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For six decades, Pittsburgh-based forensic scientist Cyril Wecht has been an outspoken authority when horrible things happen to everyday people--murders, childhood deaths, tragic accidents and police brutality. His expertise and testimony have been called upon in high-profile cases, including the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey, Laci Peterson and others. As a criminal defendant, in 1979, he was acquitted on charges of personally profiting from his office as Allegheny County Coroner; a federal public corruption charge was dismissed in 2008. Both cases, his attorneys argued, were politically motivated. Wecht's memoir describes his work on famous cases, his life in the public eye and his legal battles with determined and powerful authorities, from his hometown DA to a U.S. Attorney and the FBI.
Details the emergence of modern crime-fighting techniques, focusing on how crime scenes are investigated, how evidence is processed, and how evidence is used in court to build a case for conviction.
Finely written and meticulously documented, this book describes how--very early on--a small group of ordinary citizens began extraordinary efforts to demonstrate that the JFK assassination could not have happened the way the government said it did. In time, their efforts had an enormous impact on public opinion, but this account concentrates on the months before the controversy caught fire, when people with skeptical viewpoints still saw themselves as lone voices. Material seldom seen by the public includes a suppressed photograph of the grassy knoll, an unpublished 1964 interview with an eyewitness, the earliest mention of the "magic bullet," and an analysis of the commotion surrounding New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison's charge that anti-Castro CIA operatives were involved.
Once a crime has been committed, police search for evidence to identify, catch, and convict the perpetrators. This new title examines different types of evidence, how police identify and use them, and how that evidence is then applied in court. Evidence also looks at how key types of evidence have affected real-life criminal cases, the increasing role of technology in processing and substantiating evidence, and the chain of custody and issues of evidence tampering. The book also focuses on DNA evidence, which has become more prevalent in cases, and exonerated convicts as well as expert and eyewitness testimony. Chapters include: The History of Evidence; Trace Evidence; The False Confession; Modus Operandi; Toxicology.:.
Explains elements of the justice system including a history of trials, the roles of attorneys and jurors, and information on the process of a legal case.
As elected coroners came to be replaced by medical examiners with scientific training, the American public became fascinated with their work. From the grisly investigations showcased on highly rated television shows like C.S.I. to the bestselling mysteries that revolve around forensic science, medical examiners have never been so visible—or compelling. They, and they alone, solve the riddle of suspicious death and the existential questions that come with it. Why did someone die? Could it have been prevented? Should someone be held accountable? What are the implications of ruling a death a suicide, a homicide, or an accident? Can medical examiners unmask the perfect crime? Postmortem goes d...
Scientific sleuthing and slip-ups in the investigations of fifteen famous cases Ranging from the Turin Shroud and the suspicious death of Napoleon Bonaparte to the murder cases of Dr. Sam "The Fugitive" Sheppard and O. J. Simpson, A Question of Evidence takes readers inside some of the most vexing forensic controversies of all time. In each case, Colin Evans lays out the conflicting medical and scientific evidence and shows how it was used or mishandled in reaching a verdict. Among the other cases: the assassination of JFK, the strange history of Alfred Packer (the only convicted American cannibal), the death of Vatican banker Roberto Calvi, and the trials of Lindy Chamberlain (the "dingo baby" case) and Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald (the case recounted in Fatal Vision). Though the science of forensics has helped solve a huge number of crimes, it's clear from A Question of Evidence that many cases are more open than shut. Colin Evans (Pembroke, UK) is the author of the popular Casebook of Forensic Detection (Wiley: 0-471-28369-X) as well as Great Feuds in History (Wiley: 0-471-38038-5).
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Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner's Office chronicles the exploits of a diverse team of investigators at a coroner's office in Pittsburgh. Ed Strimlan is a doctor who never got to practice medicine. Instead he discovers how people died. Mike Chichwak is a stolid ex-paramedic, respected around the office for his compassion and doggedness. Tiffani Hunt is twenty-one, a single mother who questions whether she wants to spend her nights around dead bodies. All three deputy coroners share one trait: a compulsive curiosity. A good thing too because any observation at a death scene can prove meaningful. A bag of groceries standing on a kitchen counter, the milk turning sour. A broken lamp lying on the ca...
This book is an in-depth exploration of four fascinating true crime cases from the files of Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D. Coauthored by crime writer Dawna Kaufmann, it explores both the technical and the human sides of murder--and includes new and shocking revelations for each case. Presented first is the puzzling death of a wealthy self-help guru at the hands of "The Harlem Kevorkian" and the case's latest legal ramifications. Next is the abduction of a little girl, held captive within shouting distance of her loved ones, and her killer's bizarre trial. The third case is the story of a relative who refused to give up on solving the vicious murder of a popular dentist when law enforcement tried to cover up the crime. Last is an unimaginable tale of two heroic grandparents who worked to save a baby from the depths of evil.