other negative behavior come about for a variety of reasons. There are nevertheless many writing clues that, when considered as a whole, are highly valuable in determining perpetrators’ characters and the motivating factors behind their misdeeds.

Red flags A red flag with respect to one’s emotional state is when the writing lines sink downward. This is suggestive of a depressed mood likely accompanied by negative thoughts, which dampens the person’s energy and enthusiasm and may contribute to negative or desperate behavior. Note, however, that 42 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

downhill lines can be a temporary sign that may show up as a result of fatigue or illness and then disappear as the individual becomes rested. (More than one writing sample is obviously required.) Also, this is not necessarily an indicator of suicidal ideation.

It is nevertheless clearly evident in the writing of Charles Bishop, the teenager who believed Osama Bin Laden to be justified in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and who subsequently flew a small plane into a Florida building.

In some instances it is relatively easy to detect mental instability from writing, as in the case of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. His unstable, disorganized character is clear in the erratic letter forms and spacing, variable slant and pressure, tangled lines, cross-outs, and rambling language. The writing is devoid of controls.

On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the writing (opposing page) of a long-time underworld hit man, which at first glance seems “normal” or “nice.” In this case, the rigidly perfect writing shows a façade of strength, masculinity, and over-control. There is no flexibility, no give, to the writer’s thoughts and emotions. Along with these indications are the multiple angles that may not at first be evident, revealing intense anger, especially considering the heavy pressure of the writing which represents intensity of feeling. His “job” as a hit man is a perfect vent for the inner rage and hostility that dominate his life.

Every exaggeration in handwriting is symbolically representative of the extreme views and outlook of the subject: whether the writing is too slack or overly rigid; has exaggerated spacing, size or pressure; or contains repeatedly odd forms. Unusual and unique symbols all reflect the dance of the mind as the writer leaves behind footprints that are easily tracked and deciphered. If the symbols are aesthetic, well-formed, and supported by other positives, they may indicate talent or special skills, but if visually unpleasant and combined with negative factors, can reveal obsessions or odd thinking.

Frequently criminals use a personal pronoun I (PPI) that deviates strongly from the copybook model. This letter, symbolic of one’s self-image, is often distorted or unusual in some way, pointing toward an odd or disrupted view of self which, when accompanied by other negative signs, can facilitate criminal behavior. (See Forensic Profiling Cards D-1, Page 44.)

Charles Ng, serial killer Serial killer Charles Ng wrote twisted, awkward personal pronoun I’s. Ng, along with Leonard Lake, is suspected of murdering up to 25 people at Lake’s ranch in Calaveras County, California in the early 1980s. Ng’s creativity was instrumental in building a complete torture chamber where the two filmed themselves raping and abusing their www.acfei.com

victims, most of them women. Ng was convicted of 11 of the murders—those of six men, three women, and two baby boys—and is presently on death row awaiting execution. Ng’s personal pronoun I is contorted, showing a distorted self-image.

The downstroke of the letter is bent, suggesting a twisted “backbone” and a perverted approach that contributed to his ability and willingness to bond with Lake. The i dots are repeatedly made like slashes, indicative of deeply rooted hostility, expressed in this extreme case as rage and cruelty.

Down-slanted crossbars (see t in “best”) reveal a need to dominate and control. At the same time, Ng had little control over his own urges and emotions as the variable slant and pressure patterns of his writing attest. Lower loops that pull strongly to the left are suggestive of regressive, underdeveloped, or odd sexual attitudes.

Broken letters The writing of criminals sometimes contains broken or segmented letters, suggesting weak boundaries between conscious thought and unconscious drives. This implies that the “current is broken.” It is often seen in the writing of those who are dishonest or able to compartmentalize their lives; in some instances the person leads a double life. (Note: Care must be taken to determine that the breaks are not the result of a faulty pen. Also, this sign is at times a reflection of physical health issues, particularly if the writing in general is tremulous or uncertain. Breaks between individual letters do not count here.)

s Charles Bishop, teenager who flew a plane into a Florida building.

s Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

s Underworld hit man—“persona writing” designed to hide and impress

s The writing of former Enron CEO Ken Lay displays segmented letters. s The writing of murderer Charles Ng displays a distorted pronoun “I”.

Segmented letters are clearly evident in the writing of Ken Lay, best known for his role in the corruption scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation.

CEO and chairman of Enron from 1986 until his resignation on January 23, 2002, Lay became synonymous with corporate abuse and accounting fraud when the scandal broke in 2001. He was found guilty of securities fraud and related charges and could have faced 20 to 30 years in prison, but he died of heart failure before his scheduled sentencing.

Lay’s rather firm personal pronoun I denotes confidence and independent thinking, supported by printscript suggestive of self-control. The repeated angular formations of the t’s that look like flags or sails and reach into the upper zone of the intellectual arena point toward strategic thinking and an ability to see (800) 592-1399 423-9737

various angles of situations. Rather closely dotted i’s indicate attentiveness to detail. However, segmented letters (especially lower case a’s) denote poor integration and a propensity for devious, dishonest behavior so that the right hand did not know what the left was doing. Variable emotions and responses are implied by fluctuation in slant and letter size. Tangled lines imply confused thinking and poor judgment despite Lay’s ability to strategize. (Note that Charles Ng’s writing also contains segmented letters.)

Beth Friedman Writing formations often referred to as “felon’s claws” are frequently seen in the writing of unsavory, dishonest characters.

s A mugshot of Sirhan Sirhan

Winter Fall 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 43

s Psychological Implications: The personal pronoun ‘I’ is directly connected to the individual’s self-image. Distortions of this letter suggest in one’s self-concept. The writer has an odd, unique, or distorted self-image (according to the individual shape, size, etc. of the letter) and may exhibit compulsive behavior patterns. This may indicate talents and unique abilities (when accompanied by positive indicators) or pathological obsessions (when accompanied by negative indications). Philosophies and/ or behavior may be altered to serve the writer’s own emotional needs.

These claws are evident in the handwriting of Beth Friedman, a 54-year-old Florida school teacher convicted of having improper sexual relations with one of her male students over an extended period of time. Underhanded behavior is suggested in the claw-like lower loops that are repeated in the personal pronoun I. As noted above, distortion of this letter indicates a poorly developed sense of self, particularly when combined with the childish nature of her writing indicative of a mentality that is not much more advanced than that of her students. Wide distances between words portray emotional isolation and difficulty forming intimate relations.

s A mugshot of Charles Ng

s A mugshot of Eric Rudolph

Martin James Kipp, rapist & killer Distorted lower zone formations are seen in the writing of rapist and serial killer Martin James Kipp, above. Kipp was the son of a prostitute who abandoned him at the age of 22 months. He was adopted by relatives and raised by an alcoholic “father” who often beat him in public. Kipp joined the Marine Corps, where he won divisional honors in boxing. In 1981 he was accused of abducting and raping a woman and, rather than face charges, went AWOL. He was eventually captured and sen-

44 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

tenced but released from prison after serving only 19 months. In 1983 he beat, raped and strangled a young woman in a savage attack, and struck again 15 months later, leaving another victim strangled.

The seemingly innocuous words of Kipp’s writing sample might appeal to some young lady seeking the perfect, well established partner, but the slowly written, artificial handwriting screams danger.

Although the writing is clearly designed to impress, the bizarre lower loops show contorted, angry views and attitudes related to sexual fantasy. The personal pronoun I is angular and hooked, revealing intense anger closely connected to his self-image. Clubbed writing strokes that plunge heavily downward show brutality and relentless urges, especially when combined with heavy pressure, an indication of deepseated emotions and lasting thoughts and feelings.

Odd, disconnected formations (for example, the f ’s) reveal forbidden thoughts and desires, all carefully hidden by near perfect midzone letter forms and an exactly straight baseline which together constitute a façade constructed to make an impression.

Kipp has few social boundaries and, given his lack of social skills, his victims were generally taken by surprise in places such as dark parking lots. His murders were especially brutal.

Eric Rudolph, Olympic Park Bomber Eric Rudolph, who committed a series of bombings across the southern United States in the 1990s that killed three and injured at least 150 others, also writes distorted lower zone structures. Rudolph was connected with the Christian Identity movement: a militant, racist, and anti-Semitic organization. He declared that his bombings were part of a guerrilla campaign against abortion, which he described as “the homosexual agenda.” The distorted lower loops of Rudolph’s writing pull strongly to the left, representative of the past and, more specifically, mother. The script is highly connected, which denotes one whose thoughts are compulsive and unbroken—once started on an idea or plan, there was no turning back. Rigidly braced initial strokes reveal deep-seated resentment—unresolved anger from the distant past—while ground-in dots (after “planet” and “mother”) denote explosive anger.

Down-slanted cross bars such as those in “task,” “most,” and “significant” show a need to dominate and control while retraced upper loops suggest restrictive, narrow morals. The smallness of the writing lends focus and concentration, as do the relatively well placed i dots. Disappointment or www.acfei.com

depression is shown in words that sink downward (see “mother” and “whether”).

Aileen Wuornos, serial killer Club formations, also very negative, are evident in the handwriting of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who shot her “Johns” at point-blank range. She was filled with rage and aggression as indicated by her exceptionally sharp, spiked writing style full of club-like strokes (see markings) and all held under wraps by repression (tightly squeezed letters) until the point of explosion. Strong focus is shown in the concentrated, rather careful writing.

Precisely placed t crosses add to detail-mindedness and also show strong willpower at times amounting to brutality, hence the clubbed forms. Letters that jut below the baseline point to negative unconscious motivations and aggressive behavior, intensified by letters growing successively larger.

The personal pronoun I’s are rigid, retraced, and unpleasant, and the upper loop formations are constricted, showing limited or undeveloped ethics.

Christine Falling, trusted nanny Christine Falling, whose writing contains twisted upper loops, killed a number of children (she often said she “loved them to death”) and an elderly person who had been placed in her care. Her killing method of choice was, as she called it, “smotheration” in response to voices chanting, “Kill the baby” after which she simply reported that the child had “stopped breathing.” Distorted ethics (twisted upper zone forms) and odd ideas (bizarre letters such as g in “everything” and “anything”) are seen along with poor self-worth (disrupted personal pronoun I, low t crosses, and primarily midzone script). Ground-in dots denote anger and obsessive thinking. Essentially midzone writing with undeveloped upper loops implies a limited outlook and no sense of ultimate consequences.

Susan Smith, who drowned her two sons Susan Smith seat-belted her two young sons into her car and pushed it into a lake where they drowned, after which she claimed they were kid(800) 592-1399

napped by a black man. The writing is exceptionally mundane (shown by a predominant midzone), immature (childlike writing style), and repressed (squeezed, retraced letters), which together reflects lack of discrimination and self-understanding. Its carefulness is indicative of a façade of normalcy and a desire to create a certain impression. Poorly defined morals are reflected in the stunted upper loops, and exceptional self-underestimation in the very low t crosses. As desperation took hold, Smith probably felt there was no other way out than to eliminate her children from her troubled life.

O.J. Simpson Orenthal J. Simpson, known as “O.J.” or “The Juice” is one of the most famous running backs in American football history, and was winner of the Heisman trophy. In 1995, Simpson was acquitted in criminal court of the double murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. In 1997, he was found liable for their deaths in civil court, but to date has not paid the judgment. In 2007, he was arrested and charged with making an armed attack for an incident involving his efforts to recover sports memorabilia he regarded as “stolen.” A jury convicted Simpson on all charges and he was awaiting sentencing at the time of this article’s publication.

s Psychological Implications: Segmented (broken) letters suggest weak boundaries between conscious thought processes and unconscious drives and urges. The writer lacks integration and is incongruent in emotional or ideational processes. Broken letters indicate the writer’s deficiency in handling situations with moral distinction or judgement. The writer may have little regard for laws or rules, and can be a law unto self. Broken letters in the personal pronoun ‘I’ and/or signature are especially significant, and are indicative of a serious disturbance in self-concept.

s A mugshot of Aileen Wuornos

s A mugshot of Christine Falling

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 45

dot after “now” (and others not shown here), and strong willpower is portrayed in firm cross bars.

Emotional turmoil is evident in the variable slant, letter size, and pressure patterns, augmented by the stressful cross-outs and corrections.

As earlier suggested, handwriting produced over a period of time can be instrumental in producing longitudinal studies of subjects. In the case of O.J. Simpson we have access to signatures that (with one exception) were written within a three-day time span during a traumatic phase of his life and reveal extremes of feeling during that time. The signatures work much like a lie detector or body language, only the dynamic thinking and personal symbols are preserved for continued study. In other cases (see Timothy McVeigh and Ted Kaczynski, below), writing samples show changes over a longer time span.

s Psychological Implications: Felon’s claws (backward claw formations) suggest sneaky, underhanded, devious, and irresponsible behavior. The claws imply that the writer’s “emotional cup” is never full and that the person feels starved for love. The person may seek emotional fulfillment in deviant ways.

This sign is suggestive of unresolved sexual desires, sexual guilt, tension and/or anxiety.

It connotes possible sexual aberration and/ or harsh, physically brutal sexual fantasies or practices, especially when combined with other strong negatives. It is frequently found in the handwriting of criminals.

s O.J. Simpson

The writing sample below is from the so-called suicide note written by Simpson after the murders and before the infamous car chase on the freeways of Los Angeles. The first statement of the sample appears to be a lie, as it is incomplete and improper. In fact, Simpson was unable to write that he did not murder Nicole. Additionally, there is exceptional anxiety in the cross-outs after the word “understand.” Extra wide spacing between “I” and “loved” denote pauses in thought, suggestive that perhaps he did not love Nicole after all. Segmented letters (see d in “loved”) show compartmentalized thinking and point to dishonesty. Out-of-place capitals (pop-up letters) reveal strong independence and self-assertion, intensified by words that grow larger (“understand,” “always,” “and”). Strange letter forms indicate odd thinking (b in “problem,” p in “despite”) verified by unclear letter formations (“weren’t” and “least”) and nonsensical statements (“for now we weren’t right for each other at least for now”). Explosive anger is revealed in the heavy

46 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

Signature 1: Written years before the murders, the signature proceeds rapidly forward, showing smooth mental and physical movement. The swings in the lower zone are easy and fluid, much like O.J.’s quick moves on the football field for which he was famous.

Signature 2: Written earlier on the night of the murders during the dance recital for O.J.’s and Nicole’s daughter Sidney. The signature pulls sharply leftward, hiding what lurked just beneath the surface—a symbolic knife blade written with heavy pressure showing intense feeling regarding that symbol. The knife formation appears to stab the downstroke of the assertive p stem, then forcefully changes direction and moves forward with speed, organization, and stealth right along and under the same path as the “son” portion of the signature, which lies in the conscious midzone.

These strokes rise upward and forward, becoming increasingly large and with added final thrust. The image portrays planning, thoughtfulness, organization, force and concealment.

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Signature 3: Penned that evening after the murders upon O.J.’s arrival at LAX Airport. Still pulling to the left, the implication is one of hiding and subterfuge. At the same time the signature races forward, with the knife blade formation in the s in “son” still dark in his mind, the vision still impressed in his head ... and racing to flee to safety.

Signature 4. Signed just before the infamous car chase. The “tic” (leftmost arrow) shows rage, while confusion and turmoil are evident in tangled formations and the midzone letters (representing the person’s reality) are squashed to nothing and turned upside down toward the end. This reflects an effort to hide while still running in circles, to find a way out of his waking nightmare.

Timothy McVeigh Three samples of Timothy McVeigh’s writing are provided. The first was written sometime before McVeigh carried out the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. The second sample (a personal note to his sister signed “Tim”) and the third were written while awaiting execution after being convicted of the bombing.

McVeigh grew up in a small town in upstate New York. His father, a blue collar worker who was employed making radiators, and his mother, a travel agent, were reportedly often absent during his formative years. In school he was considered outgoing, bright and talkative. According to biographical accounts, McVeigh loved guns at an early age and often took them to school. He is said to have spent hours by himself shooting at targets and dreaming of one day being in the special forces unit in the military.

After high school McVeigh joined the Army, where he served as an artilleryman. Those who recall his time in the military remember that he talk(800) 592-1399

ed incessantly. During the Gulf War he killed two enemy soldiers and bragged about it. He finished his tour in the Gulf and then wanted to become a Green Beret. However, frustrated over his failure to complete the required training, McVeigh became bitter and eventually turned his rage on the team he so wanted to be a part of.

He became a drifter, living in motels, frequenting gun shows, and growing increasingly bitter about the federal government and its control. He became outraged and started planning his personal protest when the FBI raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993—which happened exactly 2 years before the bombing in Oklahoma City—and he visited the site to demonstrate his anger over the raid. He witnessed the tanks used by the government on the Davidian compound as the same tanks he had driven in the Gulf War, which further inflamed his anger. This created the framework for the violence that would later erupt in Oklahoma City.

McVeigh chose to print. This reflects a desire to communicate clearly without revealing emotional content and also suggests an urge to be in control of his immediate environment. Printing often shows someone who is cautious about establishing and maintaining significant interpersonal relations and, with other signs, points to improper bonding and attachment. This often contributes to suspicion and doubt regarding others’ motives, particularly when wide spaces appear between words, indicative of a need for “elbow room.”

Overall, McVeigh’s rather consistent writing depicts intelligence, systematic thinking, and an ability to be shrewdly manipulative and controlling.

s Psychological Implications: Lower zone distortions point to unusual or disturbed physical or sexual desires. When strongly distorted, there amy be unconventional practices or sexual fantasies. Sexual confusion and/or emotional blocks are also implied.

s A mugshot of Susan Smith

s A mugshot of Timothy McVeigh

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 47

s Psychological Implications: Clubs indicate extreme decisiveness and/or forcefulness. Look for brutality or cruelty, especially when seen in conjunction with poor quality writing. It may indicate a “hit first, ask questions later” impulsiveness. When seen in the personal pronoun ‘I’ and/or signature, it suggests pervasive characterological anger (conscious or unconscious) and may indicate a disturbed self-concept.

The writing is organized and focused. Well-placed t crosses show precision, while relatively straight baselines denote self-control. Every i is dotted and every t crossed, so he would not miss any important details in any undertaking.

However, negative signs abound. Certain repeated structures in the writing reveal McVeigh’s obsession with unmet dependency needs. In particular, the g’s curl into a fetal position, as does the capital

48 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

T in the first signature. The y’s in the first sample are especially troublesome as they are angled and weapon-like, revealing aggressiveness and a hidden agenda. (As shown in the later writing samples, these angles disappeared after the bombing.) The unusually formed y and g structures reveal improper bonding and an overwhelming need for intimacy, yet emotional withdrawal is shown in the unnatural leftward pull, the wide distancing between words, and the linear printing style.

The signature is particularly revealing in that it is of an entirely different style than the text above it, a sign of conflict between inner desires and feelings and outward expressions. What you see is not necessarily what you get. The initial letter pulls far to the left, showing emotional withdrawal and preoccupation with the past.

Upon close examination, there are subtle characteristics that reflect special personal concerns and behaviors of this writer. Of particular note are the habitual reversals in direction of the writing at certain critical junctures. These occur with unique endings such as the “ut” and “nt” at the end of words. Similar backward formations are seen in “exists” and “which.” Contrary to normal, this denotes defiant, I’ll-do-it-my-way thinking, indicating that he is able to carry out his activities in a creative, unconventional manner.

Aggressive impulses are seen in club-like structures at the beginning of some downstrokes, especially visible when the writing is enlarged (see t in “arrest” and “tell”), in the angular y’s as previously noted, and letters that are written as X’s (in particular, the letter t). The expression of his violent urges is facilitated by the backward formations and outof-place capitals that reveal resistance to authority.

Further, he is able to compartmentalize his thoughts and desires because the writing contains segmented letters (Y in “York,” for example). It appears that McVeigh was ready for battle.

From McVeigh’s writing, we would recognize in advance, without knowing him or his violent crime, that he was an introverted person and an organized planner. He conceived ideas based on his personal belief system and carefully and accurately put things together with precision and perfection. His thinking style was obsessive and driven by strong, powerful feelings and a desire to act on them. He needed to communicate and did so clearly. McVeigh wanted to be important, yet felt rejected, and his final rejection resulted in retaliation.

The next two handwritings were written by McVeigh while in prison. The personal note was signed “Tim” as he felt comfortable with the recipient, his sister, with no need to impress her because he knew she loved him unconditionally.

The final note before his execution was signed with his affected signature but not so bold or extreme as before. What we are left with is still a lonewww.acfei.com

ly, intelligent, and organized man, maintaining his dignity and pride and ready for his own end. All of the anger apparent in the first letter had been expended with his grand finale/explosion, and he seemed to be at peace in comparison.

McVeigh

Sample

2,

note

to

his

sister

McVeigh Sample 3, shortly before his execution

s Psychological Implications: Thinking and morals may be distorted or strange. The writer may twist ideas or morals to fit his behavior or to justify his actions.

Osama bin Laden Another well-organized terrorist is Osama bin Laden, whose writing appears at right. Although the sample is of poor quality, it is nevertheless evident that the lines are straight and even, and the writing is arranged nicely on the page, indications of organized thought processes. As the text is written in Arabic, it moves from right to left.

Therefore, the right represents where he is coming from and the left is symbolic of his future, his goals. As the writing gradually moves away from the right margin and proceeds closely to the left edge of the paper, there is evidence that he is future-oriented and he is intent on meeting his aims. He sees the big picture and plans far ahead.

Bin Laden’s handwriting and signature (at right) are interesting pictorially, whether or not we are capable of deciphering the Arabic characters. Both are written with exceptional slowness, indicating careful calculation and deliberate movement suggestive of certainty and strong will. The enlarged size of the signature reveals tendencies toward megalomania and a desire to rule and prove himself. The two circles—black versus white, positive versus negative—show conflict and anxiety. The signature shape seems to symbolize a menacing insect or a rifle.

Translation (right to left) First line: Your brother in Islam; second line: Usama bin Mohamm Laden (signature) (800) 592-1399

s Osama bin Laden

Theodore John ‘Ted’ Kaczynski Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, commonly known as the Unabomber, is a convicted terrorist best known for his campaign of sending bombs to several universities and airlines from the late 1970s through early 1990s, which killed three and wounded 29.

s A mugshot of Ted Kaczynski

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 49

s Kaczynski Sample 1, many years before the bombings

s Kaczynski Sample 2, angry letter to friend

s Kaczynski Sample 3, letter to family member

s Kaczynski Sample 4, letter to potential girlfriend

s Kaczynski Sample 5, letter from prison

50 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

Charged with many federal offenses stemming from this activity, Kaczynski pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

While an infant, Kaczynski had a severe allergic reaction to medication. He was in the hospital for several weeks and allowed only infrequent visits from his parents, who were barred from holding their child. The once-happy baby was reportedly never the same. Afterwards, he became increasingly withdrawn and unresponsive to human contact.

According to various accounts, testing showed the young Kaczynski to have a high IQ, and records indicate that his academic performance throughout his early life was brilliant. As a result of his intelligence, he was allowed to skip the sixth grade, which he described as a pivotal event in his life.

He remembers not fitting in with the older children and being subject to verbal abuse and teasing from them.

Kaczynski did well academically in high school but reported some difficulty with mathematics in his sophomore year. He was subsequently placed in a more advanced math class and mastered the material. He then skipped the 11th grade so that he was able to graduate from high school two years early.

In the fall of 1958, at age 16, he was accepted as a student at Harvard.

At Harvard, Kaczynski was a volunteer test subject in personality-destruction experiments conducted by Harvard psychologist Dr. Henry A. Murray, a former CIA interrogation and psychological warfare expert, who was known to have experimented with multiple mind-altering drugs. The experiments, called “Dydactic Interaction Of Alienated Subjects” tested subjects’ beliefs and personality traits. The test results have since been sealed. Kaczynski later traced some of his emotional instability and fear of mind control to those tests. (Further details about these experiments are covered in Peter Vronsky’s highly recommended book, Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters.)

After graduation from Harvard in 1962, Kaczynski attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a master’s degree and a PhD in mathematics. There he began a research career, but he made few friends. One of his professors said, “It is not enough to say he was smart.” At Michigan he held a National Science Foundation fellowship, taught undergraduates for 3 years, and published articles related to his dissertation in mathematical journals. After he left Michigan, he published additional papers.

In 1967, Kaczynski was hired as an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, but his aloofness and reserve caused students to rate him poorly. Despite pleas from the department staff, he resigned without explanation in 1969. www.acfei.com

After resigning his position at Berkeley, Kaczynski held no permanent employment.

He lived a simple life in a remote shack on very little money, occasionally worked odd jobs, and he received some financial support from his family.

As with Timothy McVeigh, Kaczynski’s handwriting confirms his intelligence. The first sample of printing (produced many years before the bombings) is organized and well placed on the page. It is clear, direct, and efficient. The lines are even, spacing is consistent, and all dots and crosses are in place. Together, these factors denote clarity of thought and expression and an ability to think logically and with an eye toward important details. The exceptional consistency of the writing points to perfectionism, compulsion, and rigid self-control.

The signature (representing one’s outward expression, the face that is shown to the world) conforms closely to copybook writing, suggesting a desire to be seen as fitting in and seeming to adhere to what is expected.

Like the printed text, it is clear and relatively consistent. The i is carefully dotted, indicating care with details and specifics.

The additional samples reflect changes over the years. The awkwardly bent upper loops of sample two, along with the somewhat variable slant and baseline, show emotional stress and potential breakdown. This is a letter in which Kaczynski expressed anger to a friend he felt had betrayed him.

The third Kaczynski sample, written to a family member, is interesting in that it is a mixture of cursive and printing. The printed portions, which grow larger and bolder as they progress, are obviously produced for effect and emphasis. However, the authors note that a mix of writing styles within one sample is sometimes a facilitator to the expression of negative urges. It suggests sudden bursts of energy or self-assertion and is often accompanied by out-of-place capitals, which signals independence and defiant action. In this sample and the previous one, the personal pronoun I is more vertical than the rest of the script, again confirming independent thinking and a tendency toward withdrawal. The retraced upper portion of the letter portrays repression and a narrow philosophical outlook.

Sample four, less stable than the previous writings, is from a letter written to a potential girlfriend. While Kaczynski wanted a significant female in his life, he was never very comfortable with women and had difficulty communicating intimately with them. The variable slant and baselines show fluctuating (800) 592-1399

emotional responses. The personal pronoun I is changeable in size and slant, suggestive of a shifting self-image. Intense irritability and growing anger are seen in the jabbed dots and heavy punctuation. Segmented letters reveal disconnectedness or disassociation, allowing for compartmentalized thinking (see especially the g in “Although” and some of the y’s as in “any” and “celebicy”). Kaczynski’s difficulty with intimacy is confirmed by the rather small and/or incomplete lower loops of his writing, which imply emotional or sexual isolation. Wide word spacing also shows emotional distancing.

The final sample, penned after Kaczynski was imprisoned, is notable for the changes evident in the personal pronoun I. The bottom of this letter—its base and the symbolic foundation of the self—is relatively weak. This implies some lack of stability and personal strength, although this might be expected given the protected surrounding in which Kaczynski now finds himself. The writing remains organized, consistent, and focused, allowing him to cen-

ter his attention on reading and study. Feelings of isolation continue to show in the wide distances between words. It is evident that in fact Kaczynski needs the structure and stability of prison in order to “hold things together.” n

Handwriting indicators discussed herein are only a selection of the many risk factors that are potentially evident in handwritten material. As earlier indicated, the authors’ studies have determined that there are multiple signs revealing potential criminal behavior or violence, but it is imperative to consider all factors, both positive and negative, before reaching final conclusions.

Additional material regarding the use of written communication as an investigative tool may be found at http://www.trialrun.com, including more extensive interactive profiles of people known to have been dangerous or violent. Readers are encouraged to contact the authors for further information (see URL addresses below).

About the Authors Kimon Iannetta has three decades of experience working with law enforcement, security professionals, and human resources specialists. Her profiling techniques add another dimension in identifying high-risk potential in employees, patients, prisoners, and criminals. Additionally, her knowledge of graphology assists in tracking and targeting suspects and understanding timelines of criminal behavior. As the founder of Trial Run, she performs jury consultation, witness profiling and pre-trial evaluations for attorneys. Her most recent book is Handwritings & Drawings of Death Row Prisoners, which she uses as a textbook, along with her set of 124 Forensic Profiling Cards.

She is the author of Danger Between the Lines, a reference manual for profiling violent behavior, and its companion tool, and she provides tutoring and training sessions in the use of these resources. Iannetta is also the author of Precision Personnel Placement, a hiring and management tool for human resource professionals. She is a Life Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, a member of the American Society of Industrial Security, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Examiners. Her Web site is http://www.trialrun.com. Her books may be purchased at http://www.trialrun.com/id4u/buy_books.html.

Reed Hayes is a long-time graphologist who focuses his expertise on the examination of questioned handwriting and documents as well as the evaluation of handwriting for personnel screening purposes. He holds certifications from the International Graphoanalysis Society and the National Association of Document Examiners and has been a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute since 1992. Reed is the author and co-author of several articles and books including Forensic Handwriting Examination: A Definitive Guide (2006), Written in Crime (1995) and Between the Lines: Understanding Yourself and Others Through Handwriting Analysis (1993). He lectures extensively on various aspects of handwriting and currently teaches a distance course in questioned handwriting and document examination. His Web site is http://www.reedwrite.com.

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 51

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CE ARTICLE 2: To Shoot or Not to Shoot (pages 54–64) ATTENTION ACFEI MEMBERS: Journal-Learning CEs are now FREE when taken online. Visit www.acfei.com.

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KEY WORDS: shooting response, perpetrator, confrontation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the issue of weapon identification and of the difficulty involved in distinguishing weapons from innocuous objects under forensically-relevant circumstances. Demonstrate understanding of the situational and psychological dynamics underlying possible confusions of weapons and innocuous objects.

2. Describe how in controlled experiments, respondents were relatively ineffective at distinguishing weapons from innocuous objects and indicated strong tendencies to shoot at “perpetrators” either armed or carrying an innocuous object such as a power tool.

3. Describe how these results were obtained under idealized conditions, and that variables typically present in actual crime scenes would tend to reduce accuracy still further.

4. Tell how respondents in controlled experiments, although exhibiting strong tendencies to shoot perpetrators themselves, generally felt that police officers should not do so even under conditions crafted to require a shooting response on the part of police.

TARGET AUDIENCE: law enforcement officers, prosecutors, law officials PROGRAM LEVEL: update DISCLOSURE: The author has nothing to disclose.

PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT In recent research, we found that eyewitness memory and interpretation of crime scenes were less effective than anticipated. However, conditions which enhanced the feature-intensive processing of crime scenes tended to facilitate or improve both memory and interpretation. In the present study, abilities to evaluate potential hazard and appropriate police response to armed assailants were addressed under idealized laboratory conditions. Using methods established in previous work, and in consultation with experienced police field training officers, we developed scenes of situations involving armed assailants confronting victims. Using these scenes, it was shown that the majority of civilian respondents demonstrated very low capacity for distinguishing weapons from innocuous objects in context, even under ideal viewing conditions. However, respondents were in general personally willing to fire on what appeared to be an armed perpetrator, even if that “perpetrator” was holding a power tool rather than an actual weapon. In contrast, the vast majority of respondents was unwilling to accept a shooting response to the same situations on the part of police, even when the situations in question were rated by experienced police officers as absolutely requiring a shooting response to prevent loss of life. Results are considered in terms of the Gestalt/Feature-Intensive processing theory of cognition, and in terms of the ramifications of these findings for jury and public perceptions of officer involved shootings.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS

(Answer the following questions after reading the article)

1. Bartlett showed that mental representations: a. Remain static, but are nearly perfect records of reality. b. Remain static, but may exhibit diminished accuracy. c. Are significantly reconfigured and changed with time. d. May be relied on to represent reality under conditions of stress.

4. About ____% of college-student respondents felt that police officers, in situations crafted to require a shooting response 100% of the time, should fire. a. 100% b. 84-87% c. 11% d. 0%

2. We would anticipate the ability to distinguish weapons from other objects to: a. Improve under real-world, dynamic field conditions. b. Deteriorate under real-world, dynamic field conditions. c. Be identical across all conditions. d. Be related to honesty and integrity on the part of police officers.

5. What reasons did respondents give for suggesting that officers should not fire? a. Elaborate systems of rules of engagement. b. Need to assume or understand perpetrator motives. c. If they did fire, they should shoot an arm or leg to reduce harm. d. All of these.

3. In a controlled experiment, under idealized circumstances, college-student respondents on average confused a power screwdriver with a pistol: a. Most of the time. b. Less than 50% of the time. c. Approximately 11% of the time. d. Virtually never.

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 53

CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

Shoot NOT SHOOT: To

or

to

By Matthew J. Sharps and Adam B. Hess

Response and Interpretation of Response to Armed Assailants

n recent research, we found that eyewitness memory and interpretation of crime scenes were less effective than anticipated. However, conditions that enhanced the feature-intensive processing of crime scenes tended to facilitate or improve both memory and interpretation. In the present study, abilities to evaluate potential hazard and appropriate police response to armed assailants were addressed under idealized laboratory conditions. Using methods established in previous work, and in consultation with experienced police field training officers, we developed scenes of situations involving armed assailants confronting victims. Using these scenes, it was shown that the majority of civilian respondents demonstrated very low capacity for distinguishing weapons from innocuous objects in context, even under ideal viewing conditions. However, respondents were in general personally willing to fire on what appeared to be an armed perpetrator, even if that “perpetrator” held a power tool rather than an actual weapon. In contrast, the vast majority of respondents was unwilling to accept a shooting response to the same situations on the part of police, even when the situations in question were rated by experienced police officers as absolutely requiring a shooting response to prevent loss of life. Results are considered in terms of the Gestalt/Feature-Intensive processing theory of cognition, and in terms of the ramifications of these findings for jury and public perceptions of officer involved shootings.

When a police officer confronts an armed suspect, the officer’s choice of response must be made swiftly. Frequently, such decisions must be made in less than a second. During that time, many factors in the scene must be evaluated: the suspect’s motions; where the weapon is aimed; the presence of other people, including other potential suspects, and whether or not they are in the officer’s probable field of fire; and other potential sources of hazard, to self, to others, and to the suspect, in the immediate environment (e.g., Gelles, 2006; Montejano, 2004; Tietjen, 2004; Moore, 2006). This type of rapid cognitive processing is frequently required of law enforcement officers

54 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

under conditions of darkness or semidarkness. In addition, as is also the case in eyewitness identification situations, a given suspect’s weapon may be occluded or partially occluded by suspect clothing, posture, or structures behind which the suspect may have taken cover (e.g., Narby, Cutler, & Penrod, 1996; Sharps, Barber, Stahl, & Villegas, 2003). All of these factors contribute to the difficulty inherent in the rapid and pervasive cognitive processing involved.

In view of these extensive processing demands, errors in perception or cognitive processing are likely to be relatively frequent. In situations involving deadly force, such errors may of course result in tragedy. www.acfei.com

(800) 592-1399

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 55

s Author, Mathew J. Sharps holds a cordless electric power drill, similar to the tool that was often mistaken for a gun in a recent study.

56 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

A classic case of this type occurred in 1999 in New York City, when Amadou Diallo was shot and killed by New York City police officers (e.g., Gladwell, 2005). It must be noted that Diallo’s behavior was not typical for the innocent person, which he in fact proved to be. When challenged by plainclothes police, he ran. He was unresponsive to police commands, possibly because of language issues. During his flight from the police, Diallo attempted to escape through a door, and he apparently became increasingly agitated while attempting to open it. He began to dig in his pockets while turning his body away from the officers. Ultimately he drew what appeared to be a black object from a pocket, which he raised in the direction of the officers. At least one officer perceived the top of this object as the slide of a semi-automatic pistol.

The officers fired, with lethal effect. The object, as has been extensively publicized ever since (e.g., Lee, 2005), turned out to be a wallet.

This type of event, in which officers mistake a non-lethal object for a firearm, is not common in terms of occurrence per police contact, but the effect does exist and has been extensively reported.

Recently, a man in Tacoma, Washington, was shot and killed by police officers when he pointed a “small black cordless drill” directly at the officers after threatening to shoot them (Associated Press, 2007). In Central California alone, the authors are aware of a number of such instances involving a toy rocket, pellet guns, and—for perhaps incomprehensible reasons—a suspect who pointed a shoe at an officer from a position of cover behind a bed.

Many other instances might be cited, although it is not the purpose of the present article to present a catalog of such errors—there are, quite simply, a fairly large number of cases in which various relatively innocuous objects have been mistaken for firearms.

As noted above, extraordinary demands are placed on the cognitive and perceptual abilities of police officers in cases of gun violence. Public perception of these incidents, however, typically does not center on the cognitive or perceptual issues involved. In the prototypical case cited above, Diallo, presumably because of language issues, disobeyed police commands. Presumably also because of fear and emotional arousal, he ran from police and made motions similar to those that a bona fide suspect would make in drawing a weapon. All of this occurred quickly and under very limited viewing conditions from the standpoint of officers.

However, the officers’ error in shooting him was attributed, in many sources, to racism (see Gladwell, 2005, for extended discussion).

Accusations of racism and of failures of integrity are frequently made in such cases, explicitly or implicitly. In a recent example, the authors observed a number of ad hominem attacks, in local www.acfei.com

media and “on the street,” on the officers involved in the pellet gun case mentioned above; it seemed incomprehensible, to many people, that officers could possibly mistake a pellet gun for a real firearm in the dark. Yet, a pellet gun is specifically engineered to resemble a handgun. Various media and Web-based sources publish what amount to databases on police shootings, including those made under circumstances such as those cited above (e.g., Lee, 2005). The Diallo case even inspired a famous singer to write and perform a popular song (Gladwell, 2005).

Frequently, however, this media and popular attention has little or no basis in fact; while, as Gladwell points out, the Diallo case was not “exactly exemplary police work” (p. 197), “there was no evidence that the four officers in the Diallo case were bad people, or racists, or out to get Diallo” (p. 197).

For these reasons, it is suggested here that popular perception of these mistaken-object effects, at least in many cases, may have more to do with highly unrealistic public and mass-media expectations, and with popular ideas about deadly force, than with putative racism or integrity issues on the part of police. To mistake a black square object in the dark, such the top of a wallet, for the slide of a semi-automatic pistol, or to mistake a near-perfect, full-size pellet-firing facsimile of a firearm for the real thing, does not necessarily impugn the character of a given officer in question.

These considerations certainly do not excuse or justify unwarranted use of force; although it is certainly true that inappropriate or excessive use of force, including deadly force, does occur (e.g., Grossman, 1996), no sane person would condone or excuse the shooting of innocent persons under any circumstances. However, especially in view of the enormous professional, personal, and legal costs that frequently face officers in situations of genuine or alleged wrongful death, it seems unlikely that the most parsimonious explanation of the majority of these errors is lack of integrity on the part (800) 592-1399

of the police. It seems probable that these errors more typically result from fundamental characteristics of the human nervous system, when under heightened stress.

But where deliberate malfeasance or integrity issues are absent, where do these errors come from?

Although the effects are complex, diminished perceptual and cognitive resources may, of course, result from the physiological arousal that derives from danger and from physical effort, such as that involved in a foot chase (e.g., Clifford & Scott, 1978; Morgan et al., 2004). There are broad individual differences in such effects; some people function better under stress, including the stress of violence, than others (e.g., Grossman, 1996), for reasons that have not yet been fully elucidated. Yet law enforcement officers are typically selected from, and selfselect into, groups of people who have undergone rigorous training, an important purpose of which is to reduce negative psychological response to high levels of arousal. It seems, in short, that some other basic characteristics of the human nervous system are likely to be involved in the generation of these errors.

In fact, even in the absence of identifiable stress or danger, people in general may exhibit remarkably poor performance in describing what they have seen, and in deciding on appropriate actions based on their observations. Studies in our laboratory have addressed the ability of respondents to

s Amadou Diallo

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 57

“What we see is not necessarily what we ‘get’ at deeper levels—semiautomatic pistols may become revolvers in the elastic workings of the mind, blue Chevrolet Caprices may become white minivans (as in the Washington sniper case; e.g., Blades, 2005; Villegas et al., 2005), and, as has been seen, a momentarilyglimpsed wallet may readily become ‘some kind of gun.’”

identify forensically relevant inanimate objects such as weapons and vehicles. We have shown that even under ideal conditions of lighting, exposure time, freedom from contextual distraction, and relatively brief retention intervals, pistol identifications were on average less than 50% correct (Sharps, Barber, Stahl, & Villegas, 2003). Even poorer performances derived from a similar study of vehicle identification (Villegas, Sharps, Satterthwaite, & Chisholm, 2005). Again under idealized conditions, vehicles were identified correctly, on average, only one quarter of the time. This serves as strong evidence that the representations initially formed by human beings may be significantly diminished and reconfigured by the nervous system even under normal circumstances (see Bartlett, 1932; also see Ahlberg & Sharps, 2002). What we see is not necessarily what we “get” at deeper levels—semi-automatic pistols may become revolvers in the elastic workings of the mind, blue Chevrolet Caprices may become white minivans (as in the Washington sniper case; e.g., Blades, 2005; Villegas et al., 2005), and, as has been seen, a momentarily-glimpsed wallet may readily become “some kind of gun.”

The fact that such cognitive reconfiguration occurs has been known for more than 70 years.

Bartlett (1932) addressed similar issues in the realm of memory. He showed that memory is not

58 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

the static, videotape-like system of popular imagination. Rather, cognitive representations become reconfigured. Representations become shorter and more abbreviated. Details are lost, leaving general gist representations on which information obtained after the fact may act to alter memory elements, which may or may not have been correct in the first place. Finally, personal belief can alter memory significantly in both the visual and verbal realms.

For example, Bartlett (1932) showed that custom and cultural beliefs significantly altered British subjects’ memories of Native American stories, and that relatively abstract figures were recalled by respondents as specific, meaningful pictures of everyday objects if suggested to be such by the experimenter.

Modern work in several venues has confirmed the major points originally described by Bartlett (e.g., Ahlberg & Sharps, 2002; Bergman & Roediger, 1999).

Research under the auspices of the Gestalt/ Feature-Intensive Processing theory of visual cognition (G/FI) has shown that these phenomena may be encapsulated along a single processing dimension (Sharps & Nunes, 2002; Sharps, 2003). As has been shown in the eyewitness memory studies outlined above, people typically encode what they see in a “gestalt” manner, with little actual attention to details that might assist in making a cor-

www.acfei.com

rect identification. This tendency, repeatedly observed in work on eyewitness identification, would be strongly expected to reduce the ability of an observer, especially under the conditions typical of a crime situation, to identify a weapon or other object correctly as such and to act accordingly.

In an earlier study (Sharps, Hess, Casner, Ranes, & Jones, 2006 and in press), we employed this perspective and framework to test the ability of untrained, civilian eyewitnesses to distinguish a weapon, specifically a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol, from an innocuous object, specifically a Sears Craftsman power screwdriver, in context. In view of the cases cited above, especially the recent Tacoma incident involving the cordless drill, this research may provide important data for investigative and courtroom situations.

This research (Sharps et al., 2006 and in press) employed high-quality digital photographs of ecologically valid crime scenes, developed with the advice and supervision of expert police officers who were highly experienced in tactical realities and in the sorts of situations encountered by witnesses and officers on the street. These photographs depicted a potentially violent crime scene, in which a male or female perpetrator appeared, holding the handgun or the screwdriver. The scene was either (a) a “simple” one, sparse in terms of potentially distracting objects, or (b) was “complex,” including a “victim” threatened by the armed perpetrator as well as typical street clutter. Exposure time was a full 5 seconds, far beyond the amount of time under which relevant tactical decisions are typically made. Lighting was excellent and, of course, the scene was static, with no motion or possible occlusion to distract or diminish the views of the respondents. Under these idealized conditions, it was interesting to note that the vast majority of respondents who saw the gun identified it correctly as a gun, although the complex scene was associated with diminished accuracy in this regard. What was less heartening, however, was the fact that the vast majority (89%) of subjects who saw the power screwdriver, specifically 92 out of 103, also identified it as a gun. If these results generalize across situations and populations, the depressing reality is that the human nervous system tends to reconfigure harmless objects into guns if the context is right. This result is of obvious relevance to the issues discussed above; rather than having anything to do with duplicity or integrity issues, many such errors may derive from what appear to be the general characteristics of human visual cognition when faced with these types of situations (see Sharps et al., 2003).

These considerations motivated the present experiments, reported below. It has been shown that, in context, people tend to identify non-weapons as weapons with a fair degree of regularity. Does (800) 592-1399

this also influence their actions? The standardized stimulus materials described briefly above, depicting realistic crime situations in static format, allowed us to address a question of significant potential importance for the weighing of evidence, in courtroom and investigative situations, concerning police shootings: What would the average citizen do in an officer’s place, if faced with a similar situation? In other words, does the average person, faced with the question of whether an armed perpetrator should be fired upon, integrate the necessary feature-intensive information about the weapon or non-weapon in context to arrive at an accurate decision?

Also, regardless of what the average person would do when faced with an armed assailant, what do we typically expect the police to do in the same life-ordeath situations?

The present experiments addressed these questions.

EXPERIMENT 1 The intent of this experiment was to address the question of how untrained people would react, themselves, if placed in the position of police officers confronting a situation potentially involving firearms and firearm violence.

Participants. The participants in this study were recruited from the Psychology Department Subject Pool of the California State University in Fresno, California. Eighty-seven women (mean age 19.36, SD = 1.31) and 38 men (mean age 20.16, SD = 1.68) provided usable data, participating for college credit. The population was reflective of the multiracial makeup of the region, and all respondents were shown to be able to resolve visual stimuli (standard letters from the Snellen test of visual acuity) far smaller than the actual objects to be resolved. Gender proportions reflected those of the subject pool population. This pool, which has a relatively high attrition rate in their first year of college, may reasonably be generalized to the population at large, although these college-aged individuals are of course generally young and in good health.

Materials. As in our previous research (Sharps et al., 2006 and in press), this study employed highquality digital photographs of ecologically valid crime scenes, developed with the advice and supervision of expert police field training officers. All officer advisors were highly experienced in tactical realities and in the sorts of situations encountered by witnesses and officers on the street. The photographs depicted a potentially violent crime scene, in which a male Caucasian perpetrator appeared, armed with a Beretta 9 mm handgun. Four scenes were employed. The first scene was a “simple” one, sparse in terms of potentially distracting objects.

The second was “complex,” including street clut-

s Black and white hands rise up from the crowd of several thousand protesters during a march around the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. Thursday protesting the acquittal of four white police officers in the slaying of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo.

Lawyers representing the family of Amadou Diallo took their case to Justice Department officials in an effort to persuade federal prosecutors to pursue a criminal civil rights case against the four New York police officers acquitted last week in the 1999 death of the African immigrant in his Bronx neighborhood.

KRT PHOTOGRAPH

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 59

ter, garbage cans, and other potentially distracting items. The third scene included several bystanders and a young, female “victim” threatened by the armed perpetrator, as well as the typical street clutter of Scene 2.

An additional fourth scene was generated, identical to Scene 3 except in one respect. In Scene 4, the weapon was replaced with a power screwdriver, as in our earlier work in the eyewitness realm (e.g., Sharps et al., 2006 and in press). This manipulation has recently assumed specific significance in the wake of the Tacoma shooting referenced above.

Thus, in the first three pictures, the “perpetrator” was seen to be holding a handgun or pointing it at a “victim.” In the fourth, the “perpetrator” was an unarmed person holding a power screwdriver, or perhaps waving the tool for emphasis in a non-lethal discussion or argument with the “victim.” The conditions for all four scenes involved uniformly excellent lighting (strong sunlight), and the relative comfort of witnesses being seated, 10-20 feet from a standard white movie screen, which they faced and on which the given scene was projected.

There was no movement or occlusion of important elements of the scenes, and of course there was no personal danger for the respondents in the experiment. As in our previous work, these idealized conditions were selected with the knowledge that an actual criminal situation, evolving quickly in uncertain lighting and potentially occluded conditions, will typically result in poorer performance given the known dynamics of human visual cognition (e.g., Narby, Cutler, & Penrod, 1996; Spoehr & Lehmkule, 1982).

Procedure. Each respondent viewed only one of the four scenes described above. Respondents were given the following instructions: “On the screen, you will see a scene or a series of scenes which may or may not involve a crime or sources of danger. These scenes will be shown very briefly.

A person holding a weapon is a source of danger, because he or she could point it at you and shoot.

You may intervene to protect yourself or others if you see an individual holding a weapon. You demonstrate your decision to intervene by shooting at the perpetrator holding the weapon (pressing the button). If you decide to shoot (or press the button), you must do so quickly before the scene is gone.” (Note: The “shooting at the perpetrator” instruction was given for the “dart gun” condition described below; the “button” instruction was given for the Lafayette response apparatus condition, also described below.)

Based on police advice and on information provided in training for police psychologists and for United States Marshals (e.g., Montejano, 2004; Moore, 2006; Tietjen, 2004), respondents saw the scene for a period of either 2 s or ½ s, times that effectively bracketed the actual response time that 60 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

would be available to a police officer encountering this situation.

Half the respondents were given the instruction to press a button on a Lafayette Instruments response apparatus if their decision was to fire on the “suspect.” The other half were asked to make this decision, if they deemed it necessary, by literally “firing” on the suspect, depicted on the screen, with a toy suction-cup dart gun. Obviously this latter manipulation was not intended to mimic the complex dynamics involved in firing a real weapon.

Rather, we wished to provide preliminary information, for the sake of future research, on whether the simple act of raising a “weapon” into a simulacrum of a firing position, while attempting to aim at a target, might have an influence on the ability to ascertain the necessity of a shooting response.

Results To evaluate the effects of exposure time, shooting framework (dart gun versus button), and gender of respondent, a “combined shooting score” was computed across scenes. For each of the four scenes, a decision to shoot was rated as 2, whereas a decision not to shoot was rated as 1. It was shown that, overall, respondents were more likely to indicate a decision to shoot when pressing the button than when “firing” the dart gun, F (1,124) = 6.82, p = .01. The mean score across scenes for the button was 7.25 out of 8 possible, (SD = .98); the mean score for the dart gun was 6.82 (SD = .88). Neither the gender of the respondent, nor the exposure time (2 s versus ½ s), were significant influences on overall decision to shoot.

The pattern of results for the four scenes employed was consistent with the predictions of G/ FI theory (Sharps & Nunes, 2002; Sharps, 2003).

The scene involving a lone perpetrator holding a gun, in a simple environment, with no victim, resulted in the smallest number of individuals deciding to shoot. However, even under these circumstances, in which no crime was depicted (the “perpetrator” as depicted in the “simple” scene could have as easily been target-shooting as committing a crime), 64% of respondents indicated the decision to fire. This result was significant (χ2 [1] = 9.80, p = .002).

In Scene 2, which depicted the same individual, alone and armed, but in an area with garbage cans, debris and typical street clutter, the proportion of those who decided to shoot rose slightly, to 67% (χχ2 [1] = 14.79, p < .001). In Scene 3, when a “victim” and several bystanders were added to this condition, and the perpetrator was seen to be holding a pistol, the proportion of “shooters” rose significantly, to 88% (χ2 [1] = 72.20, p < .001).

Finally, the victim condition was repeated, except that the perpetrator held the power screwdriver, rather than the gun. The proportion of respondents www.acfei.com

who decided to shoot him was 84.8% (χ2 [1] = 60.55, p < .001).

The effect of scene on shooting score was significant, F (3,122) = 10.53, p < .001. Predetermined paired t-tests (p = .05; experiment-wise error rate/capitalization on chance = 14.26%) indicated that both scenes with the victim produced higher proportions of “shooters” than did those without, but that there was no significant difference between the screwdriver and gun conditions when the “victim” was present (p < .05). In other words, respondents were equally likely to shoot the perpetrator whether he was armed or unarmed, as long as there was a potential “victim” in the scene. It made no difference whether the perpetrator held a gun or a power tool.

Discussion The small but significant difference between the dart gun and timer conditions may have resulted from a disinclination to shoot when actual targeting behavior, even involving a toy gun, was required. However, it could also have resulted from a higher degree of active attention, and concomitant processing of the scene, in the dart-gun situation. This would be predicted to result in a heightened level of feature-intensive processing, which would in turn be expected to enhance general cognitive processing of the scene (Sharps, 2003).

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Further research will be needed to clarify this finding and to select between theoretical alternatives.

Several important points may be derived from these results. First of all, when untrained people (the same people who are, of course, eligible for jury duty) “confronted” a suspect, the majority decided to shoot him under all conditions employed. A slightly larger number decided to do so when they had the opportunity to be distracted by other objects in their visual fields, such as street clutter and garbage cans, than when such objects were not present. However, when a “victim” was also depicted, and the “perpetrator” held a gun, the number of these individuals who decided to shoot rose to an overwhelming majority; 88%, nearly 9 out of 10, made this decision.

When the “suspect” held a power tool rather than a gun, approximately 85% elected to shoot this unarmed individual. The difference between the gun and screwdriver conditions was not significant. It should be noted that the situation in which most people effectively decided to kill an unarmed suspect was similar to the circumstances surrounding the Diallo case and the recent Tacoma incident, with the potentially important exceptions of different body postures and orientation of the mistaken objects involved, and the exception that the

“respondents were equally likely to shoot the perpetrator whether he was armed or unarmed, as long as there was a potential ‘victim’ in the scene. It made no difference whether the perpetrator held a gun or a power tool.”

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 61

Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Chief of Police Jerry Dyer and the staff and Training Bureau of the Fresno Police Department for their unstinting expert advice, generosity, and support of this research.

Thanks also to Scott Larsen, and to Amy Neff, Morgan Goodwin, and Randy VaughnDotta for their help in the preparation of the materials for this research. The research, views, and opinions presented in this paper are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Fresno Police Department, or of its chief, staff, officers, or employees.

present results were obtained under ideal visual circumstances: involving static stimuli, free of occlusion, in excellent lighting, and with no personal risk. We would venture to suggest that these very high numbers of those who decided to shoot the unarmed suspect under ideal conditions might be inflated even further under the rapidly changing and visually confusing circumstances of a typical police emergency.

There are, of course, limitations and exceptions to these results. In the “complex” scenes, the gun or power tool was held, in a one-handed grip, at an orientation that pointed it in the direction of the victim. As pointed out by reviewers of an earlier version of this paper, this very posture may have conveyed menace, which may in turn have contributed to respondents’ decisions to “shoot.”

It is of course true that in some cases (e.g., the Tacoma case cited above), innocuous objects really are pointed directly at officers or potential civilian victims (note that this was not the case in the Diallo tragedy). However, a less “menacing” posture, involving a less direct orientation of the object toward a potential “victim,” might reduce the shooting tendencies observed. On the other hand, any other posture would have placed both the gun and the power tool in a non-profile view, reducing the level of feature-intensive visual information available to the observer and thus, perhaps, resulting in even greater confusion of innocuous objects with weapons. It should also be noted that it would be difficult to ascertain at what point in orientation a given object comes to be viewed as sufficiently menacing to increase the decision to fire on the part of an observer. However, this important point concerning weapon/object orientation should absolutely be addressed parametrically in future studies, employing different objects, held at different orientations and viewed from different perspectives.

The instructions for this experiment, quoted above, informed respondents that they would see a situation in which a weapon might or might not be present. Cognitive framing is of course critically important for perception (see Bartlett, 1932; Ahlberg & Sharps, 2002). The intent here was to simulate, as far as possible, the minimum level of information that might be held by a law enforcement officer answering a call. However, as pointed out by a reviewer, this study did not address what might happen if a respondent were to encounter this situation unexpectedly, with no knowledge that he or she might be about to view a crime, or that a weapon might be present. Such a situation might very well precipitate a different result, and again should be addressed in future research.

In addition, also as pointed out by a reviewer of an earlier version of this paper, individual differences in such factors as temperament, tendencies

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toward impulsive aggressivity versus deliberation, and racial attitudes might very well be expected to influence these results. None of these factors were, of course, topics of the present study, but it should be emphasized that the present results should not be construed as reflecting universal human tendencies.

Once again, these are important topics for future research.

Finally, of course, it is essential to emphasize that the present results do not excuse or condone the shooting of innocent persons under any circumstances, let alone under circumstances in which police integrity issues or other biasing conditions actually exist. The most important point of the present research is simply this: under excellent conditions of visibility, a randomly-selected population of young adults observed a person holding either a gun or a power tool in the same position and orientation.

Between 64% and 88% of the respondents indicated a decision to fire on this person. They were most likely to make this response if the object in question was pointed at another person. When this was the case, it made no statistical difference whether the object in question was a gun or a power screwdriver.

These results indicate an important potential source of cognitive confusion in weapon/object discrimination, and further suggest the need for evidencebased law-enforcement training to address this issue directly in practical field applications.

EXPERIMENT 2 The intent of this experiment was to address the second question posed above: to determine how untrained people felt that a police officer should respond to a given situation involving gun violence.

Participants. The participants in this study were 33 women (mean age 19.36 years, SD = 3.80) and 11 men (mean age = 20.72 years, SD = 2.28) recruited from freshman psychology classes at California State University, Fresno. These respondents participated in the development of our database established in recent work on eyewitness issues (Sharps et al., 2006 and 2007) and were drawn from the same population, with the same characteristics, as the respondents of Experiment 1. Gender proportions reflected those of the classes.

Materials and procedures. This work again employed the same types of high-quality digital photographs of ecologically valid crime scenes used in our previous work (Sharps et al., 2006 and 2007), developed with the advice and supervision of expert police field training officers, highly experienced in tactical realities and in the sorts of situations encountered by officers and witnesses on the street. These photographs depicted a potentially violent crime scene. In Experiment 1 above, only a male perpetrator was employed, for the sake of typicality for realworld crime scenes, which, of course, overwhelmingly involve male perpetrators. In Experiment 2, www.acfei.com

both genders of potential assailants were included, in order to ascertain whether gender would influence perceptions of proper police actions. Therefore, in this study, a male or female Caucasian perpetrator appeared, holding a Beretta 9 mm handgun in a one-handed grip, oriented toward a young, female “victim” amid typical street clutter.

Three senior field training officers and a senior police commander were asked to evaluate proper police reaction to these scenes. In all cases, there was no question in the officers’ minds that this situation, as depicted, absolutely required a shooting response for both the male and female perpetrator; according to these officers, any police officer encountering this situation must fire on the perpetrator, who is depicted as clearly threatening an unarmed person with a gun, in order to prevent the probable imminent death of the victim. All officers were in agreement on this issue.

In this experiment, we made use of an extended exposure time, a full 5 seconds. As noted above, law enforcement experts are generally in agreement that a firearm assault situation such as that depicted may result in a violent conclusion in literally less than a second (e.g., Montejano, 2004; Tietjen, 2004; Moore, 2006). Therefore, respondents had far more than typically ample observation and processing time in this study. The same ideal conditions of observation used in Experiment 1 were duplicated here. After viewing the scene, respondents were asked, as part of a realistic police interview designed with the aid of senior, experienced police field training officers, what a police officer should do on encountering the situation depicted. They were also asked the reasons for their responses to this question.

Results The results of this study indicated a strong preference, on the part of civilian observers, for the police to refrain from firing if confronted with this situation. Overall, 11.36% of respondents felt that a shooting response was called for, in a stimulus situation that was deliberately crafted to create an absolute necessity for a shooting response. Responses varied somewhat with both gender of observer and gender of perpetrator, but the unexpectedly low numbers of respondents who suggested the need for a shooting response precluded formal statistical analysis. Specifically, however, no male respondent felt that a shooting response was justified with a female perpetrator, although 22.22% of male respondents felt that it was appropriate to shoot the male perpetrator. Women in this experiment were more likely to suggest the shooting of the female perpetrator (11.76%), but only 1 of 16 female respondents in the relevant condition (6.25%) was in favor of a shooting response with the male. We caution in the strongest terms against drawing any (800) 592-1399

conclusions from these results with regard to gender, however; the percentages are sufficiently low that we might very well expect idiosyncratic responding to have influenced these results, and the percentages with reference to gender are presented solely for completeness and as a potential basis for future studies.

Discussion The results of this experiment indicate that approximately 9 out of 10 people, within the experimental framework employed, were of the opinion that an officer should not fire in this situation, although all of the senior police officers consulted stated that the situation depicted absolutely required a shooting response. This result may have important implications for situations in which 12-person juries must evaluate a given police shooting.

The reasons given by respondents for their views on this issue were varied and should be the subject of future studies. Some respondents felt that the daylight, public conditions of the situation would preclude the perpetrator’s firing. Others concocted elaborate sets of rules of engagement, or conditions, under which the officer might fire (for example, if the suspect fired first [in which case, of course, the victim would probably already have been shot], or if the suspect had already committed murder, or if the officer had first attempted to “convince” the suspect to drop his or her weapon). Others literally invoked the need for clairvoyance on the part of the police, saying that an officer should not fire in this situation because the suspect “did not look like she wanted to kill.” Several qualified their responses with the idea that if the police had to fire, they should shoot the perpetrator’s leg or arm, because, in the case of one response, “a shot to the leg is relatively harmless, if he is trying to escape, which means he is most likely guilty.” It is suggested that many of these unrealistic responses may have derived from confusion of media depictions of police work with the real thing on the part of the public. It is further suggested, however, that if these ideas and attitudes are as widespread as the results of this initial research effort suggest, there is substantial need for better education in the realities of crime and police work for the public from which, of course, all jurors are selected.

In this experiment, only 11.36% of individuals saw a shooting response as appropriate in a situation absolutely requiring one. This result may be of special interest for courtroom proceedings. In any given, randomly selected jury of 12 citizens, these results suggest that on average, one or at most two jurors out of 12 would be likely see an officer on trial in an officer-involved-shooting situation as justified in shooting a perpetrator, even under the clearest and most appropriate of circumstances. This extreme discrepancy between public perception and Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 63

actual police policy and operations warrants further attention, both in future research and in the modern criminal justice system.

Summary and Conclusions The results of these studies, taken together, reveal several crucial points: 1. Contrary to much popular opinion, average people exhibited extreme difficulty in distinguishing a handgun from an innocuous object such as a power tool.

2. This difficulty was observed even under ideal viewing conditions, far superior to those in actual crime situations.

3. Average people indicated an overwhelmingly strong tendency to shoot, or at least to decide to shoot, an armed perpetrator themselves if given the opportunity, and did so at the same levels even if the perpetrator was “armed” only with a power tool which was evidently readily mistaken for a weapon.

4. However, even though the vast majority of the civilian respondents indicated a readiness to shoot the perpetrator themselves, only about 1 person in 10 felt it would be appropriate for the police to do so under the same circumstances.

These results reveal a substantial disparity between the actions, attitudes, and beliefs of typical adults and the practical realities of police work in violent situations. It is suggested, as a matter for further research, that much of this disparity may lie in public perceptions garnered from popular media depictions of crime and police work, and probably from unrealistic expectations concerning the workings and capabilities of the human nervous system in terms of such processing tasks as distinguishing actual firearms from, for example, screwdrivers. A substantial body of future research will be needed to address the underlying mechanisms and the ramifications of the findings obtained in these initial studies. For the present, however, it is clear that these effects assume special significance for the real-world courtroom circumstances under which actual witnesses, jurors, and public constituencies consider and testify as to the actions of law enforcement personnel in application to real-world violent crime.

References Ahlberg, S.W., & Sharps, M.J. (2002). Bartlett revisited: Reconfiguration of long-term memory in young and older adults. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163, 211-218.

Associated Press. (2007, February 13). Police: Man pointed cordless drill at officer. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.kirotv.com/news/11004849/ detail.html

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Bartlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Bergman, E.T., & Roediger, H.L. (1999). Can Bartlett’s repeated reproduction experiments be replicated?

Memory and Cognition, 27, 937-947.

Blades, H.B. (2005). The Washington, D.C., sniper case: A case study in how eyewitness identification of vehicles can go wrong. Forensic Examiner, 14, 26.

Clifford, B.R., & Scott, J. (1978). Individual and situational factors in eyewitness testimony. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63, 352-359.

Gelles, M. (2006, October). Behavioral threat assessment: Law enforcement considerations. Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, Washington, D.C. Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. New York: Little, Brown, & Co. Grossman, D. (1996). On killing. Boston: Little, Brown.

Lee, C. (2005, March 15). A list with bullets: NYPD shooting deaths of civilians, starting with Diallo and not ending. Village Voice. Retrieved January 19, 2007, from http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0511,lee,62083,5. html Morgan, C.A., Hazlett, G., Doran, A., Gattett, S., Hoyt, G., Thomas, P., Baranoski, M, & Southwick, S.M. (2004). Accuracy of eyewitness memory for persons encountered during exposure to highly intense stress. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 27, 265-279.

Moore, L. (2006, November). Conference on the use of force in law enforcement. Office of the United States Marshal, Fresno, California.

Montejano, D. (2004, November). Fresno Police Department Conference on stress in police work. Fresno, California.

Narby, D.J., Cutler, B.L., & Penrod, S.D. (1996).

The effects of witness, target, and situational factors on

eyewitness identifications. In S.L. Sporer, R.S. Malpass, & G. Koehnken (Eds.), Psychological issues in eyewitness identification (pp. 23-52). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Sharps, M.J. (2003). Aging, representation, and thought: Gestalt and feature-intensive processing. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction.

Sharps, M.J., Hess, A.B., Ranes, B., Jones, J., & Casner, H. (2006, October). Memory for elements of complex crime scenes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, Washington, DC. Sharps, M.J., Hess, A.B., Casner, H., Ranes, B., & Jones, J. (2007) Eyewitness memory in context: Toward a systematic understanding of eyewitness evidence. In press, Forensic Examiner, 16, 20-27.

Sharps, M.J., & Nunes, M.A. (2002). Gestalt and feature-intensive processing: Toward a unified model of human information processing. Current Psychology, 21, 68-84.

Sharps, M.J., Barber, T.L., Stahl, H., & Villegas, A.B. (2003). Eyewitness memory for weapons. Forensic Examiner,12, 34-37.

Spoehr, K.T., & Lehmkule, S.W. (1982). Visual information processing. San Francisco: Freeman.

Tietjen, T. (2004, November). Fresno Police Department Conference on stress in police work. Fresno, California.

Villegas, A.B., Sharps, M.J., Satterthwaite, B., & Chisholm, S. (2005). Eyewitness memory for vehicles.

Forensic Examiner, 14, 24-28. n

Earn CE Credit To earn CE credit, complete the exam for this article on page 53 or complete the exam online at www.acfei.com (select “Online CE”).

About the Author Matthew J. Sharps, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fresno and adjunct faculty member at Alliant International University. He received his MA (clinical psychology) from UCLA, and MA and PhD (psychology) from the University of Colorado, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychological Specialties with the American College of Forensic Examiners. He is the author of numerous articles and papers on visual cognition and related topics, as well as the book Aging, Representation, and Thought: Gestalt and Feature-Intensive Processing (2003, Transaction Publishers).

He has consulted on issues of eyewitness identification in over one hundred and sixty criminal cases.

Adam Hess is lecturer in Criminology at California State University, Fresno, and a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute.

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CE ARTICLE 3: Can Suggestion Be Minimized in the Investigative Interview? (pages 66–75) ATTENTION ACFEI MEMBERS: Journal-Learning CEs are now FREE when taken online. Visit www.acfei.com.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

KEY WORDS: Suggestion, Demand Characteristics, Forensic Hypnosis

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:

TARGET AUDIENCE: Law officers, investigators, attorneys, legal officials

1. Identify specific ways often subtle and pervasive influence of suggestion affects everyday human interactions.

2. Name the primary ways in which uncorroborated testimony provided by a previously hypnotized witness can unwittingly subvert justice.

3. Describe ways that reliance on techniques that encourage imagination and visualization by the witness can seriously undermine the reliability of witness reports obtained during an investigation, including those elicited with the cognitive interview.

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ABSTRACT This article examines multiple sources of suggestive bias that may taint evidence obtained from forensic interviews with eyewitnesses and victims of crime. We present several research paradigms used to identify what constitutes undue suggestion, as well as the manner in which suggestive cues can be communicated and accepted by the witness as fact. Procedures that have been adopted as potential law enforcement tools to enhance eyewitness recall, such as forensic hypnosis and the cognitive interview, are submitted to special scrutiny and relevant cautions are raised. Finally, we provide specific recommendations to minimize suggestion in the investigative interview that are intended to expand upon current “good practice” guidelines.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS

(Answer the following questions after reading the article)

1. The term, “demand characteristics”: a. refers to fundamental biological motives (e.g., hunger, thirst, threat, etc.) b. refers to one of the mnemonic components of the cognitive interview c. refers to social cues that may be used to infer another person’s intentions d. refers to the ritual used by a hypnotist to induce the condition of hypnosis

4. According to the article, the current version of the cognitive interview: a. remains vulnerable to sources of suggestive bias in its use of imaginative and visualization strategies b. has little in common with the forensic use hypnosis c. has been adopted and utilized faithfully, according to protocol, by law enforcement agencies worldwide d. None of the above

2. Which of the following would probably operate least as a demand characteristic in a law enforcement investigative situation? a. a polygraph instrument b. a detective’s badge c. videotaping equipment d. a conference room table 3. The notion that hypnosis can be used to aid the retrieval of accurate memories: a. was suggested by the early clinical work of Breuer and Freud. b. was generally discredited by researchers specializing in hypnosis and memory during the latter decades of the 20th century. c. remains the basis of controversy concerning the reliability of hypnotically elicited testimony in U.S. courts and their counterparts in other countries. d. All of the above

5. Among the recommendations for minimizing suggestive bias during investigative interviews, the authors endorse: a. developing a positive rapport and establishing a collaborative, rather than a confrontative or antagonistic, relationship with the witness. b. encouraging straightforward repeated attempts by the witness to try hard to remember. c. avoidance of any instructions to imagine or visualize events relevant to the crime or the witness’s personal experiences. d. electronic recording (preferably audiovisual) of the full proceedings of the investigative interview. e. All of the above

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 65

CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

Can Suggestion be Minimized in the Investigative Interview?

66 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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By Wayne G. Whitehouse, PhD, DABPS, Emily Carota Orne, BA, and David F. Dinges, PhD

his article examines multiple sources of suggestive bias that may taint evidence obtained from forensic interviews with eyewitnesses and victims of crime. We present several research paradigms used to identify what constitutes undue suggestion, as well as the manner in which suggestive cues can be communicated and accepted by the witness as fact. Procedures that have been adopted as potential law enforcement tools to enhance eyewitness recall, such as forensic hypnosis and the cognitive interview, are submitted to special scrutiny and relevant cautions are raised. Finally, we provide specific recommendations to minimize suggestion in the investigative interview that are intended to expand upon current “good practice” guidelines.

One cornerstone of our justice system is the eyewitness report. Unfortunately, the substance and reliability of the report, conveyed in interviews and later in court, may be a direct function of the amount of undue suggestion that arises during the investigative interview process. Therefore, any scientific data that might establish a base for more careful investigative interviewing in order to avoid undue bias is of considerable relevance to law enforcement and the legal community.

Throughout this article we attempt to provide evidence of the pervasive nature of suggestion in everyday experience.

Even in medical science, suggestion is taken into account when evaluating the effectiveness of new treatments. The classic “double-blind, placebo-controlled study” was developed to isolate the specific benefits of the treatment itself from those benefits that accrue from a hopeful patient’s confidence in his or her doctor as well as from the doctor’s belief in the efficacy of the prescribed treatment. A simple, elegant research strategy emerged: The treatment, say a medication in the form of a pink pill, would be administered to a random half of the patients enrolled in the study, while the remaining patients received an identically appearing pink pill that was actually inert (i.e., placebo). Not even the prescribing doctor knows whether the patient is receiving the actual medication or placebo. Therefore, the expectations of patients and their doctors for improvement of symptoms would be roughly equivalent regardless of whether the patients were receiving the actual treatment or the placebo. This essentially nullifies the influence of optimism, hope, and suggestion on the outcome, thereby permitting a clearer picture of the intrinsic efficacy of the medication.

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Unfortunately, the complications of suggestive bias on the products of human memory are not so neatly resolved.

The theoretical perspective advanced in this article developed from several decades of our laboratory’s research into a variety of investigative techniques.

One of these, hypnosis, receives special attention because its hallmark feature is an increase in responsiveness to suggestion on the part of the hypnotized individual. Such situationally enhanced suggestibility, coupled with one’s native capacity to respond to hypnosis, allows hypnotized persons to modify their subjective experiences in accordance with the hypnotist’s instructions.

This can lead to often remarkable positive outcomes, such as the suppression of pain during childbirth or dental procedures, but it is also responsible for instances of memory contamination and belief in false recollections, which can pose a serious threat to the very foundation of the justice system.

In order to identify what is unique about hypnosis, scientists long ago recognized the need to understand the role of suggestion in normal, everyday human interactions. Among the important lessons learned from this effort is that suggestion is ubiquitous in the social environment and that it doesn’t need to be intentional to have an impact. Even in the absence of explicit cues provided by the parties, people attempt intuitively to infer the motives behind another’s words or behavior. Martin Orne, who founded our laboratory in the 1960s, coined the term “demand characteristics” to describe the aggregate of elements in a social situation that provide information a person can use to draw inferences about someone else’s intentions.

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 67

Demand Characteristics: How do volunteers or witnesses bring their personal theories to bear on their reports? To illustrate the operation of demand characteristics, Orne and Whitehouse (2000) described an investigation in which research participants who volunteered for a “scientific study” were quite willing to engage in ostensibly meaningless activities for several hours—such as working rapidly and accurately to solve successive sheets of 224 addition problems, only to follow instructions to tear up each sheet into miniscule pieces before proceeding to the next!

When questioned later by a different researcher about their perceptions of the purpose of the study, participants invariably assigned great importance to their endeavors, viewing the experimental task as a test of endurance or something similar. Thus, the explicit communications consisted of instructions (a) to work quickly and accurately on a large number of arithmetic calculations (participant’s inference: “A test of my math ability”), and (b) to tear up your work and begin again (participant’s inference: “They don’t really care how many problems I got right—what a waste of time and effort!” and possibly, “But I’m supposed to continue, maybe this next one is the one that counts. Yeah, maybe they are trying to see what happens after I get discouraged.”). The participant continually develops, tests, and modifies hypotheses about the purpose of the study, which are intermittently or scarcely confirmed. When, after several hours repeating this pointless task, participants are queried about their impression of the study’s purpose, they still manage to rescue a meaningful hypothesis: “It was an endurance test.” On what evidence is this conclusion based? Among the demand characteristics operating here are subtle cues from the social context that enable critical assessments by the participant: “I volunteered to take part in a scientific investigation—it must be something important.

These scientists are serious professionals. They know I have a busy schedule—they wouldn’t take up my time for frivolous purposes. They even offered to pay me at the end of the experiment.” In other words, the participants were responding to the implicit suggestion, communicated by a host of subtle demand characteristics, that their purpose was to make a contribution to advance scientific understanding and interpreted the importance of the research, as well as their roles, accordingly.

An altogether different scenario was depicted in a recent episode of a popular TV crime drama, but is still rife with suggestion created by demand characteristics. Here, one of the investigators, having just returned from collecting evidence at the crime scene, was consoling a female witness. After helping her to gain composure, he pulled out his digital camera and displayed the photograph of a male person-of-interest and asked essentially, “Was it him?”

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The witness affirmed that the person in the photo was the perpetrator. Notwithstanding whether the witness would have been able to identify the same person under different circumstances, the method used to obtain this identification was tainted by suggestion. Consider the demand characteristics that may have influenced the witness’s response: “I have just witnessed my friend’s murder. I am vulnerable and afraid for my own life. The police are the only ones who can protect me and I must help them. The investigator just came back from the crime scene and he has important evidence.

He suspects a particular person was responsible; he has a photo in his camera’s memory; he hasn’t even printed it out yet; he needs me to identify this suspect.” The victim’s emotional state, her view of the police as authorities and the ultimate source of her protection, and the urgency with which the investigator sought identification of the suspect may have coalesced as a suggestive cue that led her to identify a particular individual. The level of suggestion could have been reduced had the investigator taken time to present the suspect’s photo in a less-biased photo identification array. Yet, even this might not sufficiently diminish the influence of suggestion, as witnesses may well infer that law enforcement agencies do not routinely maintain photo galleries of completely innocent citizens to use as foils in the identification process (Witness’s inference: “They are probably all guilty of something.”).

If this analysis leads the reader to the conclusion that suggestion is unavoidable in social interactions, then our point has been made. Nevertheless, it is unacceptable for investigators to be indifferent to this premise, because to do so is to diminish the standards of forensic evidence. Instead, the legal community needs to be aware of relevant research findings in the social sciences and be willing to revise best practice guidelines to remedy shortcomings in current investigative procedures. In the remainder of this article, we attempt to draw upon contemporary research that highlights problems and offers potential solutions to mitigate the effects of suggestive influence in forensic interviews.

Laboratory Research on the Vulnerability to Suggestion of Eyewitness Memory A review of the literature reveals three distinct approaches to investigating the vulnerability to suggestion of eyewitness memory reports. One of these represents the field of applied memory research and relies upon the subtle introduction of leading or misleading post-event information by an investigative interviewer (Loftus, 1992). A typical experiment involves presenting a short film depicting some incident, such as a traffic accident. When subjects are later interviewed about what they had (800) 592-1399

witnessed, the experimenter asks a question that includes a bit of explicit misinformation (e.g., substituting “yield sign” for “stop sign”) or a nuanced phraseology (e.g., “smashed into” for “bumped into”). While the theoretical basis for the effect remains controversial (e.g., McCloskey & Zaragoza, 1985), the evidence is clear that post-event misinformation conveyed, intentionally or inadvertently, by an interviewer stands a very good chance of being assimilated into the eyewitness’s account.

A second approach was developed in the context of basic memory research on the circumstances that lead to the production and acceptance of false memories (Roediger & McDermott, 1995). The standard paradigm involves the presentation of a number of conceptually related and nonrelated words, followed by testing for recognition of those same words when embedded in a list of nonpresented words, including one that is conceptually related, but nonetheless not previously presented (i.e., the critical lure). For example, a subject might see the words yawn, pillow, dream, pajamas, and bed interspersed among a list of nonrelated words like saxophone, computer, car, ocean, and leaf. The subsequent recognition test would include all of the previously presented words in addition to an equal number of nonpresented words, among which is the word sleep. The typical finding in this research is that subjects often mistakenly identify the conceptually related, nonpresented word (in this example, sleep) as having been presented in the earlier list— a case of false memory. Such research serves as a warning that eyewitness recollections can include schematically consistent details that were never perceptually experienced.

The third avenue of investigation into the impact of suggestion on eyewitness memory derives from the individual differences perspective and is best exemplified by the model of Gudjonsson and Clark (1986). These researchers endorse the objective assessment of witnesses’ “interrogative suggestibility” with respect to their “yield” and “shift” predispositions, corresponding, respectively, to their likelihood of succumbing to (mis)leading questioning (“yield”) or changing their testimony under pressure (“shift”). Their overall model takes into account the individual’s interrogative suggestibility, as measured by the Gudjonnson Suggestibility Scale (Gudjonnson, 1984)—which differs from hypnotizability (Register & Kihlstrom, 1988)—in addition to features of the interview context, such as the closed dyadic social interaction between interviewer and interviewee, procedural aspects of the interview, as well as the presentation, acceptance of, and behavioral response to, any “suggestive stimuli.” Much like contemporary hypnosis research, the Gudjonnson and Clark (1986) model considers the person-situation interaction as a fundamental determinant of the individual’s response.

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If the circumstances are stressful (as is typically the case), and the witness is uncertain about particular details, and is someone who is characteristically prone to “yield” or to “shift” his or her testimony, the situation is fertile for suggestion to contaminate the evidentiary record.

The scope of laboratory studies of eyewitness memory extends beyond the examples cited above.

Drawing upon the same core paradigms—applied, basic, and individual differences approaches—researchers have been active in evaluating the pros and cons of various interview techniques adopted by law enforcement. Here we consider two such techniques, designed to enhance witness recall, that have emerged in forensic investigations over the past 40 years.

The Forensic Use of Hypnosis. Hypnosis gained a reputation as a useful agent of memory retrieval in the late nineteenth century with the publication of reports by Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud, which cited its ability to access lost memories in psychoanalytic therapy—a claim that Freud later retracted. Nevertheless, it was not until the late 1960s (Harding v. State, 1968) that hypnotically elicited testimony was permitted as evidence in courts of law in the United States. This occasioned a proliferation of laboratory research aimed at identifying the mechanisms by which hypnosis might facilitate memory retrieval. Whereas some early studies reported positive or mixed findings, the more methodologically sophisticated research of the 1980s and 1990s revealed troublesome characteristics of hypnotically derived recollections (see Orne, Whitehouse, Dinges, & Orne, 1988). Among these were observations that (a) hypnosis influenced recall in an indiscriminate manner—posthypnotic testimony contained virtually equivalent amounts of new correct and incorrect information; (b) hypnosis increased the witness’s confidence that the newly accessed “memories” were accurate, thereby bolstering resistance to cross-examination; and (c) the expressed confidence of the previously hypnotized witness translated into greater perceived credibility of the testimony by jurors.

As this research unfolded, the judicial system responded with the imposition of various restrictions on hypnotically elicited testimony, ranging from full-blown “per se inadmissibility” (adopted by the majority of state Supreme Courts) to stipulating procedural safeguards, such as those recommended

by Martin Orne in State v. Hurd (1981), to considerations of admissibility based on the “totality of circumstances” surrounding the hypnosis session as well as scientifically valid precedents (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 1993). The United States Supreme Court, in Rock v. Arkansas (1987), ruled that per se inadmissibility of hypnotically derived testimony could not be extended to the case of a previously hypnotized defendant in a 70 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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criminal trial because it infringed upon the constitutionally guaranteed right to self-defense. Overall, scaling the legal hurdles established for the forensic use of hypnosis was becoming an impractical strategy for law enforcement, yielding to a search for viable alternative interview methods.

The Cognitive Interview. An apparently promising solution to the problem was embodied by the cognitive interview proposed by Geiselman, Fisher, Firstenberg, Hutton, Sullivan, Avetissian, and Prosk (1984), which consisted of a set of interview mnemonics derived from well-established basic research in human memory. The objectives are (a) to maximize the overlap of cues in the retrieval context with the memory trace of the target event, and (b) to encourage the witness to adopt multiple memory search strategies. Accordingly, witnesses are instructed to mentally reconstruct environmental circumstances associated with the incident, including their own thoughts, physiological, and emotional experiences; to report every detail that comes to mind, regardless of perceived importance; to recall events in a different order from the way in which they transpired; and to adopt the perspective of another witness in order to describe the events from that person’s point of view.

A strong emphasis is placed on permitting the interviewee to engage in a comprehensive narrative with minimal interruption. Subsequently, and as appropriate, more specific prompts may be given to encourage the witness to elaborate on particular details. In recent years, the cognitive interview has been modified to include rapport-building strategies, visualization, and attention to the witness’s emotional circumstances and communication skills (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992; Geiselman & Fisher, 1997).

The cognitive interview has been widely adopted by law enforcement agencies and continues to be studied by researchers, throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. Its superiority to standard police interviews (in terms of eliciting a greater quantity of correct information) has been confirmed, but so has its tendency to moderately increase incorrect information. Its overall rate of accuracy (85%) was only slightly better than control interviews (82%) across the studies reviewed in a recent meta-analysis (Köhnken, Milne, Memon, & Bull, 1999).

For our purposes, the critical question is whether the cognitive interview can provide a law enforcement tool that escapes the problems associated with forensic hypnosis. The most straightforward way to address this issue is to compare the results of interviews involving hypnosis with those that employ the cognitive interview. Geiselman, Fisher, MacKinnon, & Holland (1985) reported such a comparison using films of simulated crimes as stimuli and experienced law enforcement person(800) 592-1399

nel as interviewers. Here the original version of the cognitive interview was evaluated against a hypnosis interview and a standard police interview.

Hypnosis and the cognitive interview produced comparable results, and both procedures yielded a greater amount of correct information than did the standard interview. Curiously, however, neither procedure resulted in more incorrect information than the standard interview. The latter finding is inconsistent with a large body of hypnosis research, which indicates that, typically, hypnosis produces increases in both correct and incorrect recall (for a review, see Orne et al., 1988).

In our attempt (Whitehouse et al., 2005) to replicate their findings, we recognized that Geiselman et al. (1985) used a measure of hypnotic ability that correlates very poorly with standardized instruments assessing hypnotizability (Orne et al., 1979).

This makes it difficult to know how responsive their witnesses actually were to the hypnotic interview condition. Also, Geiselman and colleagues permitted their law enforcement interviewers to use hypnotic procedures with which they were familiar, rather than prescribing a standardized protocol.

Our replication study also used a brief, filmed crime scenario, but all participants were screened for hypnotizability with a well-validated, tape-recorded assessment instrument, the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A; Shor & E. Orne, 1962). Standardized protocols were also adhered to in conducting our hypnosis, cognitive interview, and motivated repeated-recall control interviews.

Our findings differed from those of Geiselman and colleagues in several respects, the most important being that participants’ hypnotic ability, as measured by the HGSHS:A, was positively associated with the recall of erroneous and confabulatory (i.e., information that was never presented) details for subjects interviewed with hypnosis and the cognitive interview, but not for those interviewed in the motivated repeated-recall condition. This suggests that some components of the cognitive interview may tap hypnotic-like processes among hypnotizable individuals.

Let’s examine those features that hypnosis and the cognitive interview appear to have in common.

Hypnosis relies on an ability to set aside current reality and to vividly imagine being in other times and places. Thus, hypnotized individuals can mitigate noxious events by engaging in imagery of pleasant experiences; they can strategically navigate the temporal realm by imagining themselves in the past or future. Hypnosis provides both license and a legitimate context for persons with the requisite cognitive ability to deploy fantasy to alter their inthe-moment circumstances.

Whitehouse et al. (2005) employed a hypnotic interview technique, popularized by Martin Reiser Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 71

of the Los Angeles Police Department (Reiser, 1980), in which hypnotized witnesses are instructed to imagine they are watching the events of the crime unfold in a television documentary. They are told to use their imaginary remote control device to “zoom in,” “fast forward,” “reverse,” and “freeze frame” the TV footage in their “mind’s eye.” The metaphor provides a mechanism and rationale to review their recollections in different orders and amplify details in response to the investigator’s questions. Highly hypnotizable persons are quite able to do this; it is generally not as effective among comparatively less hypnotizable individuals. The cognitive interview uses similar instructions to guide memory retrieval, such as recalling events in different temporal sequences or recounting them from someone else’s point-of-view. Again, although less explicitly, witnesses are encouraged temporarily to discount their reality orientation and engage in fantasy. The ostensible difference between hypnosis and the cognitive interview is that typically the former employs a familiar, ritualized induction procedure to facilitate the transition from a normal waking state to the hypnotic condition. However, it is important to bear in mind that formal induction is not a necessary precondition for hypnosis to occur (Banyai & Hilgard, 1976; Estabrooks, 1948); hence this procedural distinction does little to undermine the proposition that the two interview procedures may involve similar cognitive processes.

An additional source of concern with the cognitive interview is the instruction to “report everything, regardless of its perceived importance to the investigation.” The stated intention of this instruction is to communicate to witnesses that they should not censor their reports with regard to confident recollections that they might feel are not relevant to the case. The danger, however, is that this may be misinterpreted to mean that they should include all information, even that about which they have little certainty (i.e., lower their subjective report threshold), which would engender the sort of problem that hypnosis creates—the potential inability of the witness to discriminate between factual and inaccurate recall. In response to this concern, Fisher and Geiselman (1992) now urge investigators to warn witnesses “not to guess or fabricate” (p. 41). Unfortunately, several survey studies of law enforcement personnel (Clifford & George, 1996; Kebbell, Milne, & Wagstaff, 1999) have determined that the cognitive interview is often modified in actual field use due, primarily, to time constraints, such that the prescribed version is not always the same as that which is ultimately adopted by forensic investigators.

In view of the difficulties associated with hypnosis and the cognitive interview, it is worth emphasizing that the motivated repeated-recall interview procedure used by Whitehouse et al. (2005) 72 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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as a control condition in their study was found to be substantially less vulnerable to memory errors.

It was based on extensive evidence that repeated efforts to recall previously presented information produced by corresponding incremental gains in memory output, referred to as hypermnesia (Erdelyi & Becker, 1974; Payne, 1987). No special intervention (e.g., hypnosis, guided imagery, cognitive interview) was necessary, only the willingness of the witness to really try several times to remember the same material. Our sole modification to this formula was to introduce intervening “distractor” tasks (see Whitehouse et al., 2005) designed to temporarily change the participant’s cognitive set, reduce fatigue, and to sustain repeated effort, which might not be as important (but should not be dismissed) in an actual forensic interview situation. The goal simply was to implement a control condition in which subjects were engaged in an equal number of recall attempts as participants in the hypnosis and cognitive interview conditions, with an equivalent motivation to expend recall effort.

Our experience with these interview procedures leads us to recommend (a) wholesale rejection of hypnosis due to its essential reliance on suggestion and fantasy; (b) further development and specific modification of the cognitive interview to minimize or replace the use of suggestive elements that can be activated by instructions to engage in visualization; and (c) emphasizing straightforward repeated entreaties to “try again” or “tell me everything you can remember,” as embodied by the motivated repeated-recall procedure. In a similar vein, Fisher, Brennan, and McCauley (2002) argue that additional refinements to the cognitive interview should now include explicit warnings to witnesses not to guess about details of which they are uncertain, and to avoid the “change perspective” technique when interviewing young children.

Evidence from a recent study (Davis, McMahon, & Greenwood, 2005) suggests that certain mnemonic components of the cognitive interview (i.e., “change perspectives” and “change order”) can be replaced by additional free-recall opportunities— similar to the motivated repeated-recall procedure —without any significant reduction in its efficacy.

Along with minimizing suggestive, fantasy-based aspects, these modifications to the cognitive interview by Davis et al. (2005) make it more feasible when time constraints are a concern.

Collectively, these developments contribute to a general procedural outline for investigative interviewing that can be used to minimize or, at the very least, identify instances of suggestive bias. The points described below are intended as a supplement to the comprehensive guide for law enforcement interviews published in 1999 by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The interested reader (800) 592-1399

will, no doubt, recognize that elements of the cognitive interview, in its current state of development, are incorporated in the NIJ document. Rather than reiterate their recommended guidelines, our purpose is, instead, to highlight a few issues that sometimes create excursions from best practice standards, which, in turn, might open the door to suggestive bias.

Toward Minimizing Suggestion in Investigative Interviews Of course, situational factors will always prevail and our recommendations here are intended to be generic. Implementation should be considered judiciously on the basis of such eyewitness factors as age, language skills, psychological disability, and relationship to any suspects in the case.

The scenarios described at the beginning of this article indicate that an important consideration should be the demand characteristics or contextual cues present in the interview setting. Law enforcement officials are perceived to embody vastly different personae, ranging from protective civil servants to fearsome bullies, with the power to incarcerate. Which role the interviewer adopts can have a considerable impact on the outcome of the investigation.

Most successful forensic interviews begin by developing rapport and ensuring the interviewee’s comfort. Part of this initial process involves conveying to witnesses that they, alone, possess definitive, critical information about the incident under investigation. The interviewer thereby establishes his or her role as a collaborator, rather than as an antagonistic authority figure. This cooperative relationship is then reinforced by encouraging witnesses to tell everything they can remember at their own pace and in as much detail as possible, while the interviewer refrains from interruption.

Prior to obtaining the witness’s narrative report of investigationally relevant aspects of the crime, however, it is often recommended (see National Institute of Justice, 1999) that the witness be encouraged to mentally reconstruct various environmental circumstances surrounding the event in question. These might include details such as the time of day, day of the week, weather conditions, prior activities of the witness, emotional state (e.g., upbeat, neutral, angry, or upset), physical state (e.g., activated, fatigued, or hungry), and how the witness happened upon the scene. The goal of this exercise is to mentally reinstate peripheral details that might serve as potential retrieval cues for other, more critically important, information to emerge during the witness’s free narrative. It is based upon a set of well-documented research findings, articulated by the encoding specificity principle (Tulving & Thompson, 1973), which imply that memory for an event is optimal when the conditions present at remembering match those Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 73

present when the event was originally experienced. However, an important caveat that is often overlooked is that, in order to be maximally effective, the mentally reproduced contextual details must, in fact, include the critical retrieval cues pertinent to the incident under investigation. Thus, rather than running the risk that the effort to mentally reconstruct circumstances associated with the event of interest might lead to mismatched or irrelevant retrieval cues, in major forensic cases where the witness’s report may be critical, physically transporting the witness to the scene of the incident whenever possible is likely to prompt the most viable retrieval cues to aid the witness’s recollections of the event.

By far the most serious concern regarding the influence of suggestion on eyewitness memory arises when interview techniques that rely on fantasy and imagination are introduced in a situation in which the witness perceives salient demand characteristics to provide evidence consistent with a particular investigative theory. Recall from the examples at the beginning of this article that demand characteristics are often subtle and, unless anticipated and strategically managed by the investigator, they are apt to surface during the interview.

This is a source of influence that appears to be ubiquitous in human social interactions.

Ordinarily, honest, well-intentioned witnesses with relevant information to provide might stave off such pressure and, indeed, exert a countermanding influence (e.g., confidence) to accept their accounts as truthful. But the introduction of techniques such as hypnosis, visualization, and guided imagery can easily undermine the veridicality of testimony by rendering witnesses more compliant with demand cues from the investigator, while at the same time permitting them to abrogate personal responsibility for the accuracy of their statements. There is a well-documented scientific literature that demonstrates memory modification and confidence augmentation with hypnosis and suggestive imagery (e.g., Orne et al., 1988).

Recently it has been shown that instructions to close one’s eyes and merely imagine events that never happened increases confidence that such events really did transpire— a phenomenon known as imagination inflation (Garry, Manning, Loftus, & Sherman, 1996; Thomas, Bulevich, & Loftus, 2003).

Research on this topic is noteworthy for several reasons. First, the imagination inflation effect has been observed in the general population and thus does not appear to be limited to witnesses who are extremely sug74 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

gestible. Second, it is brought about by simple instruction, without any attempt to alter the witness’s state of consciousness as, for example, through a formal hypnotic induction procedure. Third, these findings have direct relevance to the development of the cognitive interview, where a similar strategy was recently incorporated in which witnesses are instructed to focus their attention on various sensory aspects of an incident by closing their eyes and visualizing the event (Fisher et al., 2002). Accordingly, the phenomenon of imagination inflation has serious implications for practices by law enforcement investigators and psychotherapists because it sheds light on the alarming ease with which events, once adamantly denied by the interviewee, might come to be confidently adopted as part of the individual’s autobiographical history in response to implicit or explicit suggestions to imagine they actually took place.

Thus it is clear that visualization and imagery based strategies to enhance recollection are fraught with the same problems that plague the forensic use of hypnosis, despite the absence of a specific induction ritual that is typical of hypnosis. This is why we strongly urge that specific modifications of the cognitive interview include the abandonment of such strategies as “visualization of sensory details,” “change perspectives,” and “recall events in a different temporal sequence.” If the witness did not actually experience events from someone else’s point-of-view or in reverse order, then to ask him or her to recount events from that perspective is literally asking the witness to engage in fantasy, i.e., to use imaginative skills to elaborate aspects of the event that could not otherwise be known. If it were the case that such an exercise had a benign impact on the witness’s memory and produced additional investigationally relevant details, then it certainly should be adopted.

But the evidence strongly suggests that such techniques can sensitize witnesses to confidently report information about which they have little direct knowledge.

Finally, the need to authenticate the proceedings of investigative interviews cannot be overemphasized. As we have tried to demonstrate, suggestive bias emanates from a variety of sources—some ubiquitous, some unique, some inadvertent, and some even perhaps intentional. Regrettably, there is no known analog to the double-blind, placebo-controlled study—used by scientists to isolate the influence of suggestion from true treatment effects—available to investigative interviewers in their efforts to extract truthful evidence from

eyewitnesses and victims of crimes. Instead, the reliability of evidence obtained from forensic interviews ultimately must be evaluated by jurors. Sworn testimony is often inadequate, particularly if there is any chance the witness has become convinced of the veracity of his or her account as a result of suggestive questioning by law enforcement officials. In such cases, the availability of some form of memorialized record of the interview session can be critical.

At minimum the documentation could be in the form of a stenographic transcript provided by a disinterested third party, or, even more acceptable would be a well-labeled and wellarchived audiotape recording. Ideally, in critical forensic cases, videotape that features the witness, a clock, and the investigator should be considered as it permits a full evaluation of the extent of duress, the demeanor of the investigator and the witness, as well as any verbal and nonverbal cues that might have been communicated with the potential to influence the witness’s report. Although every precaution needs to be taken to avoid the possible influence of suggestion on eyewitness memory in the first place, for justice to be served it is equally important that a reliable record of the means and methods used to acquire such evidence be made available to the courts.

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Acknowledgment Preparation of this article was supported in part by a grant from the Institute for Experimental Psychiatry Research Foundation.

About the Author Wayne G. Whitehouse, PhD, DABPS is a Research Psychologist with academic appointments in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Department of Psychology at Temple University, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been Principal Investigator or Project Director of federal grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Justice, as well as research grants from private foundations. He holds memberships in the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Psychonomic Society, the Eastern Psychological Association, Sigma Xi, and the American College of Forensic Examiners International. His research interests include forensic evidence, cognitive science, hypnosis, psychopathology, and behavioral medicine.

Emily Carota Orne, BA is a Research Psychologist and Co-Director of the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She has a distinguished research career in the areas of hypnosis, demand characteristics, interview dynamics, and behavioral medicine. She codeveloped, with Ronald E. Shor, PhD, the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, which enjoys worldwide recognition as the premier group assessment instrument for hypnotizability screening in the context of hypnosis research. She is on the Board of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.

David F. Dinges, PhD is Professor and Director of the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In addition to his work evaluating memory enhancement techniques for law enforcement, Dr. Dinges is an internationally recognized expert in the biological limits of human performance relative to sleep need and circadian biology. During the past 30 years his research has been continuously supported by grants from many Federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. He is a member of the NIH Council, and he currently serves as Team Lead for the Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors area of the national Space Biomedical Research Institute. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2004 Decade of Behavior Research Award from the American Psychological Association, and the 2007 NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal.

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CE ARTICLE 4: Corrupted DVDs: An Emerging Forensics Problem ... (pages 78â&#x20AC;&#x201C;83) ATTENTION ACFEI MEMBERS: Journal-Learning CEs are now FREE when taken online. Visit www.acfei.com.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

KEY WORDS: defective, DVD, CD, editing, format

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:

TARGET AUDIENCE: forensic consultants, law officers, attorneys, computer forensics consultants, court officials

1. Identify the formats of DVDs and list their differences.

2. Name the characteristics of a defective DVD. 3. Explain how corrupted DVDs may be excluded as reliable digital evidence.

PROGRAM LEVEL: update DISCLOSURE: The author operates a polygraph business.

PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT With technology increasing, so is the number of formats of a DVD, which when produced on a home computer results in defective DVDs. DVDs are normally derived from some form of digital tape media and the tape media are sometimes not totally devoid of any defects. One problem in particular is the lag of audio and video synchronization, which could be corrupted on DV tape and may be contaminated during playback. Forensically, DVDs and their different formats must be analyzed with more effective data recovery software to remain admissible as reliable tape evidence.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS

(Answer the following questions after reading the article) 4. What is the primary audio coding for DVDs? a. WAV b. CDA c. MP3 d. QuickTime

1. What is the most popular format of DVD today? a. DVD-RW b. DVD-R c. DVD-RAM d. DVD+R

5. What are the primary codecs employed in DVD production?

2. What are characteristics of a bad DVD? a. Lip sync problems b. Missing frames c. Continuous video d. Correct timing and sync

a. Real Audio b. Real Video c. Sorenson d. MPEG-2

3. What are the contributing factors of poor audio/video sync problems? a. Damaged or defective DVD disks b. Use of internal capture card c. Use of external capture card d. Optimized hard drive

6. The best cable to use when transferring audio and video data to a DVD: a. Composite b. Component c. IEEE 1394-Firewire d. S-Video

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Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 77

CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

CORRUPTED

DVDs: An Emerging Forensic Problem That May Constitute Untrustworthy Evidence

By Steve Cain, MFS, FACFEI, DABRE, DABLEE

ith technology increasing, so is the number of formats of a DVD, which when produced on a home computer results in defective DVDs. DVDs are normally derived from some form of digital tape media, and the tape media are sometimes not totally devoid of any defects. One problem in particular is the lag of audio and video synchronization, which could be corrupted on DV tape and may be contaminated during playback. Forensically, DVDs and their different formats must be analyzed with more effective data recovery software to remain admissible as reliable tape evidence.

There has been an increasingly larger amount of submitted DVDs as evidence both to litigation firms and ultimately to forensic labs. Quite often the submitter from the law firm provides a DVD that is obviously corrupted and contains visible artifacts such as color banding, blockiness, blurriness, missing detail, and other suspicious visual events that are not consistent with a normal DVD. As individuals are increasingly creating their own DVDs (using their home computer and inappropriate DVD software and burner hardware), there is increasing corruption and degradation on submitted DVDs. Corrupted CDs made on defective hardware and software can result in unreliable evidence (audio or video). This was documented in an earlier published paper (Cain, 2004).

This paper will attempt to document the more fundamental causes and factors for poor DVD production and what forensic artifacts are normally associated with defective DVD manufacturing. Attention will also be focused on poorly made DVD-Videos and the disadvantages of DVD, especially concerning different manufacturer recording and playback units, regional or 78 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

country codes that preclude nationwide playback capability, copy protection issues, and out-of-sync audio and video components of a DVD. There also are incompatible DVD disks that cannot be played back on different DVD recorders and improper usage of DVD authoring systems that together result in corrupted DVDsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; features, which would add to their untrustworthiness as forensic evidence.

Modern day DVDs hold about two hours of high-quality video, but in early 2002, Japanese DVD manufacturers adjusted the nature of their playback laser beam, which had a narrower focus, and expanded the DVD capacity from 4.7 GB to 27 GB. Double-sided disks will hold about 50 GBs of storage capability. Unfortunately, the blue laser drives are not automatically backward-compatible with DVD drives, and manufacturers will have to develop a new type of playback system for these larger DVDs. DVD is data-compressed technology that essentially matches broadcast quality, but normally plays back at a standard DVD rate of MPEG-2 Video (Motion Expert Group No. 2). www.acfei.com

FA CF EI

BY STEVE CAIN , M FS ,

,

, RE B DA

E BLE DA

(800) 592-1399

Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 79

Unfortunately, DVDs have become more complex as the authoring tools improve, so there are more engineering flaws within the DVD player mechanism to include firmware upgrades in both the software and hardware. Problems can also exist during playback because of damaged or defective disks, and defective players—more than 100 different DVD players—that are unable to play back certain types of DVDs. (Taylor, 2004)

Different DVD Formats

s Author, Steve Cain

80 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

As of 2005, there were 144 possible variations of the DVD format, which produced 24 different physical format variations. The first standard DVD format was DVD-R which stands for DVD recordable. The DVD-R can hold 4.7 GB on each side of the disk for a total of 9.4 GB of data on a double-sided disk. DVD-R subsequently became one of the most popular formats because you could record a disk that had been used in a standard DVD player. On the rewritable side, the standard is called DVD-RW. These disks can also store 4.7 GB, but unfortunately not all DVD players can read DVDRWs. Two more recent DVD standards including DVDR and DVDRW have become available and are cheaper to manufacture and may or may not be playable on stand alone DVD players or computer drives. There are also approximately a dozen new DVD hybrids that combine features on one or more of the earlier formats. Despite the many differences between writable DVD formats, they do have similar capabilities and perform a similar job recording data. One of the primary physical incompatibilities between the DVD recording formats is that some are designed for video, one for audio data, and one for “streaming” such as from a camcorder or a digital video receiver. None of these recording file formats are readable by standard DVD video or audio players. Synchronization problems are also found where a “lip sync” breakdown occurs as the audio lags somewhat behind the video.

These problems are often caused during film production or editing or involve the improper matching of audio and video tracks and the DVD encoding-authoring process (Taylor, 2006).

Today it is estimated that there are more than 100 million DVD players or recorders within the United States. To permit different DVD recorders to copy DVD disks without copyright protection violations, different hardware and software devices were developed in the late 1990s. The foremost piece of hardware is the IEEE1394/Firewire connector, which transfers audio and video data between a multitude of DVD products including computers and digital cameras (Taylor, 2006).

Much of the submitted DVD disks’ evidence involves audio and video data that has not been manufactured on an optimized computer or a DVD burner to include poor authoring software. A lack www.acfei.com

of DVD calibration tests exist that would verify there are no defects on either the physical layer of the disk or within the content itself.

The majority of evidence disks involve the capture of analog or digital videotape information, which may or may not be transferred to a computer before the DVD is ultimately manufactured.

Whether the capture device is an analog or digital camcorder or a large scale CCTV surveillance system, it is essential the captured analog and digital involves optimum data rates, resolution, frame rate, audio format rate, and efficient capture cards for A/D conversion purposes. Dropped or missing frames can occur when the capture computer is incapable of storing the video to disk data fast enough. The capture software often repeats the last successfully captured frame on a multitude of occasions, which can cause interruptions in the video stream. Another important consideration for effective hard drive capture is to defragment the computer hard drive through an appropriate Windows tool such as disk defragmenter or disk optimizer (Ozer, 2003).

ture defects include “drop outs” or “banding” (a sign of tape damage or head clogging). The most noticeable spatial artifacts are “feathering” or “mosquito noise,” which involve diagonally fine detail corruption.

These are compression-induced errors usually seen around sharp-edged text, and they show up as pixel noise within eight pixels of the edge detail. Spatial quilting artifacts can also be observed on certain diagonal lines, typically long straight edges about 20 degrees off of the horizontal axis.

Sometimes it’s possible to notice the quilting artifacts while panning slowly across a particular scene. Motion blocking occurs when the two fields in a frame are too different for the DV codec to compress them together. Motion blocking is best observed in a static scene shot through which objects are moving or in the immediate vicinity of the moving object. Dropouts may appear as small signal block errors or as multiple blocks depending upon the nature of the degradation (Puhovski, 2000).

Artifacts and Other Editing Annoyances

There have been numerous reports of “lip sync” problems where the audio lags behind the video or sometimes precedes the video.

There have been numerous problems reported in the past with a variety of Pioneer and Sony models to include some PC decoder cards. The contributing factors to the sync problems include:

DVDs are normally derived from some form of digital tape media including DV consumer digital mini DV tape or broadcast digital tape format such as DV PRO or DV CAM, D1, D2, D3, D4, etc. These digital tape formats are sometimes not totally devoid of any defects. There are a number of artifacts and other picture defects that are part of the digital recording world and usually come in three varieties, “mosquito noise,” “quilting,” and “motion blocking.”

Other pic-

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Unlocked Audio or Poorly Synced Video with Audio

1. Improper sync in audio/video encoding or DVD-video formatting.

2. Poor sync during film production or editing.

3. Loose sync tolerance in the player.

4. Delay in the external decoder receiver.

Unfortunately, because DV was designed as a consumer format, unlocked audio was allowed to exist as a cost-saving measure where the internal audio clock is somewhat imprecise and up to plus or minus 25 audio samples can be written to tape in an imprecise manner. Normally the unlocked audio should not drift for too long a period of time before it does sync up with the video signal.

The way the audio is recorded depends upon the type of DVD burner employed in producing the sound. The standard sampling rates are 32 KHz or two channels of 16 bit each of 48 KHz quality. The audio is interleaved with the video and both are recorded by the two rotating video heads. Along with the audio/video and other sub-code data, there exists small guard bands in DV tape production, which includes “header” information—basically a data packet and further includes SYMPTE time code, user bits, scene markers, camera location, etc. DV tape also contains sufficient “header” data that would result in possible corruption during playback if the sub-code data is improperly encoded on the tape (Puhovski, 2000). MLP is an auto coding scheme using proprietary technology developed by Meridian Audio and Associates.

This lossy data reduction coding method operates by discarding information that is less important to the listener. In effect, MLP coding distributes the audio data more efficiently into small data rates for transmission and carries it in a protected environment along with its associated data. Previously the highest quality sound came from Linear PCM coding. As this format does not require mastering or playback to be entirely lossless, the MLP system was developed as a true lossless system. The original data is delivered bit-for-bit at playback. The sound data is therefore transmitted in exactly the same format as the producer intended. No elaborate listening tests are required Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 81

of the writable formats are fully compatible with each other or even with existing drives and players.

Some later DVD versions that have a multi-logo are guaranteed to read additional DVD formats while a DVD multi-recorder can record using all three formats. Those individuals experiencing problems playing DVDs on their computer should get updated software. Incompatible drivers are the biggest cause of playback problems ranging from freezeup to error messages to region code problems. It is recommended that you obtain tech support from the Web site of your equipment manufacturer and obtain the latest drivers for your graphics adaptor, audio card, and DVD decoder. to qualify this coding system, which guarantees delivery of the original recording over a number of different carriers and computing platforms.

Displaying DVD Video Video clips are normally displayed in two different methods: interlaced scan or progressive scan.

Progressive scan is normally seen in computer monitors and digital TVs. They display all horizontal lines of the picture at one time. Interlaced scan normally uses standard television formats and displays only half of the horizontal lines at a time. It relies on earlier TV technology to blend the two different video fields together to create what appears to be a single picture. DVDs are designed to be interlace-scan displays, but if the original video format consists of a movie, it is highly recommended that a progressive scan DVD player be purchased that will play back the movie at the appropriate frame rate and resolution.

DVD Production Basics Essentially all DVD production involves three steps: Content Creation, Menu Creation, and Linking Menus to the appropriate content data.

After previewing the audio, video, and other content materials to ensure they are being played back as planned, it is necessary to compress the video files to MPEG-2 format in rendering the final DVD. Computers do have the potential to produce better video than desktop video players by using progressive display and higher scan rates, but many PC systems fail to reproduce the picture quality as a home player connected to a quality TV, where the PC decoder cards or the VGA cards must have a TV output. The quality of the video provided by a PC depends in large part on the decoder’s capabilities, the graphics card, the TV encoder chip, and other factors. In most cases a PC-based DVD burner connected to a progressive-scan monitor or video projector instead of a standard TV will usually produce better quality video.

There can be serious compatibility problems with recordable DVD formats. For example, many 82 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

Technical Aspects of DVD Production Digital video is comprised of a series of dots called pixels—each holding a different color value. For DVD, each grid of 720 squares by 578 squares represents a still image called a frame. It takes 30 frames to convey motion. For DVD audio, the resulting sound is comprised of both intensity and frequency information. For DVD, these numbers are “sampled” over 48,000 times a second, which is far superior than its analog counterpart. With digital signal processing, about 13% of the digital information before modulation is extra information, which is used for error correction. As the data is read from the disk, the error correction data is separated and checked against the remaining information. If it doesn’t match, the error correction codecs are used to correct the situation.

A codec is an abbreviation for compressor/de-compressor, or encode/decode, depending upon its purpose.

Essentially all video compression technology involves the encoding of the initial compressed file and then subsequent decoding for remote viewing. Familiar codecs include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP-3, MPEG4, Real audio, Real video, Sorenson, and Microsoft Windows Media video and audio. Most codecs involve two different types of compression to achieve their target data rates including intra-frame compression and inter-frame compression, which are techniques used to remove redundancies between frames.

Digital Audio Coding DVD uses three different types of audio coding including MPEG-1, which has three compression techniques. MPEG-2 digital audio compression adds multiple channels and is backward compatible with MPEG-1 decoders. The primary audio coding for DVD manufacturer is Dolby digital, which provides up to 5.1 channels of discrete audio data. Dolby digital uses a frequency transform and groups the resulting values into frequency bands of varying widths to match the critical bands of human hearing. More than 50 million Dolby digital decoders are now situated throughout the United www.acfei.com

States compared to almost no MPEG-2 audio decoders.

DVD Internet Resource Sites Top DVD info sites include: 1. Robert’s DVD (www.robertsdvd.com) 2. DVD PHD (www.dvdphd.com) 3.The Digital Bits (www.thedigitalbits. com) 4. DVD File (www.dvdfile.com) 5. DVD Review (www.dvdreview.com) 6. Chad Fogg’s DVD Technical Notes (www. tapeexpert.com/pdf/corrupteddvd.pdf ) 7. DVD White papers from Sonic Solutions (www.tapeexpert.com/pdf/corrupteddvd.pdf ) 8. Tristan’s MPEG Pointers and Resources. (www.mpeg.org)

DVD Testing/Verification Services Testing/Verification Services include: 1. CD Associates (714-733-8580) 2. Intellikey Labs in Burbank, CA (818953-9116) 3. Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com), which provides diagnostic tools for Windows 4. Testronic Labs in Burbank, CA (818845-3223) 5. WAMO, URL of www.ivyhill-wms. com.

EnCase Forensic gives you additional software to conduct thorough and conclusive computer examinations. This system provides information on the investigation and documentation of many in-house crimes, including child pornography, domestic violence, harassment, narcotics, etc. without omitting valuable computer evidence or waiting on back-logged labs. This system was developed by criminal forensic experts and is accepted by courts throughout the world. EnCase allows investigators to manage large volumes of computer evidence by viewing all relevant files, and including “deleted files,” file slack, and unallocated space. Once in, the files are created and the examiner can search and analyze multiple drives or other media simultaneously, using keyword searches, hash analysis, file specific filters, and multiple filters.

(EnCase Forensics, 2006)

Suggested Forensic Examination Techniques A duplicate either on hard drive or on a suitable DVD should be made as soon as the original evidence DVD has arrived. If playback or compatibility problems arise during the playback, it may be necessary to obtain, if not the original DVD burner, then at least (800) 592-1399

a similar make and model instrument for playback of the questioned DVD recording.

As many of the corrupt or edited DVD playback anomalies are readily discernible during a visual and aural review of the DVD, suspicious record events may be identifiable through appropriate CD-DVD diagnostic software. For example, CD-DVD Diagnostic is a useful program that recovers data from unreadable, scratched, corrupt, or defective CDs and DVDs. This particular program provides sector examinations, checks disk memory, and checks point issues. It also locates files that have been dropped from the directory structure, and the examination process is done automatically when errors are detected in the directory structure.

A device manufactured by Data Duplication Ltd. called FDA-100 is an automatic forensic disk reader/analyzer, which provides hardware solutions to corrupted DVDs. This device also analyzes disk and data information and allows for multiple examinations without rescanning. It also displays sectors and searches the disk surface for corrupted data. It is able to recover the original time stamp information when the disk was mastered.

An additional software program is provided

by InfinaDyne in the Chicago area and includes a thorough examination of the DVD, which may take anywhere from a few seconds to hours depending on how the disk was recorded or if there were any errors returned while reading it. As errors are detected, a dialog is made to identify each suspicious sector.

Analysis results are presented in three of the more common formats for writing a DVD, ISO-9660, Joliet, and UDF disks. InfinaDyne also provides periodic classes and is tailored for professionals in data recovery, forensics, and law enforcement.

The need for more effective DVD data recovery and forensic analysis will continue and may affect the admissibility and reliability of DVD evidence disks (Cain, 2005).

References Cain, S. (2004). CD copies of taped audio recording: A poor forensic alternative for attorneys. The Forensic Examiner, 13(2), 38-42.

Cain, S. (2005). Forensic examination of CCTV digital VTR surveillance recording equipment. The Forensic Examiner, 14(4), 47-49.

EnCase Forensic, (2006). EnCase Forensic. Retrieved October 14, 2008, from Guidance Software Web site: http://www.guidancesoftware.com/products/ef_index. asp Ozer, J. (2004). Guide to digital video. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing Inc. Puhovski, N. (2000). Standing committee for new technology. Retrieved from http://www.161.58.124.223/ archives/DV-Report Taylor, J. (2004). Everything you ever wanted to know about DVDs. Columbus, OH: Magraw-Hill-Tab Electronics.

Taylor, J., Johnson, M., & Crawford, C. (2006). DVD demystified. Columbus, OH: Magraw-Hill. n

Earn CE Credit To earn CE credit, complete the exam for this article on page 77 or complete the exam online at www.acfei.com (select “Online CE”).

About the Author Steve Cain, MFS, MFSQD, DABFE, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABRE, served 22 years as both a Special Agent and forensic specialist with U.S. Secret Service and IRS National Crime Laboratories before founding Forensic Tape Analysis (FTA) in Burlington, Wisconsin. A majority of his business concerns the identification of questioned voice recording or issues relating to audio or videotape recording authenticity or corrupted CDs and DVDs. He is a Fellow of the ACFEI. Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 83

“What a sincere honor and privilege it is to be a part of this professional organization. I appreciate the quality of the ACFEI Conferences and love renewing friendships. Thank you for the opportunity to present, and I look forward to submitting an abstract for 2009.”

—Dianne T. Ditmer, MS, RN, DABFN, CFN

84 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

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Falsely Accused

Falsely Accused: The Case of Ronald Gene Taylor

s Barry Scheck, founder of the Innocence Project, played a key role in winning the exoneration of Ronald Gene Taylor.

KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY HILDA M. PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL

It is now believed that on May 28, 1993, Roosevelt Carroll—a man with a history of violent sex crimes—raped a Houston woman in her home. Carroll is currently in a Texas prison, serving a 15-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender. He hasn’t been tried for the rape and won’t be tried, because he didn’t become a suspect until after the statute of limitations had passed. The police stopped looking for him after they falsely accused an innocent man for the crime Carroll is suspected of committing (Associated Press, 2008a).

This man—Ronald Gene Taylor—was tried for the rape, found guilty, and served 12 of the 60-year sentence before DNA evidence found that he was innocent. Taylor was exonerated in January of this year, and his pardon was signed on June 13. He has become yet another victim of a criminal justice system, that, when it errs, both punishes the innocent and rewards the guilty.

The location of Taylor’s residence, less than a mile from the crime scene, put him under suspicion for the rape, and he was brought in to participate in a police line-up. The line-up was videotaped and shown to the victim at her home. There were no attorneys or representatives for Taylor present at her viewing (“Ronald Gene,” 2008).

The victim identified Taylor as the rapist, although she reported that it had been dark 86 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008

in her room during the rape, so she couldn’t see her attacker. She said that she did feel the shape of his facial features, neck, and body during the attack. Ten days later, she altered her statement, adding details including the fact that the perpetrator was about 6 feet tall and that his ears “stuck out a little,” and while watching the line-up, she suddenly remembered that her attacker was missing a front tooth—as was Taylor (“Ronald Gene”).

Although the victim remembered the rapist ejaculating, the serologist reported that there was no semen on the victim’s clothing or bed sheets—believing there was no biological material to test. DNA testing was not conducted, despite the requests of Taylor’s lawyers (“Ronald Gene”). Taylor was convicted and sentenced to 60 years—no one listened when he insisted on his innocence.

The Innocence Project began investigating the case in 1998 after a request from Taylor’s stepfather. During this same time, the Houston Police Department came into the limelight as a forensics scandal led to questions about thousands of convictions.

Taylor’s case was among them, and, in 2006, DNA testing was ordered on the evidence from his case (Tolson & Khanna, 2007). The new tests found biological material to sample, proved Taylor’s innocence, and pointed to the guilt of Roosevelt Carroll, who would never be tried (Tolson & Khanna).

After his release, Taylor relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where his mother, Dorothy Henderson, waited for him. “He always said that he was innocent, and I kept the faith that one day it would come through that it was not him,” she said “… We have suffered so much, but soon, now, when I can hug him and know that he is free, we will have peace” (Tolson & Khanna, 2007).

Taylor later married and started his own lawn care business. In a phone interview with an Associated Press reporter, Taylor shared, “It’s been hard to get restarted. …

Little things, like filling out a job application or renting an apartment are hard when you have to say you are a convicted felon. Now, I am officially a free man. I am so relieved” (Associated Press, 2008a).

After 12 years in prison for the wrongful conviction, Taylor may collect up to $50,000 for each year he spent in prison—more than $600,000, should he decide not to sue the Houston Police Department (Associated Press, 2008b).

A founder of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck, is aware of the bigger implications of Taylor’s case: “The Ronald Taylor case ought to be a galvanizing example of what has to be done to correct the historical injustices that have occurred because of the Houston crime lab. … There has got to be an expeditious way to go through these cases and determine whether more testing is possible and appropriate. That sort of vetting requires expertise, competence and an infrastructure to do that” (Tolson & Khanna, 2007).

References Associated Press. (2008a, June 20). Ex-Texas inmate cleared in rape case officially pardoned. USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://www.usatoday. com/news/nation/2008-06-20-texas-inmate_N.htm Associated Press. (2008b, June 20). Governor pardons Houston man convicted of rape. ABC 7 News.

Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://www.kvia. com/Global/story .asp?S=8532369&nav= Ronald Gene Taylor. (2008, September 16). Innocence Project. Retrieved September 16, 2008 from http://www. innocenceproject.org/Content/1124.php Tolson, M., & Khanna, R. (2007, October 4). Man exonerated 14 years after rape conviction: Mix-up on DNA deals HPD lab another blow. Houston Chronicle.

Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://truthinjustice.org/ronald-taylor.htm n

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