Montessori Forensics Blog

this really bites

A recent NY Times article pointed out that dental evidence is far from the exact science that some would tell you it is.

"Fifteen years ago, Roy Brown, a hard-drinking man with a criminal record, was convicted of stabbing, beating, biting and strangling a social worker in upstate New York. The case rested largely on one piece of forensic evidence: bite marks on the victim that the prosecution’s witness, a local dentist, said matched Brown’s teeth.

On Tuesday, Brown was released from prison, after DNA testing on the saliva left by the biter proved his innocence and implicated someone else in the crime. At the time of his conviction, Brown, 46, was missing two front teeth. The bite marks, meanwhile, had six tooth imprints..." more

DNA has proven to be one of the more reliable methods of determining the validity of other physical evidence.

posted by Mr. Barkan @ 7:52 PM