With the rising number of homicides increasing rapidly, death investigations are becoming more complex considering that they incorporate different experts as part of establishing a combined approach to investigations. Some of the notable experts included in death investigations include crime scene technicians, forensic anthropologists, and entomologists among other medical and non-medical experts. The role of the forensic anthropologist cannot be ignored because it helps in certifying death and providing probable causes of death. Forensic anthropology is fast becoming an essential part of death investigations considering that it incorporates expertise from multiple fields of study; thus, bringing a spectrum of skills that are essential in the investigations. It is crucial in providing answers to some of the key questions that may relate to the investigations, especially in cases where the victims cannot be identified through their physical appearances. This report aims to examine the role and impact of forensic anthropology on death investigations as part of the criminal justice system.
Forensic Anthropology in Death Investigations
Forensic anthropology is fast becoming an essential part of the criminal justice system attributed to its impacts and roles in death investigations. Forensic anthropologists are well-equipped with knowledge and information allowing them to identify different aspects associated with a victim regardless of them not being physically identifiable. For example, a forensic anthropologist can identify a victim's age, sex, stature, and ancestry based on the examination of multiple features. These aspects are important when conducting death investigations because they help provide investigators with an idea of who the victim is, which paves the way for efficiency in the investigations. Forensic anthropology goes further by providing insight into the cause of death, which is equally an important part of the investigations (Grivas & Komar, 2008). Determining the cause of death will determine whether indeed investigators will consider it as a homicide, natural death, or suicide among others.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Forensic anthropologists also serve as expert witnesses in courts of law where they are expected to provide their expert opinion on different areas associated with the death investigations that may have been conducted. Since the early 1970s, the number of judicial requests for expert testimonies has increased because most of the experts play a central role in determining what may have caused the death and provide possible estimates on the time of death (Blau, 2018). Many of these witnesses are forensic anthropologists, who provide relevant assistance in cases where victims of the possible cause of death cannot be determined through any physical marks. Forensic anthropology goes beyond the evaluation of physical or visible aspects associated with the victim towards guiding investigators on what to look for as they proceed with their investigations. Therefore, this highlights the important position that forensic anthropology has curved for itself as part of the criminal justice system.
Impact of Forensic Anthropology in Death Investigations
Investigators often encounter cases where it becomes challenging for them to identify victims or even determine what may have caused their death. Forensic anthropology expertise has helped change this outcome by shifting the way death investigations are conducted as a way of improving efficiency for the investigators. Dirkmaat, Cabo, Ousley, & Symes (2018) point out that forensic anthropology can work with victims at different stages of decomposition during which time the expert involved will provide crucial information needed as part of the investigations. Forensic anthropologists work with mummies, piles of bones, decomposed bodies, and charred remains. They play a central role in mapping out the human remains to determine whether a victim may have been killed or died of natural causes. In each case, the involvement of a forensic anthropologist is important because it serves as a guide for investigators as they proceed with their investigations.
The most significant impact that forensic anthropology has had on death investigations is that it has highlighted the importance of using human skeletal traits to determine the key aspects that investigators consider. Some of the key skeletal traits that forensic anthropologists utilize as part of their involvement in death investigations include skull features, dental characteristics, and subcranial bone sizes (Grivas & Komar, 2008). The traits are different from one individual to another, which aid in differentiating a victim’s gender, age, stature, and size. The inclusion of these traits in the investigations helps in ensuring efficiency in the investigations conducted considering that investigators can use the information to determine the victim’s identity. Forensic anthropologists are often involved in cases where investigators cannot identify the different physical characteristics of their victims. The anthropologists help in guiding investigators on what to look out for as part of the process in which they intend to identify their victims.
Another impact that forensic anthropology has had on death investigations is that it has helped in speeding up the investigations as a way of determining the cause of death. Forensic anthropology has helped in cutting down the amount of time taken when conducting death investigations by more than 50% considering that the involvement of these experts guides provides reliable information for investigators to use as part of their investigations (Moraitis & Spiliopoulou, 2010). Before the inclusion of forensic anthropology in homicide investigations, one of the key challenges that investigators encountered was that it was notably hard for them to speed up their investigations because they could not identify their victim. Investigators relied on information provided from other sources, which, in most cases, was not as reliable as may have been expected. However, this has changed significantly through a shift towards the inclusion of forensic anthropology, which advances the approaches used in death investigations.
Forensic anthropology has also helped introduce an element of accuracy and reliability in the death investigations conducted, which is important for prosecutors as they try to prove their case in a court of law. Forensic anthropologists introduce a new dynamic of how investigations are conducted with the focus being on determining whether death can be considered as homicide or natural (Boyd & Boyd, 2011). Accuracy in death investigations is important considering that it determines the viability of a case during its presentation in court where a defendant is accused of causing death. The fact that prosecutors consider including forensic investigators as expert witnesses also helps in pushing the overall idea that forensic anthropology is changing death investigations in a significant way. Most of these changes can be seen from the fact that they contribute to a shift in evidence presentation guided by science-backed information gathered by forensic anthropologists.
Role of Forensic Anthropologists
During death investigations, forensic investigators play various roles, which are essential in determining the outcomes of the investigations. The following is an evaluation of some of the key role and the value in such investigations:
Scene Processing
After law enforcement officers identify a site where victims' remains are buried, they involve forensic anthropologists as part of the processing of the scene to gather as much information as possible to govern the investigations. A forensic anthropologist has several key roles in the processing of scenes. Firstly, he/she will evaluate the remains to determine whether indeed they are human. Although forensic anthropologists work as part of a group of experts, his/her role in the identification of the victim is important considering that it becomes much easier for the anthropologist to evaluate each part of the remains to determine the emerging anatomical scatter patterns.
Secondly, the forensic anthropologist will then set up a screening area near the burial site from where each material collected from the site is systematically evaluated to reveal any human remains. Dirkmaat, Cabo, Ousley, & Symes (2018) note that forensic anthropology introduces a set of expertise that aid in distinguishing between human and animal remains depending on the skeletal properties and features. This is the knowledge that a forensic anthropologist is expected to use when sifting through the materials collected from the burial site as a way of ensuring that the materials they consider as part of the investigations match those of the victim(s). Lastly, the forensic anthropologist will set up a staging area for excavation with the focus being on plants, earth materials, metals, or any other sediments that will provide viable information. As he/she expands investigations, such materials will serve as a point of reference in determining the possible time and cause of death by providing vital evidence.
Developing of a Biological Profile
After processing the scene where remains have been collected, a forensic anthropologist will then move ahead with the process of developing a victim’s biological profile. In some death investigations, victims cannot be identified using their physical characteristics considering that they may have been buried for a long period; thus, paving the way for decay (Moraitis & Spiliopoulou, 2010). It is in such cases that the role of a forensic anthropologist is most need in developing a victim's biological profile. Through the examination of the remains, the anthropologist will determine specific characteristics associated with the victim, which include gender, age, and stature. The profile is created using a victim’s skeletal and dental properties, which differ among men and women and persons of different age categories. The use of ossification centers in bones is key in the identification of a victim’s age, which is an important piece in the investigations conducted.
Developing a victim's biological profile is important because it serves as the first step in identifying the victim, which may be of great value in the investigations conducted, especially in determining the victim’s identity and background among other information. Forensic anthropology is expected to provide critical information on the victim’s physical and biological characteristics focusing on information from the remains collected (Boyd & Boyd, 2011). In some cases, the forensic anthropologist involved in a death investigation may provide vital information on a victim’s racial and ethnic background to guide investigators on the communities to concentrate on as they try to identify the victim. From all perspectives, what is most notable is the fact that the development of this profile helps in guiding how investigators move ahead to achieve the best possible outcomes in their identification of the victim.
Cause of Death
Forensic anthropology also plays a central role in determining the cause of death. Blau (2018) indicates that the information that forensic anthropologists provide to medical examiners (MEs) is important in guiding their conclusions on the cause of death, which then determines the nature of investigations to be conducted. Based on a forensic anthropologist’s evaluation of the victim’s remains, he/she can determine whether the victim may have died as a result of sharp force, gunshot, or blunt force among others. In each case, the anthropologist will consider several key features defined based on the remains collected, which focuses on the evaluation of the damages to the bones. MEs often seek the guidance of forensic anthropologists as they engage in the determination of the cause of death because anthropologists have compounded knowledge touching on the bone structure. Therefore, he/she would be in a much better position to determine the cause of death depending on the damages to the bones.
Documentation and Eyewitness Testimony
After a forensic anthropologist has been involved in each of the steps, discussed above, he/she is expected to compile a report that will guide investigators on the next step in the investigations. The report will include information about the victim and the probable cause of death determined by the evaluation of the damages to the bones. Law enforcement investigators will then use such information to guide their investigators because it provides critical links that they ought to consider as they embark on their investigations. The forensic anthropologist is then expected to provide eyewitness testimony in a court of law as part of providing an expert opinion. Using the information gathered from each of the steps outlined, a forensic anthropologist serves as a viable expert witness that the prosecution may use as they try to prove their case as they seek a conviction.
Conclusion
Forensic anthropology has become an essential part of death investigations in the criminal justice system today attributed to its role and impacts on the investigations conducted. The role of the forensic anthropologist cannot be ignored because it helps in certifying death and providing probable causes of death. A forensic anthropologist can identify a victim's age, sex, stature, and ancestry based on the examination of multiple features. They play a central role in mapping out the human remains to determine whether a victim may have been killed or died of natural causes. Forensic anthropologists are often involved in cases where investigators cannot identify the different physical characteristics of their victims. Based on a forensic anthropologist's evaluation of the victim's remains, he/she can determine whether the victim may have died as a result of sharp force, gunshot, or blunt force among others.
References
Blau, S. (2018). It’s all about the context: reflections on the changing role of forensic anthropology in medico-legal death investigations. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences , 50 (6), 628-638.
Boyd, C., & Boyd, D. C. (2011). Theory and the scientific basis for forensic anthropology. Journal of forensic sciences , 56 (6), 1407-1415.
Dirkmaat, D. C., Cabo, L. L., Ousley, S. D., & Symes, S. A. (2008). New perspectives in forensic anthropology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists , 137 (S47), 33-52.
Grivas, C. R., & Komar, D. A. (2008). Kumho, Daubert, and the nature of scientific inquiry: implications for forensic anthropology. Journal of forensic sciences , 53 (4), 771-776.
Moraitis, K., & Spiliopoulou, C. (2010). Forensic implications of carnivore scavenging on human remains recovered from outdoor locations in Greece. Journal of forensic and legal medicine , 17 (6), 298-303.
