Crime and the Construction of Forensic Objectivity from 1850
Editors: Adam, Alison (Ed.)
Free Preview- Uses murder cases to explore forensic objectivity
- Ties in with developing interest in crime scenes and scientific forensic analysis
- Appeals to those interested in criminology, history, policing, forensic science and law
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- About this book
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This book charts the historical development of 'forensic objectivity' through an analysis of the ways in which objective knowledge of crimes, crime scenes, crime materials and criminals is achieved. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, with authors drawn from law, history, sociology and science and technology studies, this work shows how forensic objectivity is constructed through detailed crime history case studies, mainly in relation to murder, set in Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, USA and Ireland. Starting from the mid-nineteenth century and continuing to the present day, the book argues that a number of developments were crucial. These include: the beginning of crime photography, the use of diagrams and models specially constructed for the courtroom so jurors could be ‘virtual witnesses’, probabilistic models of certainty, the professionalization of medical and scientific expert witnesses and their networks, ways of measuring, recording and developing criminal records and the role of the media, particularly newspapers in reporting on crime, criminals and legal proceedings and their part in the shaping of public opinion on crime. This essential title demonstrates the ways in which forensic objectivity has become a central concept in relation to criminal justice over a period spanning 170 years.
- About the authors
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Alison Adam is Professor of Science Technology and Society in the Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She has worked at Lancaster University, UMIST and the University of Salford as well as spending a number of years in industry prior to her academic career. Her research has been located in science and technology studies over a period of nearly forty years.
- Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Crime and the Construction of Forensic Objectivity from 1850: Introduction
Pages 1-13
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Bodies in the Bed: English Crime Scene Photographs as Documentary Images
Pages 17-41
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Murder in Miniature: Reconstructing the Crime Scene in the English Courtroom
Pages 43-67
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The Biggar Murder: ‘A Triumph for Forensic Odontology’
Pages 69-98
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Making Forensic Evaluations: Forensic Objectivity in the Swedish Criminal Justice System
Pages 99-121
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Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- Crime and the Construction of Forensic Objectivity from 1850
- Editors
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- Alison Adam
- Series Title
- Palgrave Histories of Policing, Punishment and Justice
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Copyright Holder
- The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)
- eBook ISBN
- 978-3-030-28837-2
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-030-28837-2
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-3-030-28836-5
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- XVI, 315
- Number of Illustrations
- 10 b/w illustrations
- Topics
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