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Bite Mark Analysis Essay

562 Words3 Pages

Bite mark analysis has been portrayed as technology based and definitive in crime television for decades which is far from the truth. In 1984, an established bite mark analyst, Doctor L. Thomas Johnson, falsely testified to the jury that Robert Stinson was a murderer. Dr. Johnson’s testimony was based on inaccurate assessments of a bite mark found on the victim’s body. This mark was compared to the dental examination of the suspect leading Stinson to be found guilty of all charges. He spent the next 23 years convicted in a Wisconsin prison. However, it was later found that he was innocent. This case pulled the field of forensic dentistry into question for validity. Bite mark analysis was not technologically advanced enough to be used as evidence …show more content…

Dental examinations provide forensic teams with the information required from the suspects teeth in order to reach a consensus. While dental examinations are able to support evidence, bite mark analysis is not accurate enough to do so. Skin does not reliably record the dimensions of teeth, therefore assembling inaccurate predictions on who the suspect is. Bite mark analysis is considered a pattern matching discipline within the field of forensic dentistry. Disciplines such as this are determined by assessments rather than statistics. Television shows involving murder cases and crime such as Bones, Criminal Minds, and NCIS have tricked viewers into believing this forensic science is a simple process.
Misrepresentation of forensic science in mainstream crime shows lead audiences to believe technology has the ability to report one accurate consensus within minutes when provided with a dental imprint. In reality, receiving an accurate consensus when examining a dental impression on human skin is rare. The Stinson case sparked media interest, leading consumers to this assumption. However, bite mark analysis has never been error rate tested, meaning the validity of this science has not yet been determined. Many studies have been able to provide evidence as to why these inaccuracies

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