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Letter to the Editor
Erlichiosis Confirmed in Victim of Probable Hobo Spider Bite
Dear Editor,
In my article “Necrotic Spider Bite or
Tick Bite? Hobo Spider Venom or Ehrlichial
Bacteria?” (The Forensic Examiner, 16, No. 4
[2007], 42-55), I had shown a symptomatic
similarity between necrotic spider bite and tick
bite. The spider bites in question were, prob-
ably, though confirmed in one case, inflicted
by the hobo spider of the Pacific Northwest
(Tegenaria agrestis). Particularly during winter
and spring, serious systemic symptoms, in ad-
dition to local symptoms, had developed in
some victims and were shown in the article as
being similar to those of ehrlichiosis, a tick-
transmitted hematological illness. The article
suggested that T. agrestis, which does not cause
serious symptoms in Europe, may be contami-
nated with or be a vector of ehrlichial bacteria;
or, alternately, that the victims had suffered
unidentified exposure to infected ticks.
A case of probable T. agrestis bite, occur-
ring in August of 2006 in Okotoks, Alberta,
Canada (100 miles north of the United States,
near Calgary), has since come to my attention
and confirmed the possibility that ehrlichial
bacteria are transmitted by the spider.
The adult male victim, a medical pro-
fessional, 60 years old at the time of the
bite, had read my article on the subject in
The Forensic Examiner and contacted me in
January of 2008. After working in his yard,
in a rocky area (where previously an ant nest
had been discovered), he had noted, the fol-
lowing day, local symptoms on the front of
his thigh indicative of a spider bite. He sus-
pected that the offending species had been
T. agrestis, as his symptoms matched those
described in the article. He knew from re-
liable sources that T. agrestis was present at
least 100 miles east of his town.
The Forensic Examiner Issues Call for Articles
The Forensic Examiner® is issuing a call for
articles dealing with forensic science. For in-
formation on how to submit an article, go
to: www.theforensicexaminer.com/guidelines.
html.
Articles dealing with any forensic science
subject will be accepted for consideration.
All articles must be approved through The
Examiner’s peer-review process before being
published.
The Examiner especially encourages articles
in the following subjects:
(800) 592-1399
At the bite site, he had observed: two
puncture wounds (from the spider’s fangs,
ca. 5 mm apart); a red area, which had grown
to about 3 cm in diameter; formation of a
vesicle, enlarging to a boil, which he lanced,
draining a clear fluid. The dead skin was
sloughed off, revealing grayish-brown numb
skin underneath, which formed a numb scar.
Systemically, for two weeks following the
bite, he suffered severe fatigue. In October of
2006, he injured his knee and noticed unusu-
ally severe bruising. He also was aware that,
since the spider bite, he had experienced di-
minished well-being.
In the fall of 2007, in preparation for
joint surgery, a very low platelet count was
discovered. From November 2007 to March
2008, platelet values fluctuated between
49x103/mm3 and 69x103/mm3. (Normal
values in humans range from 250x103/mm3
to 400x103/mm3.) Cancer was suspected as
possible cause. During the same period, the
white blood cell (WBC) count fluctuated
between 2.6x103/mm3 and 3.2x103/mm3,
contrasting with the normal human range
of 5x103/mm3 to 9x103/mm3.
Platelet and WBC counts similar to those
seen in the bite victim have been noted in
acutely ill ehrlichiosis patients, though the pa-
tients’ values recovered during the second week
of illness; among four patients, the lowest val-
ues were 49 x103/mm3 (platelets) and 1.1x103/
mm3 (WBC) (Fishbein et al., 1987).
After the bite victim had contacted me in
January of 2008, testing of his blood for ehrli-
chial bacteria was initiated, and he was immedi-
ately prescribed the pertaining antibiotic (tetra-
cycline) by his attending physician. The patient
noted that after the first dose of tetracycline, his
symptoms of declining health, such as fatigue,
• Forensic nursing
• Forensic consulting
• Forensic medicine
• Forensic accounting
• Computer forensics
• Sensitive information protection
Articles dealing with new technology or new
techniques are also strongly encouraged.
The Examiner always welcomes case studies
that give insight into forensic science. Case
studies can focus on one or more interesting
cases.
bleeding gums, and easy bruising, began to re-
verse. Although his platelet count (and WBC
count), by March of 2008, had remained as low
as before, improved platelet function—reduced
bleeding and bruising—was apparent.
The laboratory results confirmed infection
with Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of
granulocytic ehrlichiosis. The attending lab-
oratory (National Microbiology Laboratory,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) suggested the
results (single serum end point titers >64) to
indicate a past, not current, infection. (A reg-
ular laboratory had failed to yield results but
had confirmed the absence of Lyme disease.)
The patient’s physician prescribed long-term
treatment with tetracycline. The patient has
also accepted homeopathic treatment under
my care, which includes the homeopathic use
of his own blood (isode) (Richardson-Boedler,
1994), akin to a vaccination.
Victims with unexplained chronic symptoms,
who recall a spider bite occurring in the Pacific
Northwest or neighboring regions during any
season, should receive careful testing for signs of
a past infection with ehrlichial bacteria.
References
Fishbein, D. B., Sawyer, L. A., Holland, C. J., Hayes,
E. B., Okoroanyanwu, W., Williams, D., et al. (1987).
Unexplained febrile illnesses after exposure to ticks. In-
fection with an Ehrlichia? Journal of the American Medi-
cal Association, 257, 3100-3104.
Richardson-Boedler, C. (1994). The use of patient-
made blood isodes (nosodes) in infectious diseases in-
cluding HIV-infection. Homoeopathy International, 8(1),
21-23. n
Cornelia Richardson-Boedler NMD,
MA, MFT, DABFE, DABFM, CCP, DACe,
FACFEI
The Examiner would like to start a new
regular feature on cold cases. Anyone may
submit an article on a cold case or recom-
mend a case to be featured.
Finally, The Examiner proposes that short
fictional articles, of between 600 and 1,000
words, be submitted. The story should pres-
ent a mystery containing clues that involve
real-life forensic science. The conclusion of
the story should reveal the solution to the
mystery. n
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 5
 THE

FORENSIC
The Official Peer-Reviewed Journal of The American College of Forensic Examiners
EXAMINER
VOLUME 17 • NUMBER 4 • Winter 2008

The American College of Forensic Examiners International (ACFEI) does not endorse, guarantee, or warrant the credentials, work, or opin-
®

ions of any individual member. Membership in ACFEI does not constitute the grant of a license or other licensing authority by or on behalf
of the organization as to a member’s qualifications, abilities, or expertise. The publications and activities of ACFEI are solely for informative
and educational purposes with respect to its members. The opinions and views expressed by the authors, publishers, or presenters are their
sole and separate views and opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of ACFEI, nor does ACFEI adopt such opinions or views as its own.
The American College of Forensic Examiners International disclaims and does not assume any responsibility or liability with respect to the
opinions, views, and factual statements of such authors, publishers, or presenters, nor with respect to any actions, qualifications, or represen-
tations of its members or subscriber’s efforts in connection with the application or use of any information, suggestions, or recommendations
made by ACFEI or any of its boards, committees, publications, resources, or activities thereof.

Feature Articles

13 Technology and Terrorism: How the Internet

Facilitates Radicalism
By Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-IV

40 Behavioral Profiling and Risk Assessment Using

Written Communication
13 By Kimon Iannetta and Reed Hayes
53
53 To Shoot or Not to Shoot: Response
and Interpretation of Response
to Armed Assailants
By Matthew J. Sharps, PhD and Adam B. Hess

65 Eyewitness Memory: Can Suggestion Be

Minimized in the Investigative Interview?
By Wayne G. Whitehouse, PhD; Emily Carota Orne, BA;
and David F. Dinges, PhD

65 77 77 DVDs: An Emerging Forensic Problem That May

Constitute Untrustworthy Evidence
By Steve Cain, MFS, MFSQD, DABFE, FACFEI, DABLEE,
DABRE

Write about a fascinating forensic case.

Case studies exploring forensic investigations on any topic, case, or crime—including deception,
theft, murder, historical cases, and any others—are welcome. These case studies could discuss serial
killers, famous fraudsters, cold cases, or any other type of case. Case studies should focus on how
forensic techniques, tools, and investigations were used to break the case or solve a mystery. These
could be cases you’ve worked on or simply cases that fascinate you.

Submit an article for peer review.

The Forensic Examiner® is always looking for articles on research, new techniques, and findings
in the various fields of forensics. To submit an article for peer review, or for complete submission
guidelines, please visit www.acfei.com or write to editor@acfei.com.

How to Submit:
Whether you wish to submit an article for peer review, a fascinating case or forensic case profile, or
an article on a current issue in the field of forensics, send your writing electronically (either in the
40 body of an email or as an attachment) to editor@acfei.com. Or, send in your writing on a disc or
CD to Editor, Association Headquarters, 2750 E. Sunshine, Springfield, MO 65804.

6 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

 The Forensic Examiner Creed
I do affirm that:
I shall investigate for the truth.
I shall report only the truth.
I shall avoid conflicts of advocacies.
I shall conduct myself ethically.
I shall seek to preserve the highest standard of my profession.
As a Forensic Examiner, I shall not have a monetary interest in any out-
come of a matter in which I am retained.
I shall share my knowledge and experience with other examiners in a
professional manner. 21 29
I shall avoid conflicts of interest and will continue my professional
development throughout my career through continuing education, semi-
nars, and other studies.
As a Forensic Examiner, I will express my expert opinion based only
upon my knowledge, skill, education, training, and experience.
The light of knowledge shall guide me to the truth and with justice the
truth shall prevail.
To all these things, I affirm to uphold.

Case Studies/Current Issues

32 86
21 Prison Violence: Does Brutality Come With the
Badge?
By Bruce Gross, PhD, JD, MBA

29 George Lawlor: An Early Visionary

By Katherine Ramsland, PhD, CMI-V

32 For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time

By Charles Murray

86 Falsely Accused: Innocent Texas Man Does

Time, But Real Rapist Avoids Conviction
38
By Kara Goeke

Also in this Issue

11 Interview with Nanette Philibert, PhD

12 ACFEI News

38 Book Reviews

34

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 7

THE

FORENSIC EXAMINER ®
2008 Editorial Advisory Board

Publisher:
Louay Al-Alousi, MB, ChB, PhD, FRCPath,
Robert L. O’Block, MDiv, PhD, PsyD, DMin,
FRCP(Glasg), FACFEI, DMJPath, DABFM,
DD (Hon) (rloblock@aol.com)
FFFFLM
Editor in Chief: Nicholas G. Apostolou, DBA, DABFA, CPA,
John Lechliter (editor@acfei.com) Cr.FA
Larry Barksdale, BS, MA
Executive Art Director: E. Robert Bertolli, OD, FACFEI, CHS-V, CMI-V
Brandon Alms (brandon@acfei.com) Kenneth E. Blackstone, BA, MS, CFC, DABFE
David T. Boyd, DBA, CPA, CMA, CFM, Cr.FA
Associate Editor: Jules Brayman, CPA, CVA, CFD, DABFA,
Amber Ennis (amber@acfei.com) FACFEI
John Brick, PhD, MA, DABFE, DABFM,
Assistant Editor: FACFEI
Logan Forester (logan@acfei.com) Richard C. Brooks, PhD, CGFM, DABFE
Steve Cain, MFS, DABFE, DABRE, FACFEI ,
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Donald Geoffrey Carter, PE, DABFET
David F. Ciampi, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS
Leanne Courtney, BSN, DABFN, DABFE
ACFEI Executive Advisory Board Larry Crumbley, PhD, CPA, DABFE, Cr.FA
Jean L. Curtit, BS, DC
Andrew Neal Dentino, MD, FACFEI, DABFE,
Chair: DABFM
David E. Rosengard, RPh, MD, PhD, MPH, Francisco J. Diaz, MD
FACFEI, CMI-V, CHS-V, DABFE, DABFM, James A. DiGabriele, DPS, CPA, CFSA, DABFA,
DABECI, FACA, FAPA, MTAPA, FAAIM Cr.FA, CVA, FACFEI
John Shelby DuPont Jr., DDS, DABFD
Vice Chair: Scott Fairgrieve, Hons. BSc, MPhil, PhD, FAAFS
Edmund D. Fenton, DBA, CPA, CMA, Cr.FA
Michael Fitting Karagiozis, DO, MBA, CMI-V Per Freitag, PhD, MD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM
John H. Bridges III, DSc (Hon), CHS-V, Nicholas Giardino, ScD, FACFEI, DABFE
CHMM, CSHM, DABCHS, FACFEI David H. Glusman, CPA, DABFA, CFS, Cr.FA,
Jamie J. Ferrell, BSN, RN, CFN, CMI-III FACFEI
Douglas E. Fountain, PhD, LCSW, DABFE, Karen L. Gold, PysD, FACFEI, DABPS
Ron Grassi, DC, MS, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE
DABFSW James Greenstone, EdD, JD, FACFEI, DABFE,
Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFM, DABECI, CMI-I, CHS-III
DABFE, CHS-III, ABPP Roy C. Grzesiak, PhD, PC
Lee Heath, DABLEE, CHS-V Richard C. W. Hall, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE,
Brian L. Karasic, DMD, MScFin, FACFEI, MD, FAPA, FAPM, FACPsych
DABFD, DABFM, DABFE Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, ABPP, FACFEI,
DABFE, DABPS, CHS-III
Michael G. Kessler, Cr.FA, CICA, FACFEI, James Hanley III, MD, DABFM, FACFEI
DABFA, DABFE Nelson Hendler, MD, DABFM
Marilyn J. Nolan, MS, FACFEI, DABFC, David L. Holmes, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABCIP DABPS
Thomas J. Owen, BA, FACFEI, DABRE, Leo L. Holzenthal Jr., PE, DABFET, FACFEI
DABFE, CHS-V Linda Hopkins, PhD, CFC, DABPS, DABRE
Edward J. Hyman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
Vincent B. Van Hasselt, PhD, DABCIP, DABFM, DABPS
DABLEE, CFC Zafar M. Iqbal, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM
Ben Venktash, DABFET, DABFE, CHSP, REA, Nursine S. Jackson, MSN, RN, DABFN
FRSH(UK), FIET(UK) Paul Jerry, MA, DAPA, DABFC
Scott A. Johnson, MA, DABPS, DAACCE
Philip Kaushall, PhD, DABFE, DABPS, FACFEI
Eric Kreuter, PhD, CPA, CMA, CFM, DABFA,
FACFEI
Ronald G. Lanfranchi, DC, PhD, DABFE,
DABFM, DABLEE, CMI-IV, FACFEI
Richard Levenson, Jr., PsyD, DABFE, DABPS,
FACFEI
Monique Levermore, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS
Jonathon Lipman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABPS, DABFM
Judith Logue, PhD, FACFEI, DABFSW, DABPS,
DABFE, DABFM
Jennie Martin-Gall, CMI-I
Mike Meacham, PhD, LCSW, DABFSW, FACFEI
David Miller, DDS, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM,
DABFD
John V. Nyfeler, CHS-III
Jacques Ama Okonji, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABPS
Norva Elaine Osborne, OD, CMI-III
Terrence O’Shaughnessy, DDS, FACFEI,
DABFD, DABFE, DABFM
George Palermo, MD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM
Ronald J. Panunto, PE, CFC
Larry H. Pastor, MD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM
Theodore G. Phelps, CPA, DABFA
Marc Rabinoff, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, CFC
Harold F. Risk, PhD, DABPS, FACFEI
Susan P. Robbins, PhD, LCSW, DABFSW
Jane R. Rosen-Grandon, PhD, DABFC, FACFEI
Douglas Ruben, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM, DABPS
J. Bradley Sargent, CPA, CFS, Cr.FA, DABFA,
FACFEI
William Sawyer, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM
Victoria Schiffler, RN, DABFN, FACFEI
John V. Scialli, MD, DABFE, DABFM
Howard A. Shaw, MD, DABFM, FACFEI
Henry A. Spiller, MS, DABFE, FACFEI
Marilyn Stagno, PsyD, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS
Richard I. Sternberg, PhD, DABPS
James R. Stone, MD, MBA, CHS-III, DABFE,
DABFM, FACFEI
Johann F. Szautner, PE, PLS, FACFEI, DABFET
William A. Tobin, MA, DABFET, DABLEE,
FACFEI
Robert Tovar, BS, MA, DABFE, DABPS, CHS-III
Brett C. Trowbirdge, PhD, JD, DABPS, FACFEI
Jeff Victoroff, MD, DABFE, DABFM
Patricia Ann Wallace, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM, CFC
Raymond Webster, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM
Dean A. Wideman, MSc, MBA, CFC, CMI-III,
DABFE

The Forensic Examiner® (ISSN 1084-5569) is published quarterly by The American College of Forensic Examiners International, Inc. (ACFEI). Annual membership for a year in the
American College of Forensic Examiners International is $165. Abstracts of articles published in The Forensic Examiner® appear in National Criminal Justice Reference Service,
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8 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

ACFEI Executive Advisory Boards
American Board for Certification in Homeland Security
Executive Committee:
Chairman of the Executive Board for Certification in Homeland
Security: John H. Bridges III, DSc (Hon), CHS-V, CHMM, CSHM,
DABCHS, FACFEI
Lt. Colonel Herman Statum, US Army (Ret), MS, PI, CHS-V, DABCHS,
CPP
Robert R. Silver, PhD, MS, BS, CHS-V, DABCHS
Members of the Executive Board for Certification in Homeland Security:
Nick Bacon, CHS-V, DABCHS
E. Robert Bertolli, OD, BS, FACFEI, DABCHS, CHS-V, CMI-V
Brig. Gen. (Ret) J. Ronald Carey, PhD, CHS-V, DABCHS
Paul P. Donahue, CHS-V, DABCHS, MBA, Cr.FA, CMA, CPP, CBM
Billy Ray Jackson, ATS, CSC, CHS-V, DABCHS
Rev. LZ Johnson, Col. U.S. Army (Ret.), BS, BA, CHS-V, DABCHS
Andrew J. Jurchenko Sr., Col US Army (Ret), CHS-V, DABCHS
Robert L. McAlister, BS, CHS-V, DABCHS, CUSA, ARM
Janet M. Schwartz, PhD, FACFEI, DABCHS, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS,
CHS-V
Edward W. Wallace, CHS-V, Detective 1st Grade (ret.), MA, DABCHS,
CHS-V, SCSA, LPI, BS, CFI I & II, CLEI, CTO, CDHSI
Eric White, BS, CHS-V, DABCHS
American Board of Critical Incident Professionals
Chair of the Executive Board of Critical Incident Professionals:
Gregory Mark Vecchi, PhD, CFC, CHS-V, DABLEE, DABCIP
Vice Chair: Kent A. Rensin, PhD, DABCIP
Monica J. Beer, PhD
Sam D. Bernard, PhD, DABCIP, CHS-III
Marie Leeds Geron, PhD, CHS-V, DABCIP
Raymond H. Hamden, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABCIP, DABCHS,
DAPA, CFC, CMI-V, CHS-V
Marshall A. Jones, MS, DABCIP
Marilyn J. Nolan, MS, FACFEI, DABFC, DABCIP
Rev. Roger Rickman, ACC, CFC, CHS-V, CMI-I, SSI, CRS, DABCHS,
DABCIP, DAPA, FABI, PI, SCS
Debra Russell, PhD, CMI-V, CHS-III, CRC, CISM, DABCIP
Dorriss “Ed” Smith, Col. US Army, CHS-V, DABCIP
Vincent B. Van Hasselt, PhD, DABCIP
Alan E. Williams, MS, CHS-V, DABCIP
American Board of Forensic Accountants
Chair of the Executive Board of Accounting Advisors:
Michael G. Kessler, Cr.FA, CICA, FACFEI, DABFA, DABFE
Stewart L. Appelrouth, CPA, CFLM, CVA, DABFA, Cr.FA, ABV, FACFEI
Gary Bloome, CPA, Cr.FA
Jules J. Brayman, CPA, ABV, CVA, CFFA, FACFEI, DABFA
Stephen E. Cohen, CPA, ABV, FACFEI, DABFA, Cr.FA, CVA
D. Larry Crumbley, PhD, CPA, DABFA, Cr.FA, CFFA, FCPA
James A. DiGabriele, CPA, FACFEI, DABFA, Cr.FA, ABV, CFSA, CVA
June M. Dively, CPA, DABFA, Cr.FA
David Firestone, CPA, Cr.FA
David H. Glusman, CPA, FACFEI, DABFA, Cr.FA
Eric A. Kreuter, PhD, CPA, CMA, CFM, FACFEI, DABFA, SPHR, CFD,
CFFA, BCFT
Raimundo Lopez Lima Levi, CPA, DABFA
Dennis S. Neier, CPA, DABFA
Sandi Peters, CPA, Cr.FA
Jay J. Shapiro, CPA, DABFA
Joseph F. Wheeler, CPA, Cr.FA, CHS-III
American Board of Forensic Counselors
Chair of the Executive Board of Forensic Counselors
Marilyn J. Nolan, MS, FACFEI, DABFC, DABCIP
Vice Chair: Steven M. Crimando, MA, CHS-III
Chair Emeritus: Dow R. Pursley, EdD, DABFC
George Bishop, LPC, LAT, LAC, FACFEI, DABFE
Laura W. Kelley, PhD, LPC, DABFC, FACFEI
Robert E. Longo, FACFEI, DABFC
Kathleen Joy Walsh Moore, FACFEI, DABFC, CHS-III
DeeAnna Merz Nagel, Med, LPC, CRC, DCC, CFC
Irene Abrego Nicolet, PhD, MA, DABFC
Hirsch L. Silverman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFC, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS
William M. Sloane, JD, LLM, PhD, FACFEI, DABFC, CHS-III, CMI-I,
DACC, FACC, FAAIM, DCPC, MTAPA
Gary Smith, MEd, FACFEI, DABFE
Ava Gay Taylor, MS, LPC, FACFEI, DABFC
American Board of Forensic Dentistry
Chair of the Executive Board of Forensic Dentistry:
Brian L. Karasic, DMD, MBA, MScFin, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFM,
DABFE
Members of the Executive Board of Dental Advisors:
Ira J. Adler, DDS, DABFD
Bill B. Akpinar, DDS, CMI-V, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFE, DABFM
Stephanie L. Anton-Bettey, DDS, CMI-V
Jeff D. Aronsohn, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, CMI-V
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Michael H. Chema, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFE
James H. Hutson, DDS, CMI-V, FACFEI, DABFD
John P. Irey, DDS, LLC, CMI-V
Chester B. Kulak, DMD, CMI-V, CHS-III, CFC, DABFE, DABFD
Morley M. Lem, DDS, FACFEI, DABFD, DABFM, DABFE, DABPS
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Chair of the Executive Board of Forensic Examiners:
Michael Fitting Karagiozis, DO, MBA, CMI-V
Chair Emeritus: Zug G. Standing Bear, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM
Members of the Executive Board of Forensic Examiners:
Jess P. Armine, DC, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM
Phillip F. Asencio-Lane, FACFEI, DABFE
John H. Bridges III, CHS-V, CHMM, CSHM, FACFEI, DABCHS,
DABCIP
Ronna F. Dillon, PhD, DABFE, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-III
Nicholas J. Giardino, ScD, FACFEI, DABFE, RPIH, MAC, CIH
Bruce H. Gross, PhD, JD, MBA, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS,
DAPA
Kenneth M. Gross, DC, FACFEI, DABFE, CMI-I
Darrell C. Hawkins, MS, JD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE, CMI-V, CHS-
III, F-ABMDII, IAI-SCSA, IAAI-CFI
Michael W. Homick, PhD, DABCHS, CHS-V
John L. Laseter, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, CMI-IV, CHS-III
Jonathan J. Lipman, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS
Leonard K. Lucenko, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, CPSI
Edward M. Perreault, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE
Marc A. Rabinoff, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, CFC
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DABFE, DABFM, DABECI, FACA, FAPA, MTAPA, FAAIM
Janet M. Schwartz, PhD, CHS-V, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS
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Technology
Chair of the Executive Board of Engineering and Technology Advisors:
Ben Venktash, MS, DABFET, DABFE, CHSP, REA, FRSH(UK),
FIET(UK)
Chair Emeritus: David Albert Hoeltzel, PhD, DABFET, DABFE
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CMI-I
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Nicholas Albergo, FACFEI, DABFET
Kyle J. Clark, DABFET
George C. Frank, CFC, DABFE
Robert K. Kochan, BS, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE
J.W. “Bill” Petrelli Jr., AIA, NCABB, TAID, FACFEI, DABFET, CFC
Max L. Porter, PhD, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE, CFC, PE, HonMASCE,
Parl, Dipl ASFE, FTMS, FACI
Peter H. Rast, PhD, BS, MSFS, MBA, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE,
DABLEE
Oliver W. Siebert, PE, FACFEI, DABFET
Kandiah Sivakumaran, MS, PE, DABFET
Malcolm H. Skolnick, PhD, JD, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFE
James A. St. Ville, MD, MS, FACFEI, DABFET, DABFM
American Board of Forensic Medicine
Chair of the Executive Board of Medical Advisors:
David E. Rosengard, RPh, MD, PhD, MPH, FACFEI, CMI-V, CHS-V,
DABFE, DABFM, DABECI, FACA, FAPA, MTAPA, FAAIM
Vice Chair: Michael Fitting Karagiozis, DO, MBA, CMI-V
Members of the Executive Board of Medical Advisors:
Terrance L. Baker, MD, MS, FACFEI, DABFM, CMI-V
John Steve Bohannon, MD, CMI-IV
Edgar L. Cortes, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-V, FAAP
Albert Basil DeFranco, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-III
James B. Falterman Sr., MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, DABPS,
CMI-IV
Malcolm N. Goodwin Jr., MD, MS, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, FCAP,
Col USAF MCFS (Ret)
Vijay P. Gupta, PhD, DABFM
Richard C.W. Hall, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE
Louis W. Irmisch III, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-V
E. Rackley Ivey, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-V, DABMCM,
DAAPM
Kenneth A. Levin, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE
E. Franklin Livingstone, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE, DAAPM,
FAAPM&R
John C. Lyons, MD, FACS, MSME, BSE, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFET,
DABFE, CMI-IV
Manijeh K. Nikakhtar, MD, MPH, DABFE, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-V
John R. Parker, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, FCAP
Anna Vertkin, MD, CMI-V, DABFM
Maryann M. Walthier, MD, FACFEI, DABFM, DABFE
Cyril Wecht, MD, JD, FACFEI, CMI-V
American Board of Forensic Nursing
Chair of the Executive Board of Nursing Advisors:
Jamie J. Ferrell, BSN, RN, FACFEI, DABFN, DABFE, CFN, CMI-III,
SANE-A,
Vice Chair: Dianne T. Ditmer, PhD, MS, RN, DABFN, CMI-III, CFN,
FACFEI, CHS-III
Chair Emeritus: Russell R. Rooms, MSN, RN, CFN, CMI-III, APRN,
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CFN, FAAN
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Lo M. Lumsden, ANP, GNP, EdD, DABFN, CFN, CHS-III, DABFE
Yvonne D. McKoy, PhD, RN, FACFEI, DABFN
Diane L. Reboy, MS, RN, CFN, LNCC, FACFEI, DABFN, CNLCP
Suzette Rush-Drake, RN, PsyD, BSN, FACFEI, DABFN, DABFE
Elizabeth N. Russell, RN, BSN, CCM, BC, DABFN, FACFEI
LeAnn Schlamb, MSN, RN-BC, CFN, DABFN
Sharon L. Walker, MPH, PhD, RN, CFN
American Board of Forensic Social Workers
Chair of the Executive Board of Social Work Advisors:
Douglas E. Fountain, PhD, LCSW, DABFE, DABFSW
Chair Emeritus: Karen M. Zimmerman, MSW, DABFSW, DABFE
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Judith V. Caprez, MSW, ACS, LCSW, DABFSW
Peter W. Choate, BA, MSW, DABFSW, DABFE
Judith Felton Logue, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFSW, DABPS, DABFM
Michael G. Meacham, PhD, LCSW, DCSW, FACFEI, DABFSW
Kathleen Monahan, DSW, MSW, CFC, DABFE
Susan P. Robbins, PhD, LCSW, DCSW, BCD, LDC, DABFSW
Steven J. Sprengelmeyer, MSW, MA, LISW, FACFEI, DABFSW, DABFE
American Board of Law Enforcement Experts
Chair of the Executive Board of Law Enforcement Experts:
Lee Heath, DABLEE, CHS-V
Vice Chair: Darrell C. Hawkins, JD, CHS-III, DABLEE, DABFE, CMI-V
Chair Emeritus: Michael W. Homick, PhD, CHS-V,DABCHS
Alan Bock, CHS-III, DABLEE
Tom Brady, CHS-V, DABLEE
Gregory M. Cooper, MPA, DABLEE
Dickson S. Diamond, MD, CHS-III, DABLEE, DABFM
John E. Douglas, EdD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE
Les M. Landau, DO,CHS-III, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABFE, DABFM
Ronald G. Lanfranchi, PhD, DC, CMI-IV, FACFEI, DABLEE, DABFE,
DABFM
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John T. Pompi, BA, DABLEE, DABFE, CHS-III
Stephen Russell, BS, DABLEE, CMI-II, CHS-III
Oscar Villanueva, CHS-V, DABLEE
David E. Zeldin, MA, CHS-III, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE
American Board of Psychological Specialties
Chair of the Executive Board of Psychological Advisors:
Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, CHS-III, ABPP
Vice Chair: Raymond H. Hamden, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABCIP,
DABCHS, DAPA, CFC, CMI-V, CHS-V
Chair Emeritus: Carl N. Edwards, PhD, JD, FAAFS, FICPP, FACFEI,
DABPS, DABFE
Carol J. Armstrong, PhD, LPC, DABPS
Robert J. Barth, PhD, DABPS
Monica J. Beer, PhD
John Brick III, PhD, MA, FAPA, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS
Alan E. Brooker, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFM, DABFE, CMI-III,
ABPP-Cn
Brian R. Costello, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE
Ronna F. Dillon, PhD, DABPS, DABFE, CMI-V, CHS-III
Douglas P. Gibson, PsyD, MPH, DABPS, CMI-V, CHS-III
Mark Goldstein, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABPS
Thomas L. Hustak, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE
Richard Lewis Levenson Jr., PsyD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, CTS,
FAAETS
Stephen P. McCary, PhD, JD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS,
FAACP, DAPA
Helen D. Pratt, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS
Douglas H. Ruben, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, DABFM
Richard M. Skaff, PsyD, DABPS
Zug G. Standing Bear, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM
Charles R. Stern, PhD, FACFEI, DABPS, DABFE, DABFM, CMI-V
Brent Van Dorsten, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABFM, DABPS
Joseph C. Yeager, PhD, FACFEI, DABFE, DABLEE, DABPS
Donna M. Zook, PhD, DABPS, CFC
American Board of Recorded Evidence
Chair of the Executive Board of Recorded Evidence Advisors:
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Ernst F. W. (Rick) Alexanderson, BA, MBA, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE
Eddy B. Brixen, DABFET
Charles K. Deak, BS, CPC, FACFEI, DABFE
Ryan O. Johnson, BA, DABFE, DABRE
Michael C. McDermott, JD, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE
Jennifer E. Owen, BA, DABRE, DABFE
Lonnie L. Smrkovski, BS, FACFEI, DABRE, DABFE
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 9
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Law
CEEnforcement
ARTICLE 1: Technology and Terrorism: How the Internet Facilitates Radicalism (Pages 14-20)

ATTENTION ACFEI MEMBERS: Journal-Learning CEs are now FREE when taken online. Visit www.acfei.com.

TO RECEIVE CE CREDIT FOR THIS ARTICLE CE ACCREDITATIONS FOR THIS ARTICLE

In order to receive one CE credit, each participant is required to This article is approved by the following for continuing education credit:
1. Read the continuing education article.
2. Complete the exam by circling the chosen answer for each question. Complete the evaluation form. (ACFEI) The American College of Forensic Examiners International provides this continuing education credit for
3. Mail or fax the completed form, along with the $15 payment for each CE exam taken to: Diplomates.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES KEYWORDS: Terrorism, radicalization, foreign terrorist organizations

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:
1. Specifically describe how the positive features of the Internet can be used by terrorists to support radical- TARGET AUDIENCE: security professionals, general public
ization.
2. List ways in which terrorists use the Internet.
3. Identify options for countering terrorist information operations on the Internet. PROGRAM LEVEL: update

DISCLOSURE: The authors have nothing to disclose.

PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT
Extremist groups use the Internet for many reasons: to disseminate propaganda and spread disinformation; to recruit and train volunteers; to solicit funds from sympathizers; to gather data from open
sources; to plan and coordinate attacks; to maintain communications—many of them encrypted—between members of a single terrorist group as well as with members of other terrorist groups; to pro-
vide tutorials on building and planting explosive devices; and to publicize their acts of violence and ultimately enhance the perceived image of their great strength. This article uses examples gathered from
public sources to examine how the Internet is used to facilitate the radicalization of extremist groups, and it offers options for implementing an effective response.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS (Answer the following questions after reading the article)
1 Many of the benefits provided by the Internet can be used by terrorists to support their agendas and expand 4 Which of the following statements is not true?
radicalization. Which of the following is not one of those benefits? a. Over the past decade, the number of terrorist Web sites has increased significantly
a. Fast transmission of multimedia information b. Pentagon analysts monitor terrorist Web sites, including those of more than 40 designated foreign terrorist
b. Lack of censorship or regulation organizations
c. Expensive development and maintenance of a Web presence c. Radicalizing messages and operational instructions can be communicated through e-mail as well as via Web
d. Ease of access sites
e. Large number of widely dispersed users d. To date, most Islamic hacking operations have been aimed at Web sites maintained by the U.S. government
and Web sites associated with U.S. defense and financial systems
2 Terrorists use the Internet to: e. The cyber attacks launched so far have been well-organized, but ineffective
a. Disseminate training manuals and tutorials and distribute video and audio broadcasts produced by terrorist-
run media production companies 5 Citizen Dialogues, the Digital Outreach Team, and the Counterterrorism Communications Center are part of
b. Recruit volunteers to participate in electronic attacks and coordinate cyber attacks the:
c. Distribute encryption software and solicit funds from sympathizers a. U.S. Department of State
d. Publicize beheadings and other atrocities b. U.S. Department of Justice
e. All of the above c. U.S. Department of the Treasury
d. U.S. Department of Homeland Security
3 Extremist messages promoted in video games are targeted to youths as young as: e. U.S. Department of Defense
a. 2 years of age
b. 7 years of age 5 Which of the following would not be an effective way to counter terrorist information operations?
c. 12 years of age a. Implement online multimedia information campaigns to combat extremist propaganda
d. 15 years of age b. Help allied governments launch their online multimedia counter-narratives to combat violent extremism
e. 25 years of age c. Actively encourage cross-cultural dialog
d. Launch Denial of Service attacks to shut down all terrorist Web sites and demand that terrorists stop encrypt-
ing their communications
e. Promote interagency initiatives that are designed to undermine ideological support for terrorism

EVALUATION: Circle one (1=Poor 2=Below Average 3=Average 4=Above Average 5=Excellent) PAYMENT INFORMATION: $15 per test (FREE ONLINE)
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(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 13

 CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

How the Internet Facilitates Radicalization

xtremist groups use the Internet for many reasons: to disseminate propaganda and spread dis-
information; to recruit and train volunteers; to solicit funds from sympathizers; to gather data
from open sources; to plan and coordinate attacks; to maintain communications—many of
them encrypted—between members of a single terrorist group as well as with members of other
terrorist groups; to provide tutorials on building and planting explosive devices; and to publicize their
acts of violence and ultimately enhance the perceived image of their great strength. This article uses
examples gathered from public sources to examine how the Internet is used to facilitate the radicaliza-
tion of extremist groups, and offers options for implementing an effective response.

By Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-IV

14 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

Introduction
The Internet’s greatest assets—ease of access, fast
transmission of multimedia information, immense
and geographically dispersed audiences, lack of reg-
ulation or censorship, and inexpensive development
and maintenance of a Web presence—are being
used by extremist groups to achieve their terror-
ist agendas (Weimann, 2004). High on the list of
their objectives is expanding the level of radicaliza-
tion that supports the terrorist enterprise (Jenkins,
2007). Radicalization encompasses a mindset that
incorporates violence as the supreme test of one’s
belief. It is the necessary mental requirement for
recruitment (Jenkins, 2007).
Information operations are crucial to radicaliza-
tion, and terrorists use the Internet in many different
ways to achieve this goal. Some uses are similar to
those made by traditional organizations, such as dis-
tributing information and soliciting donations, and
some are comparable to those made by the average
user, such as searching for information (Weimann,
2004). Other uses, though, are distinctly ominous
and horrific, such as providing tutorials on explo-
sive devices and publicizing acts of violence.
“The Internet has dramatically expanded the ability of Radical groups to recruit, train,
motivate, and coordinate terrorists over vast distances without direct contact.”
Disseminating propaganda
and recruiting supporters
Over the past decade, the number of terrorist
Web sites has grown from less than 100 to more
than 5,000 (Kaplan, 2006). According to the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
Security Affairs, the sites are being used to cre-
ate speeches, graphics, training manuals, slides,
blogs, and Web casts, all for propaganda pur-
poses (Porth, 2006). The sites offer tutorials on
building bombs, sneaking into Iraq, setting im-
provised explosive devices (IEDs), and killing
U.S. soldiers, and are used to host videos and
messages to expand recruitment and fundrais-
ing efforts. Some even offer video games where
users as young as 7 years of age can pretend to
be warriors killing U.S. soldiers (Kaplan, 2006).
Pentagon analysts monitor terrorist Web sites,
including those of designated foreign terrorist
organizations (Table 1) and their sympathizers
and supporters (Kaplan, 2006).
Extremist groups routinely use the Internet to
spread misinformation and false rumors, hoping to
reach disaffected youth, and to enlist sympathizers and
financial supporters. Video and audio broadcasts are
produced by terrorist-run media production companies,
and Islamic extremist messages are promoted in video
(800) 592-1399
games, chat rooms, Web sites, and online forums
(U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security &
Governmental Affairs, 2007). CDs, DVDs, training
manuals, pamphlets, and copies of speeches are
downloaded and modified to better fit terrorist goals
and objectives (e.g., to target recruitment-aged youths
or to intimidate those involved in the fight against the
extremists), then are disseminated through postings
on publicly accessible Web sites (Smith, 2006).
Messages are transmitted and repeated that accuse
the United States and its allies of trying to shame
and dishonor Muslim society and culture. Global
jihadist messages are aimed directly at the individual,
claiming “that the Islamic community faces assault
from aggressive infidels and their apostate allies; it is
threatened by military attack, cultural corruption,
social disintegration, and substandard zeal” (Jenkins,
2007). Recruits are called to action to fight to restore
dignity to Islam as a religious obligation required of
all true believers (Jenkins, 2007). Although most
of the messages are intended to appeal emotionally
to youths between the ages of 7 and 25 years of age,
some are targeted toward their parents, encouraging
them to “support the jihad from [their] kitchens by
raising children that support the cause” (Porth, 2006).
All messages are carefully worded and translated into
targeted languages, including Arabic, Turkish, and
Russian (Porth, 2006).
In a statement made by Susan Collins
(R-Maine):
The Internet has dramatically expanded the
ability of radical groups to recruit, train, moti-
vate, and coordinate terrorists over vast distanc-
es without direct contact. Terrorist can consult
Web sites to learn techniques for shooting down
helicopters, watch videos of hostage beheadings,
read letters left by suicide bombers, or listen to
messages from militant leaders. And, even if
there were no Web sites, the Internet would still
allow radicalizing messages as well as operational
instructions to be passed along by e-mail. (U.S.
Senate Committee on Homeland Security &
Governmental Affairs, 2007).
Gathering data and planning attacks
Last year, British military intelligence disclosed that
terrorists were using aerial footage displayed by
Google Earth to plan their attacks against British
bases in Basra. In raids conducted on the homes
of insurgents in early January 2007, the military
found printouts of satellite photographs showing
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 15
 Table 1: Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Primary Locations/Areas of Operation
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) Former
and possibly current associates may be
in Iraq and Lebanon
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) Founded in the
Basilan Province and operates primarily
in the provinces of Sulu Archipelago, the
Zamboanga peninsula, and Malaysia
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (al-Aqsa) guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad) have been de-
Operates mainly in the West Bank but
has conducted attacks inside Israel and
the Gaza Strip
Ansar al-Sunna (AS) Primarily central,
western, and northern Iraq
Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Algeria, the
Sahel, and Europe
Asbat al-Ansar Primary base of opera-
tions is in the ‘Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian
refugee camp near Sidon in southern
Lebanon
Aum Shinrikyo (Aum) Principal mem-
bership is located in Japan; a residual
branch is located in Russia
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Yemen
Operates primarily in the Basque au-
tonomous regions of northern Spain and
southwestern France
Communist Party of Philippines/New
People’s Army (CPP/NPA) Operates in
rural Luzon, Visayas, and parts of north-
ern and eastern Mindanao
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) and Muzaffarabad
Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic
Gama’a al-Islamiyya (IG) Operates mainly
in the Al-Minya, Asyut, Qina, and Sohaj
Governorates of southern Egypt; has an
external presence in the United Kingdom,
Afghanistan, Yemen, and in various loca-
tions in Europe
The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) first is message flooding, where a targeted Web
Has an operational presence in every major
city within the Palestinian territories
Harak ul-Mujahedin (HUM) Based in
Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several
16 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
other towns in Pakistan; conducts insur-
gent and terrorist operations in Kashmir
and Afghanistan
Hizballah Operates in the southern sub-
urbs of Beirut, the Beka’a Valley, and
southern Lebanon; has established cells
in Europe, Africa, South America, North
America, and Asia
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) S c a t t e r e d
throughout Central Asia and probably
parts of South Asia
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) —Ansar Al-Jihad LilJihad Al-Electroni, Inhiyar
Scattered throughout South Asia, Central
Asia, and Iran; areas of operation include
Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan,
Tajikstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) Pakistan and
Kashmir
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) Based in Indonesia
and believed to have cells in Indonesia,
Malaysia, and the Philippines
Al-Jihad (AJ) Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Lebanon, the United Kingdom, and
Kahane Chai (Kach) Israel and West Bank
settlements
Kongra-Gel (KGK/PKK) Operates pri-
marily in Turkey, Iraq, Europe, and the
Middle East
Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LT) Based in Muridke
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ) Punjab and Karachi
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sites. The attack coordinators also are responsible
Headquartered in northern Sri Lanka; con-
trols portions of the northern and eastern
coastal areas of Sri Lanka
Members are in Asian, Arabian Gulf,
African, and European countries, partic-
ularly the United Kingdom
in detail the buildings and other vulnerable areas
(e.g., tents, lavatories, and parking areas for ar-
mored vehicles) inside the bases. The photographs
were believed to have been made within the past 2
years. In addition to being used for reconnaissance
missions against British military bases, the images
were reportedly being sold to rogue militias in the
Basra marketplace. The British security services re-
main concerned that Google Earth’s aerial imagery
could be used by terrorists to plan attacks against
sensitive infrastructures, including electrical power
stations (Harding, 2007).
Over the past few years, mujahideen (Muslim
veloping a form of online warfare called electronic
jihad, where the Internet is used to wage economic
and ideological warfare against the West. In par-
ticular, Islamic hackers belonging to six groups
AlDolar, Hackboy, Majma’ Al-Haker Al-Muslim,
Majmu’at Al-Jihad Al-Electroni, and Munazamat
Fursan Al-Jihad Al-Electronic—have used their
Web sites to recruit volunteers to participate in
electronic attacks, maintain communication be-
tween others engaging in online warfare, and co-
ordinate their cyber attacks (Alshech, 2007). To
date, most of the hacking operations have been tar-
geted at religious Web sites that promote ideologies
perceived to be incompatible with mujahideen be-
liefs (e.g., Christian Web sites) or those believed to
be defamatory to Islam (e.g., non-Islamic forums
and sites promoting women’s rights). Few attacks
have been launched against Web sites maintained
by the U.S. government, or those associated with
U.S. defense or financial systems, although these
sites are certainly of interest. In 2006, an Islamic
forum conducted a survey among its participants
concerning the targets they would like to attack.
Among those identified were the FBI and CIA Web
sites, as well as the Web sites of Western financial
institutions (Alshech, 2007).
The cyber attacks conducted so far have not been
particularly effective, although they have been well-
organized. The online attacks are led by attack co-
ordinators, who are responsible for posting links to
the targeted Web sites and to the hacking programs
that will be used by the participants against those
for encouraging Islamic forum members to partici-
pate, and they have been responding in increasing
numbers (Alshech, 2007).
Two types of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
have been favored by the Islamic attackers. The
server is overwhelmed with incoming data packets,
causing network performance to slow down to an
unacceptable level or stop altogether. The second
is a variation of a buffer overflow attack known as
a ping attack. A ping is a packet that allows an at-
www.acfei.com
tacker to determine whether a given system is ac-
tive on a network. In this type of DoS attack, a
flood of pings is transmitted to a targeted site. The
pings saturate the victim’s bandwidth and fill up
the system’s buffer (memory space), causing net-
work performance to deteriorate and the system
to hang, crash, or reboot. These two types of DoS
attacks are neither new nor particularly effectual,
and in most cases, the targeted Web sites have re-
turned to normal functioning within a few hours
of the attack (Alshech, 2007).
There are signs that extremist groups are inter-
ested in carrying out more sophisticated types of
cyber attacks. Disaffected youths who join the
terrorist cause tend to be more comfortable using
information technology than their elder counter-
parts, and the technological interdependencies of
our critical infrastructures (e.g., banking and fi-
nancial networks, electrical power systems, water
treatment facilities, emergency services systems,
transportation systems, and telecommunication
systems) are tempting targets. On January 19,
2008, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency analyst
Tom Donahue disclosed that online attacks had
disrupted the power equipment in several regions
outside of the United States, causing power out-
ages in several cities (McMillan, 2008). Although
not terrorist-related, these attacks did not go un-
noticed by extremist groups, raising the specter of
similarly caused events that might result in mass
casualties, escalating levels of fear, and adverse eco-
nomic reverberations.
Maintaining secret communications
In January 2007, an encryption program called
Mujahideen Secrets 1 was released on the Web site
of Al-Ekhlaas, an Islamic forum and Al-Qaeda sup-
port group. The program provided users with the
ability to encrypt files and e-mail messages using
five different cryptographic algorithms, including
256-bit symmetric (secret key) encryption systems
and 2,048-bit asymmetric (public key) encryption
systems (Messmer, 2008a).
One year later, an enhanced version of the
software was released on the same Web site.
Mujahideen Secrets 2 offers additional capabilities
not included in Mujahideen Secrets 1, including an
easier-to-use graphical user interface and the ability
to encrypt chat communications (Vijayan, 2008;
Messmer, 2008b). This latter capability is designed
to better protect the identities and locations of ter-
rorists while online (Anonymous, 2008).
Publicizing acts of violence and
enhancing the perception of strength
For several years, jihadists have used the Internet
to broadcast their atrocities and thereby promote
an image of power. In 2002, the execution-style
murder of journalist Daniel Pearl was electroni-
(800) 592-1399
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
(GICM) Morocco, Western Europe,
Afghanistan, and Canada
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
Headquartered in Paris and has concen-
trations of members across Europe and
at Camp Ashraf in Iraq
National Liberation Army (ELN) Rural and
mountainous areas of northern, northeast-
ern, and southwestern Colombia, and
Venezuelan border regions
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) Based in
Lebanon
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Primarily
Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza
Strip; central leadership resides in Syria
Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP) Syria, Lebanon, Israel,
the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip
Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) Ankara, Izmir, and Adana
Headquartered in Damascus with bases
in Lebanon
Al-Qaeda (AQ) Worldwide networks are
augmented by ties to local Sunni extrem-
ists; while the largest concentration of se-
nior members reside in Pakistan, the net-
work incorporates members of al-Qaeda
in Iraq and other associates throughout
the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa,
Europe, and Central Asia
s Hezbollah leaders and militaristic themes featured in a YouTube video.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 17
Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) Predominately Iraq-
based, with an extensive logistical net-
work throughout the Middle East, North
Africa, Iran, South Asia, and Europe
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
[Formerly Salafist Group for Call and
Combat (GSPC)] Algeria, the Sahel,
Canada, and Western Europe
Real IRA (RIRA) Northern Ireland, Great
Britain, and the Irish Republic
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) Primarily in Colombia with some
activities in neighboring countries
Revolutionary Nuclei (RN) Primary area
of operation is in the Athens, Greece met-
ropolitan area
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Athens, Greece
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/
Front (DHKP/C) Turkey, primarily Istanbul,
Shining Path (SL) Peru, with most activity
in rural areas
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(AUC) Strongest in northwest Colombia
Source: Office of the Coordinator for
Counterterrorism. (2007b, April 30). Country re-
ports on terrorism, Chapter 6 – Terrorist organiza-
tions. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.
state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm

sSara Berg, the sister of hostage
Nicholas Berg, who was killed in Iraq,
gathers sympathy cards from floral ar-
rangements left at the family’s home in
Chester County, Pennsylvania. MCT News
Service.
18 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
cally distributed. Over the next 2 years, as bet-
ter video compression and editing tools became
available and network bandwidth increased, other
videos were distributed (Glasser & Coll, 2005).
On April 9, 2004, a short video entitled “Heroes
of Fallujah” was posted by Abu Musab Zarqawi’s
followers, showing masked men positioning a
roadside bomb in a hole in the road, then cap-
turing the result as it destroyed a U.S. armored
personnel carrier (Glasser & Coll, 2005). More
graphic videos followed, including one distribut-
ed on May 11, 2004, that underscored the hor-
rific partnership that had evolved between tech-
nology and terrorism. On that day, a link to a
video showing Nicholas Berg’s beheading by Abu
Musab Zarqawi was posted on the al-Ansar Web
forum (Glasser & Coll, 2005). Since then, terror-
ist atrocities have been recorded and distributed
online in almost real-time.
A 2006 National Intelligence Estimate conclud-
ed that “activists identifying themselves as jihadists
… are increasing in both number and geograph-
ic dispersion” (Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, 2006). Jihadist operations are de-
signed to draw attention, demonstrate capability,
harm their enemies, galvanize the Muslim com-
munity, provoke and attract recruits to the cause
(Jenkins, 2007), and ultimately, foster a perception
of great strength (Kaplan, 2006). According to a
2007 National Intelligence Estimate, the threat of
terrorist violence against the United States will per-
sist and evolve over the next 3 years (Office of the
Director of National Intelligence, 2007).
Implementing an effective response
The increasing threat from radicalization requires
a deliberate and comprehensive response. The op-
tions outlined below collectively form a coordinated
counter to terrorist information operations; these
options are suggested for further discussion.
Option 1: Develop a stronger connection with
Muslim communities.
www.acfei.com
 To help prevent the alienation and isolation that
many believe are the prerequisites for radicaliza-
tion, we need to develop a better understanding
of, and connection with, Muslim communities,
both in the United States and throughout the world
(Sutherland, 2007). Muslim community leaders
should be active participants in improving cross-
cultural dialogue, and they should play an active
role in influencing Muslim perspectives in other
parts of the world (Sutherland, 2007). To assist
in this endeavor, the U.S. Department of State’s
Bureau of International Information Programs
recently established Citizen Dialogues as part of
their Strategic Speaker Program. Citizen Dialogues
sends teams of American Muslims abroad to con-
nect with Muslim communities in other countries,
and individual speakers to talk about religious free-
dom, diversity, and Muslim life in the United States
(Curtin, 2007). State and local governments must
reach out to the Muslim communities, and individ-
uals from the federal government (e.g., Department
of Justice, Department of the Treasury, Department
of Homeland Security, Department of State) must
continue to meet with leaders from these commu-
nities to further establish open lines of communi-
cation (Sutherland, 2007).
Option 2: Encourage the integration of immi-
grants.
Leaders in the Muslim communities can assist
in the integration of new immigrants, and they
should be encouraged to do so (Sutherland, 2007).
To assist in this endeavor, some promising commu-
nity activities have been initiated by the Office for
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties within the U. S.
Department of Homeland Security. For example,
in Michigan, the Instructor’s Guide for Community
Emergency Response Training has been translated
into Arabic, helping American Muslims to become
more actively involved in training efforts for emer-
gency response. Although an encouraging start,
much more needs to be done to promote assimi-
lation.
Option 3: Implement a comprehensive online
counter-narrative.
We must better understand the narrative used
by violent extremists so that we can implement the
necessary multimedia counter-narrative to combat
extremism and promote integration (Sutherland,
2007). The Digital Outreach Team within the
U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International
Information Programs has established a U.S. pres-
ence in Arabic cyberspace (Curtin, 2007); howev-
er, to better compete with those who frequent ter-
rorist sites, the federal government should launch
additional Web sites, blogs, Web casts, video and
audio broadcasts, chat rooms, online forums, and
video games to create an online counter-offensive
(U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security &
Governmental Affairs, 2007).
(800) 592-1399
“Information operations are vital to radicalization; however,
the United States and the international community have
yet to marshal a coordinated and effectively resourced
counter to the use of the Internet by extremist groups.”
Option 4: Assist our allies in implementing a
comprehensive online counter-narrative.
How we enable and assist our allies in launching
their online rebuttals and multimedia information
campaigns is just as important as how we create
and transmit our own counter-narrative. We must
continue to develop sound relationships with allied
governments (Sutherland, 2007), and help them
to understand that although extremist propaganda
and other online terrorist activities pose a signifi-
cant danger to us, the threat is equally perilous to
them.
Option 5: Promote interagency initiatives to The FBI’s Role:
undermine terrorist information operations.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of The FBI plays two important
International Information Programs has established roles in protecting cyber-
the Counterterrorism Communications Center, an space:
initiative that draws together several U.S. govern-
ment entities, including the Department of State, “1) The FBI is the lead law en-
the Department of Defense, and the United States forcement agency for detecting
Agency for International Development (USAID). and defeating cyber-based at-
Experts from appropriate government agencies tacks against the nation’s criti-
are assigned to the Center to develop and deliv- cal infrastructures by foreign
er proactive messages that are designed to under- adversaries and terrorists.
mine ideological support for violent extremism
(Curtin, 2007), and to respond to statements and 2) The FBI works to prevent
actions by terrorist groups and leaders (Strategic criminals, sexual predators,
Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy and those intent on mali-
Coordinating Committee, 2006). Working sub- cious destruction from using
groups of the Center study different aspects of the the Internet and online servic-
philosophical struggle, including terrorists’ use of es to steal from, defraud, and
the Internet, television programming, and publish- otherwise victimize citizens,
ing technologies, and make appropriate recommen- businesses, and communities.
dations for action (Strategic Communication and Investigations can include unau-
Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee, thorized access (hacking) viola-
2006). tions, denial of service attacks,
Greater efforts need to be made to involve private Internet fraud schemes, mali-
sector entities in government interagency initia- cious code (virus and worms),
tives. The travel and tourism industry, the higher or copyright violations.”
education community, and the business and labor
communities have a collective interest in improv- Source: www.fbi.gov
ing U.S. relations with individuals throughout the
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 19
world (Strategic Communication and Public
Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee,
2006).
Conclusion
Information operations are vital to rad-
icalization; however, the United States
and the international community have
yet to marshal a coordinated and effec-
tively resourced counter to the use of the
Internet by extremist groups (Office of the
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, 2007a).
The Internet is used in numerous ways and,
from the terrorists’ perspective, each is in-
dispensable.
References
Alshech, E. (2007, February 28). Cyberspace as a
combat zone: The phenomenon of Electronic Jihad. The
Jerusalem Post. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894537514&
pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Anonymous. (2008, January 29). Jihadi Web-
site distributes new encryption program. Terror-
ism Focus. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.
php?articleid=2373929
Curtin, J. (2007, May 10). Violent Islamic extrem-
ism: Government efforts to defeat it. Testimony pre-
sented before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs. Retrieved March 10,
2008, from http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/051007Curtin.
pdf
Glasser, S. B., & Coll, S. (2005, August 9).
The Web as weapon. The Washington Post. Re-
trieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.washing-
tonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/08/
AR2005080801018_pf.html
Harding, T. (2007, January 13). Terrorists use
Google maps to hit UK troops. The Daily Telegraph.
Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.tele-
graph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/13/
wgoogle13.xml
Jenkins, B. M. (2007, April 5). Building an army
of believers: Jihadist radicalization and recruitment.
Testimony presented before the House Homeland Secu-
rity Committee, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Informa-
tion Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment. The RAND
Corporation. Retrieved February 13, 2008 from http://
www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT278-
1.pdf
Kaplan, E. (2006, May 12). Terrorists and the Inter-
net. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved January 8,
2008, from http://www.cfr.org/publication/10005/
McMillan, R. (2008, January 19). CIA says
hackers pulled plug on power grid. Network World.
Retrieved January 22, 2008, from http://www.net-
workworld.com/news/2008/011908-cia-says-hackers-
pulled-plug.html
20 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
Messmer, E. (2008a, January 23). Al-Qaeda group Strategic Communication. Retrieved April 17, 2008,
claims to have strengthened its encryption security. Net- from http://jmw.typepad.com/political_warfare/files/
work World. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http:// stratcommo_plan_070531.pdf
www.networkworld.com/news/2008/012308-al-qaeda- Sutherland, D. W. (2007, March 14). Threat of
encryption.html Islamic radicalization to the homeland. Written testi-
Messmer, E. (2008b, February 1). Al-Qaeda group’s mony to the United States Senate, Committee on Home-
encryption software stronger, security firm confirms. land Security and Governmental Affairs. Retrieved
Network World. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from February 13, 2008, from http://hsgac.senate.gov/_
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/020108- files/031407Sutherland.pdf
al-qaeda-encryption.html U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security &
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Governmental Affairs. (2007, May 3). Terrorists use In-
(2007a, April 30). Country reports on terrorism, Chap- ternet to recruit, train, launch attacks. Retrieved January
ter 1 – Strategic assessment. Retrieved January 5, 2008, 5, 2008, from http://www.senate.gov/~govt-aff/index.
from http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82727. cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&Affiliation=C&
htm PressRelease_id=1457&Month=5&Year=2007
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Vijayan, J. (2008, February 4). Updated encryption
(2007b, April 30). Country reports on terrorism, Chap- tool for al-Qaeda backers improves on first version, research-
ter 6 – Terrorist organizations. Retrieved January 5, 2008, er says. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from http://www.
from http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738. computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=view
htm ArticleBasic&articleId=9060939
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Weimann, G. (2004). www.terror.net: How mod-
(2006, April). Trends in global terrorism: Implications ern terrorism uses the Internet. Special Report No. 116,
for the United States. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved January 8,
http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/Declassified_NIE_ 2008, from http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/
Key_Judgments.pdf sr116.html n
Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
(2007, July). The terrorist threat to the US homeland.
Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.dni.gov/
press_releases/20070717_release.pdf
Porth, J. S. (2006, May 8). Terrorists use cyberspace
as important communications tool. Retrieved January 8,
2008, from http://usinfo.state.gov/is/Archive/2006/
May/08-429418.html
Smith, S. D. (2006, May 5). Terrorists use in-
ternet for propaganda, defense officials say. Mili-
tary Connections. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from
http://www.militaryconnections.com/news_story.
cfm?textnewsid=1933
Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Earn CE Credit
To earn CE credit, complete the exam for this
Policy Coordinating Committee. (2006, December article on page 13 or complete the exam on-
14). U.S. National Strategy for Public Diplomacy and line at www.acfei.com (select “Online CE”).
About the Author
Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-IV, is a Professor of Management Information Systems
at Western Connecticut State University. She received her PhD in Information and
Control Systems from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. She has written
more than three dozen articles on information systems security, published in jour-
nals such as Computer Fraud & Security, Computers & Society, Data Security
Management, The Forensic Examiner, Network Security, and Review of Business,
and is the co-author of Information Security: Contemporary Cases (Jones and
Bartlett Publishers, 2007). She is a member of the American College of Forensic
Examiners Institute, American Society for Industrial Security, the Association for
Computing Machinery, Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society, Computer
Security Institute, Information Systems Security Association, InfraGard Connecticut,
and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
www.acfei.com
Case Study

DOES BRUTALITY COME WITH THE BADGE?

By Bruce Gross, PhD,

JD, FACFEI, DABFE,
DABFM, DABPS, DAPA

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 21

 Despite the ratification of the Eighth Amendment
in 1791, which bans the use of “cruel and unusual”
punishment, reports of excessive violence perpe-
trated by correctional officers against inmates have
been documented since the inception of the United
States penal system. These complaints come not
only from inmates, but also from federal authori-
ties who acknowledge the problem is widespread.
(Gibbons & Katzenbach, 2006)
According to the Commission on Safety and
Abuse in Prisons, in 2005 there were 16,000 al-
legations of prison staff misconduct (including
sexual and physical assault as well as the introduc-
tion of contraband) brought to the Office of the
Inspector General alone (Fine, 2005). To date, there
is no system for collecting data on a national level
regarding excessive, non-lethal violence used by
prison staff against inmates. Despite this, a simple
Internet search regularly returns numerous links
to articles regarding violence in state and federal
prisons across the nation.
Excessive violence by guards exists and persists
not only in state prisons, but in county jails as well.
For over 25 years the Cook County jail in Illinois
(one of the largest jails in the U.S.) has been un-
der judicial review as a result of extreme and un-
resolved overcrowding (Becker, 2008). In 2004, a
special grand jury was convened to address the mass
beating of inmates that took place in 1999. Despite
this, the use of excessive violence by correctional of-
ficers against inmates has continued to the present.
Inmates have been choked, kicked, punched, and
hit with objects, by single or multiple guards, for
offenses that range from an act of violence against
staff, to verbal insults towards staff, to failure to
comply with instructions.
These “punishments” have resulted in inmates suf-
fering everything from black eyes, contusions, lac-
erations, lost teeth, fractured noses and ribs, broken
arms and jaws, as well as head trauma. For example,
in 2007, an inmate was handcuffed and beaten by
a group of guards in a clothing room for having ex-
posed himself to a female officer. The inmate, who
was left with severe head injuries, had a history of
mental illness. In July 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s of-
fice in Chicago and the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice issued a 98-page report to
the Cook County Sheriff and Cook County Board
President outlining the atrocities.
The Study of Violence
History is replete with incidents of seemingly de-
cent people committing horrendous acts of vio-
lence in what they believe to be the pursuit or de-
fense of justice and right. After World War II and
the horrors of the Nazi Concentration Camps,
several attempts to study such extreme and “evil”
behavior were undertaken. While moral and ethi-
cal constraints make empirical research on the eti-
22 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
ology of such violence scarce, a few notable stud-
ies do exist.
In 1961, Yale University psychology professor
Stanley Milgram conducted what his subjects be-
lieved was a study on memory (Milgram, 1974).
The participants were divided into two, seemingly
random groups: the “teachers,” who were the actual
subjects; and the “learners,” who were, in fact, con-
federates of the study. The “teachers” were instruct-
ed to read a list of words to the “learners” (whom
they could not see) and to administer a “shock”
(none was actually given) whenever the “learner”
made a mistake. Each mistake was to be followed
by a shock of increasing intensity.
Surprisingly, every “teacher” was willing to shock
their “learner” up to 300 volts, and two-thirds gave
the maximum shock requested: 450 volts. This was
done despite the confederates’ claims of having a
“heart condition” and while hearing the “learner”
cry out in pain. In Milgram’s study, the subjects
were very “normal,” “everyman” people, who per-
formed rather horrific acts. The results of the study
were taken as scientific “proof ” that “evil” or violent
behavior might be more “ordinary” than we would
like to believe.
Creating Evil
In August of 1971, 10 years after the Milgram ex-
periment, psychology professor Philip Zimbardo
(who was friends with Milgram in high school)
led a team of researchers at Stanford University in
a study of the dynamics that develop within and be-
tween groups in a simulated prison setting (Musen
& Zimbardo, 1991; Haney, Banks & Zimbardo,
1973; Zimbardo, 1971). Zimbardo placed an ad in
a newspaper, offering recruits $15 per day for their
participation in a two-week “prison simulation”
study. Of the 70 respondents, the 24 who were
the most mentally stable and physically healthy
were randomly assigned to “prisoner” or “guard”
groups. The 24 male college-student guards were
predominantly white and middle-class. Rather than
objectively observing the study, one of Zimbardo’s
research assistants assumed the role of “warden”
and Zimbardo, himself, took the role of prison
“superintendent.”
Those subjects assigned to be guards were dressed
in matching khaki “uniforms” and mirrored sun-
glasses (to block full eye contact). The day before the
experiment began, the guards were given an “orien-
tation” by Zimbardo in which they were told they
could not physically harm or injure the prisoners.
However Zimbardo also told them, “You can create
in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear
to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrari-
ness that their life is totally controlled by us, by the
system, you, me—and they’ll have no privacy. They’ll
have no freedom of action, they can do nothing, say
nothing that we don’t permit. We’re going to take
www.acfei.com
away their individuality in various ways. In general
what all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness. That
is, in this situation we’ll have all the power and they’ll
have none.”(Zimbardo, 1989)
Those subjects who were assigned to the prisoner
group were “arrested” at their homes and “charged”
with armed robbery. With the assistance of the Palo
Alto Police Department, the prisoners had their
“mug-shots” taken at the station and were finger-
printed, strip-searched, sprayed for lice, and given
their uniform (ill-fitting hospital gowns, knit-type
caps, and no underwear) that were marked with
their “prisoner number.” With a chain around their
ankles, the prisoners were blindfolded and taken
to the simulated “prison” in the basement of the
psychology building on the Stanford campus.
Evil Interactions
In order to erase the prisoners’ sense of individual
identity, the guards were to refer to the prisoners by
number rather than by name. Repeatedly, the guards
had the prisoners “count-off ” and they were forced
into extended exercising for any errors. As mattresses
were valued in the prison, guards would remove them
as punishment, forcing the prisoners to sleep on the
cold concrete floor. Other forms of depersonalizing
and degrading punishments were also employed by
the guards. For example, they made some prisoners
wear paper bags over their heads; took uniform/gowns
away from the prisoners; and some guards forced pris-
oners into simulating homosexual acts, and some pre-
vented prisoners from using the bathroom.
By only the second day the prisoners were plan-
ning a riot. In response, the guards agreed to work
“overtime” without compensation and ultimate-
ly used fire extinguishers to “calm” them. By the
fourth day some of the prisoners were planning to
“escape,” in response to which some of the guards
(especially one) became increasingly malevolent. At
this point, the “superintendent” and “warden” of-
fered the prisoners the option of parole, which they
could only obtain by forfeiting their full stipend. s Stanley Milgram
Although some of the prisoners had accepted the
terms of parole and signed away their pay, the op-
t The shock generator
tion of parole was revoked. Despite this, none of
the prisoners asked to leave the experiment.
Around this time a new prisoner was introduced
to the prison. He immediately began objecting to
how the guards were treating the prisoners, which
only served to increase the guards’ mistreatment.
The new inmate went on a “hunger strike” for
which the guards placed him in “solitary confine-
ment” (that is, a closet). In an effort to create divi-
sion between the prisoners, they were told the only

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(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 23


s Phillip Zimbardo
Phillip Zimbardo
Phillip Zimbardo is a professor emeri-
tus at Stanford University. He conducted
the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971,
and it remains controversial to this day.
The experiment, in which a simulated
prison was set up, found that a third of
the “guards” exhibited sadistic behavior
only days into the scenario. Zimbardo is
also the author of The Lucifer Effect, which
examines the origins of evil.
way the new prisoner would be able to get out of
solitary would be for all of them to give up their
blankets; all but one refused to do so.
Numerous people (not associated with the study)
had observed the “prison” but not one commented
on the conditions under which the prisoners were
living or how the guards were behaving. Only one
person questioned the ethics or morality of the exper-
iment, a female graduate student Zimbardo was dat-
ing at the time (and later married) and had brought
in to the study to conduct interviews. Because of
her concerns, after only 6 days Zimbardo ended the
study. At their exit, many of the prisoners were show-
ing signs of traumatization, while most of the guards
were upset that the study had been shut down.
Putting Evil in Context
During the 6 days of the study (known as the Stanford
Prison Experiment [SPE]), approximately one-third
of the guards exhibited “sadistic” behaviors. Zimbardo
felt this was the result of the guards’ inability to re-
sist the pressure of their role. Believing that people
lose their ability to exercise moral judgment once in
a group, he asserted that groups are inherently danger-
ous. Zimbardo concluded that when groups of people
have unequal power, cruel and vile behavior would
be the “natural,” inevitable expression of those in the
role or group with power. In other words, Zimbardo
believed his study demonstrated that violence or ex-
treme behaviors were the direct result of situational
factors, rather than a reflection of the dispositions or
personalities of the group members.
Although the guards’ tyrannical behavior may have
been a “natural” reaction to the dynamics of the in-
herent power differential, it is also possible that it was
due to any number or combination of other causes
not accounted for by Zimbardo. The most obvious
possibility is related to the fact that Zimbardo did
not truly allow the dynamics of differential power
to evolve independently. Instead, he literally set the
stage for abuse in his “orientation” for the guards.
As such, the guards may merely have been respond-
ing to Zimbardo’s instructions and doing their best
to comply and conform to what they believed was
expected of them. If so, and at least in terms of the
guards, the study was of how readily people would
realize Zimbardo’s vision of a prison.
Another possible explanation for the brutality
seen in the SPE is that the participants had more
vulnerability to, or propensity for, cruelty than the
screening methods were able to detect. This is es-
pecially so given the ad Zimbardo used to recruit
subjects specifically indicated that the volunteers
would be participating in a prison study. The issue
of possible selection bias is borne out by a study
conducted at Western Kentucky University. Having

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24 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

recruited subjects using two ads, one with and one
without the words “prison life,” the researchers
found that the students who volunteered for the
“prison life” study possessed underlying propensities
for violent or abusive behavior (such as social domi-
nance, narcissism, aggressiveness, and the absence
of empathy) (Carnahan & McFarland, 2007).
As “superintendent” of the prison, Zimbardo was
a participant in his own study but was not part of
the “guard” group. That is, he was not directly in-
volved in the mistreatment of the prisoners. Despite
this seeming detachment, Zimbardo did not inde-
pendently perceive the immediate need to termi-
nate the experiment, nor did any of his research as-
sistants. The researchers were essentially vicarious
participants in the mistreatment, suggesting they
may have created a climate or culture of abuse prior
to the onset of the project.
Of note, Zimbardo did not account for the two-
thirds of the guards that did not behave inhumane-
ly towards the prisoners. Many of those guards as-
serted their authority, but with fairness. Others
were quite kind to the prisoners and actually did
them favors. Rather than indicating that a group
with power over another group is dangerous, the
results of the SPE might have been interpreted as
supporting the premise that groups can foster pro-
social behavior, reinforcing moral judgment.
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(800) 592-1399
The ‘Reality’ of Evil Relevant terms:
In May of 2002 the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) aired “The Experiment,” a Groupthink: Psychological
reality show that chronicled the research of Alex studies have shown that thought
Haslam and Steve Reicher, both psychology profes- patterns displayed by groups
sors at universities in England (Reicher & Haslam, can be flawed because of the
2006a, 2006b; Haslam & Reicher, 2005). Funded tendency of group members
by the BBC, the study was an effort to gain a full- to minimize conflict and reach
er understanding of the results of the SPE. Where consensus without proper eval-
Zimbardo focused his findings on the “evil” side uation of ideas.
of internalized group membership, Haslam and
Reicher believed that pro-social empowerment Mob Mentality: When two
or resistance to tyranny can also be motivated by or more people take justice into
group membership. their own hands, often ignoring
Unlike the SPE, the researchers did not take an ac- laws and common standards
tive role in the study, and (among other safeguards) for human behavior.
they had an independent ethics committee that was
fully empowered to end the experiment at any time Herd Behavior: Research
should they deem it necessary. In addition, the par- shows that large numbers of
ticipants underwent daily physiological and psycho- people tend to act in the same
logical screenings to assess for any changes in their way at the same time.
status. Another significant difference between the
SPE and the BBC Prison Study (as it became known) Emulation: The tendency for
was that, initially, the prisoners had an opportunity some group members to copy
to be “promoted” to the position of guard. other members of higher sta-
The hypothesis being tested was that as long as tus.
the prisoners had the possibility of promotion, they
would not fully accept the prisoner-group iden-
®
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 25

On June 30, 2007 —
• 2,299,116 prisoners were held in federal or state pris-
ons or in local jails – an increase of 1.8% from year-
end 2006, less than the average annual growth of 2.6%
from 2000-2006.
• 1,528,041 sentenced prisoners were under state or fed-
eral jurisdiction.
• There were an estimated 509 sentenced prisoners per
100,000 U.S. residents – up from 501 at yearend
2006.
• The number of women under the jurisdiction of state
or federal prison authorities increased 2.5% from year-
end 2006, reaching 115,308, and the number of men
rose 1.5%, totaling 1,479,726.
• At midyear 2007 there were 4,618 black male sentenced
prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States,
compared to 1,747 Hispanic male sentenced prisoners
per 100,000 Hispanic males and 773 white male sen-
tenced prisoners per 100,000 white males.
Credit: The Bureau of Justice Statistics
26 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
tity. At the beginning of the study the prisoners
were very compliant and focused on earning a pro-
motion. As soon as the option for promotion was
removed, the prisoners became increasingly unco-
operative and resistant towards the guards. At the
same time, in addition to becoming more positive
and empowered, the prisoners became increasingly
organized and effective as a group.
On the other side, the guards were unable to reach
a consensus regarding how to exercise their author-
ity; that is, they never developed or established a
shared identity. As a result, as a group the guards
were disorganized and unable to maintain order
among the prisoners. Psychologically, they showed
signs of increasing despondency and “burn-out.” As
might be expected, by the sixth day, the prisoners
had organized an “escape” and after its attempt, the
groups spontaneously began creating a more egali-
tarian system.
Although there was some self-governing or self-dis-
ciplining among the prisoners, there were some guards
who remained unable or unwilling to use their au-
thority or power. Among the guards a sub-group de-
veloped that included some of the prisoners that had
been promoted. This emerging guard-group wanted
to take a more rigid and harsh approach to running
the prison. Surprisingly, those guards who had sup-
ported the egalitarian structure not only did not fight
to maintain the status quo, but actually adapted to the
“new order” sub-group. Seeing the direction in which
the prison environment was inevitably moving, the
study was terminated before its scheduled end date.
Although both the SPE and the BBC Prison Study
ended early, Haslam and Reicher believed the results
of their study were not the natural outcome of group
assignment and mindless participation. Instead, they
concluded their outcome reflected the result of the
guards’ inability to form a shared vision and the
egalitarian group’s (which included some guards)
inability to turn their vision into reality. Consistent
with Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theo-
ry, Haslam and Reicher assert that groups represent
collective self-realization, and when a unified value
or belief system is not manifested, individual mem-
bers become increasingly willing to adopt those of
another, seemingly more functional group. Although
Haslam and Reicher acknowledge that context has
an effect on individual and group behavior, they are
not of the opinion that it is always and only in the
direction of misconduct and brutality.
Good Born of Evil
Both prison studies demonstrated that under some
circumstances, some individuals resist going-with-the-
flow of group-associated brutality. Both studies focus
on the group itself as a causative factor; that is, via mere
membership or via assimilation of group identity. Both
studies also point to the importance of leadership of,
and within, groups.
www.acfei.com
 In the BBC Prison Experiment, the par-
ticipants knew their behavior would be seen
by a public audience that would include fam-
ily and friends. This knowledge undoubtedly
affected both guards and prisoners, perhaps
inhibiting violence from the guards and keep-
ing the prisoners from complete loss of self.
In the SPE, the participants also knew they
were being observed, but in this case, by “su-
periors” who directly and tacitly condoned
psychological and physical mistreatment.
How an individual behaves often varies
based on who the individual knows or be-
lieves will be witness (at the time or after-the-
fact) to their behavior. As such, if a person
with authority over a group of individuals
varies in their zero-tolerance stance towards
brutality, then brutality may emerge. This
is especially so if pro-social values have not
been instilled in the group.
Zimbardo felt tyranny evolved “naturally”
in groups with unequal power. While it might
not be “inevitable” as Zimbardo asserts, in
light of World War II, brutality may result
when unequal power is combined with the
perception of unequal humanity. That is, when
a group with power perceives a group with
lesser power as “sub-human” in some way. In
terms of inmates, guards and inmates are not
equal in terms of socially conferred status, but
are equally human. However, as the statistics
show, they are not always treated as such.
In being sentenced to prison, inmates lose
their liberty and, for the duration of their in-
carceration, guards control inmates’ freedoms.
From birth to death, people seem to have an
inherent need to exert control over their self
and the world in which the self exists. Even
infants seemingly rebel in an attempt to influ-
ence their environment. Individuals in a closed
environment where the option of obedience
is all that is left of free will may soon come to
feel and act like “caged animals.” If dehuman-
ization of prisoners has been sanctioned in any
way by prison hierarchy, the result may well
be violence by guards and prisoners alike.
Ending Evil
In 1979, Australian researchers conducted a
prison study in which they created three dif-
ferent types of prisons (Lovibond, Mithiran &
Adams, 1979). The first type was a simulation
of a “standard custodial” medium security pris-
on in Australia. The second, or “individualized
custodial,” added training for the guards that
focused on teaching them how to encourage
and reinforce the self-respect of prisoners, while
maintaining security. The third type, or “par-
ticipatory” prison, removed the focus on secu-
(800) 592-1399
rity and trained the guards to encourage and
reinforce pro-social and responsible prisoner
behavior. In this prison, the guards were taught
to respect the inmates, see their individuality,
and to include them in decision-making. As
might be expected, the violence exhibited by
both guards and prisoners varied across prison
types. The greatest brutality was seen in the
“standard custodial” prison, and the least was
seen in the “participatory” prison.
Certainly the incidence of excessive vio-
lence against inmates can be reduced, creating
a more stable and safe prison environment.
Perhaps the first step might be to ensure that
guards, as a group, have a shared vision of the
purpose of prison, the role of authority, and
the “value” of prisoners as individual human-
beings. This vision must be overtly and tacitly
upheld by superiors within the prison system,
who actively monitor that the guards retain
their own sense of humanity.
Violence and extreme behaviors by guards
against inmates have many sources. These in-
clude individual pathology, lack of account-
ability, Machiavellian leadership that condones
tyranny, and a combination of other factors. In
the prison studies mentioned here, it was not
surprising that seemingly good people com-
mitted evil acts as individuals or a group. The
most surprising finding was that in the face of
such behavior, so few people acted proactively
and humanely in response. Perhaps the adage
is true, that real evil exists and flourishes when
good people do nothing.
References
Becker, G. C. (2008). Report of the findings of the
investigation of the Civil Rights Division and the Unit-
ed States Attorney’s Office into conditions at the Cook
County Jail. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Jus-
tice, Civil Rights Division.
Carnahan, C. & McFarland, S. (2007). Revisiting the
Stanford Prison Experiment: Could participant self-selec-
tion have led to the cruelty? Personality and Social Psy-
chology Bulletin, 33(5), 603-614.
Fine, G. (2005). Insiders’ view of violence in prisons.
Testimony of the U.S. Inspector General Glenn Fine.
Transcript of Public Hearing, Hearing One, Tampa, Flor-
About the Author
Bruce Gross, PhD, JD, MBA, is a Fellow of the American College of Forensic
Examiners and is an Executive Advisory Board member of the American Board
of Forensic Examiners. Dr. Gross is also a Diplomate of the American Board of
Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Psychological Specialties. He has
been an ACFEI member since 1996 and is a also a Diplomate of the American
Psychotherapy Association.
ida, Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Pris-
ons. Washington, D.C.: Vera Institute of Justice.
Gibbons, J.J. & Katzenbach, N. (2006). Confronting
confinement: A report of the Commission on Safety and
Abuse in America’s Prisons. Washington, D.C.: Vera Insti-
tute of Justice.
Haney, C., Banks, C. & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Inter-
personal dynamics in a simulated prison. International
Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69-97.
Haney, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1998). The past and fu-
ture of U.S. prison policy: Twenty-five years after the Stan-
ford Prison Experiment. American Psychologist, 53(7), 709-
727.
Haslam, S.A., & Reicher, S.D. (2005). The psychology of
tyranny: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts abso-
lutely—or does it? Scientific American Mind, 16(3), 44-51.
Lovibond, S.H., Mithiran, X., & Adams, W.G. (1979).
The effects of three experimental prison environments on
the behavior of non-convict volunteer subjects. Australian
Psychologist, 14, 273-287.
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority. New York,
N.Y.: Harper & Row.
Musen, K., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1991). “Quiet Rage: The
Stanford Prison Experiment.” (Documentary). Stanford,
CA: Stanford University. Video or DVD can be ordered
online: http://www.prisonexp.org/pdf/orderform.pdf
Reicher SD & Haslam SA. (2006a). On the agency of
individuals and groups: Lessons from the BBC Prison Study.
In: T Postmes & J Jetten (Eds.) Individuality and the Group:
Advances in Social Identity. London, England: Sage.
Reicher, S., & Haslam, S.A. (2006b). Rethinking the
psychology of tyranny: The BBC Prison Study. British
Journal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 1-40.
Tajfel, H. (1978). Interpersonal behavior and inter-
group behavior. In: H Tajfel (Ed.) Differentiation Between
Social Groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup
relations. London, England: Academic Press.
Tajfel H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative
theory of intergroup conflict. In: W. G. Austin, & S.
Worchel (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Rela-
tions. Monterey, CA.: Brooks/Cole.
Zimbardo, P. G. (1971). The power and pathology
of imprisonment. Congressional Record. Hearings before
Subcommittee No. 3 of the Committee on the Judiciary,
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ers’ Rights: California. (Serial No. 15) Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Government Printing Office. n
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 27
Case Study

George Lawlor: An Early Visionary

Forensic Detective Established Ireland’s Equivalent of British ‘Murder Squad’
a Bobby’s baton. Thrown into prison, he was held
for more than a year, until his release after Britain
signed a treaty. Free again, Lawlor watched his for-
mer comrades disintegrate into political factions,
so he withdrew.
To earn a living, Lawlor decided to join the fledg-
ling Irish police force, the Garda Síochána. Finding
himself half an inch too short, he stretched up on
his toes, and passed. However, he found the train-
ing to be no more than an uninspired imitation of
methods used for the British police, which left re-
cruits ill-prepared for investigating serious crimes.
Because he was intelligent and responsible, Lawlor
became a detective sergeant in 1928, whereupon
he received his first case.
Galway, in western Ireland, has long been fa-
mous for its horse racing, and during one season
Lawlor was assigned with other detectives to watch
for petty crimes. A man reported the theft of his
gold watch and chain, on which his initials, W.R.,
were inscribed. Given the transient crowds, its re-
covery seemed unlikely, but then a scoundrel was
caught committing fraud and the watch was found
in his pocket. When W. R. received it back, he
went to a pub and sang Lawlor’s praises to anyone
By Katherine Ramsland who would listen. Gratified, Lawlor grew more
interested in what it meant to “detect” and resolve
a crime, which inspired him to read about other
investigations, especially murder.
“I came to realize and appreciate,” he wrote in
have met Mr. Luck several times, but I have always been introduced to his diary, “that in the investigation of crime many
him by his friends, Mr. Persistence and Mr. Hard Work.” So quipped old methods were becoming outdated and that the
Superintendent George Lawlor in a diary he kept in anticipation of time had arrived when science should be applied
writing his memoir. He never did, but Irish journalist Tom Reddy res- to assist in crime investigation.” He grew aware of
cued him from oblivion by publishing his crime stories. Relatively unknown developments in the U.S., particularly with regard
outside Ireland, Lawlor deserves more recognition than he’s received, because to the use of fingerprinting methods and trace evi-
he established Ireland’s equivalent of England’s famous “Murder Squad” and dence examination. By this time, Edmond Locard
brought scientific methods to the national police force. During his watch, his in France had set up the world’s first private crime
team of detectives had one of the best records in the world for solving murders. lab, a sensational trial in Britain had brought in-
Yet Lawlor was hardly a solid candidate for such a career. ternational attention to fingerprint identification,
and a U. S. appeals courts had affirmed fingerprint
methodology as scientific. Blood types had been
s Superintendent George Lawlor of the
Technical Bureau sits at right with a col-
During his youth in the early 1900s, Lawlor distinguished, ballistics was gaining a database,
league at his desk in Garda Headquarters. considered police work to be “dull and monoto- microscopy had improved, and there was even a
Lawlor established Ireland’s first nous,” and he soon had reason to despise author- vacuum apparatus to collect trace evidence. In
“Murder Squad.” Photograph, indexed
P1/150/04, courtesy the George Pickow ity. An idealist and Republican, he joined several addition, the popularity of Sherlock Holmes had
Collection of the James Hardiman Library, movements that resisted British rule in Ireland, brought more attention to the art of crime detec-
NUI Galway.
including the extremist Sinn Féin, and during the tion.
1916 uprising in Dublin, when Lawlor was 18, he Lawlor took a correspondence course in finger-
learned what it felt like to be on the wrong end of printing and photography sponsored by Chicago’s

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 29


Garda Síochána
The police force for Ireland is
Garda Síochána, which means
“Peace Guard of Ireland.” It
is often referred to as “The
Guardians of the Peace of
Ireland.”
Here are some facts about
Garda Síochána:
• The Irish Free State was
established in 1923, and
the Garda Síochána Act
of August 8, 1923 cre-
ated the police force.
• The first commissioner to
lead Garda Síochána
was Michael Staines, who
served for only 8 months.
His successor, Eoin O’Duffy,
served for 11 years, until
he was dismissed for en-
couraging a military coup.
• The Scott Medal for
Bravery, established in 1925,
is the highest honor that can
be awarded to a member
of the Garda Síochána. The
medal was named after an
honorary commissioner of
the New York City Police
Department, who made a
donation to fund the honor.
• The Garda Síochána has
taken part in United Nations
peace-keeping duties
since 1989, sending mem-
bers to such locations as
Angola, Cambodia, Cyprus,
Mozambique, South Africa,
and the former Yugoslavia.
Institute of Applied Science and became acquainted
with a local forensic pathologist, who taught him
about blood tests, toxicology, and wound analysis.
Lawlor even wrote a manual for identifying John
Does by how their specific trades left distinct marks
on fingers and hands.
Unfortunately, his colleagues failed to share his
enthusiasm for these “newfangled” ideas, so he met
with resistance. In fact, for the purpose of classify-
ing fingerprints taken from prisoners, one doubt-
ing Thomas had simply used his own print rather
than collecting them, resulting in a dismissal of the
fingerprint system until the lazy maneuver was dis-
covered. Thus, Lawlor had to prove the worth of
the scientific approach.
Through his self-taught knowledge and skill, he
eventually solved a case of murder that involved the
coordination of expertise in several areas and gained
him international attention. By this time, he led
a special investigation unit for major crimes, the
Garda Technical Bureau. He himself had suggest-
ed the blueprint for it in response to an essay con-
test, citing the need for widespread, standardized
training in basic police methodology and emerging
forensic science.
The body of young woman was discovered lying
on a Dublin footpath, near a city park known as St.
Stephen’s Green. The deceased was covered with
a black overcoat, soon to be identified as hers, but
her skirt had been removed and dumped onto her
head and her panties had been pinned to a cloth
used to drag her to this area. A nylon stocking and
scarf were tied tightly around her neck.
Lawlor directed his team to place each article
of clothing into a separate bag, and they searched
the area for anything that could help identify the
victim. The autopsy indicated that she had died
from air embolism leading to heart failure, rather
than from strangulation, as initially assumed. The
stocking and scarf had been tied around the victim’s
neck postmortem, staging the scene. It was also
clear that an abortion had been performed, which
seemed the likely cause of the embolism.
A search of records turned up Mamie Cadden, a
convicted abortionist on that street, about 50 feet
from where the victim lay. Mamie claimed she
knew nothing about the incident, although a search
of her premises turned up surgical instruments that
could have been used. She kept a log of clients,
identified by code, who purchased cures for minor
ailments, and on the day before the murder, she had
written “blue coat.” However, Lawlor noted some-
thing strange about this entry; it appeared to be
over-written. He had his experts take photographs
and refine them until the original entry was clear;
they could now see that Mamie had first written,
“black coat.” Mamie denied that was what it said,
claiming she had written the first entry with red
ink and had difficulty reading it, so she had traced
it over with blue ink. This suspicious circumstance
nevertheless maintained her status as a suspect.
The search around the body dump site turned
up some interesting items. The victim had been
pulled several feet, as revealed in drag marks ex-
tending from the body back toward Mamie’s flat,
where bloodstains were found in the hallway of her
building. This gave the detectives reason to process
the apartment, and they removed two coconut fiber
floor mats, a rabbit fur cape, a red dressing gown,
and several combs with head hair in them.
Making comparisons, they found that hairs and
fur lifted off the victim’s black overcoat matched
the rabbit fur coat, and this same fur was also found
on the floor mats. Hair from the combs was simi-
lar in texture and color to strands of hair on the
coat. Also, in the heel of the dead woman’s shoe
they found two hair strands, one of which was re-
markably similar to the rabbit fur. In addition, the
victim’s head hair was consistent with hair lifted
from Mamie’s dressing gown, and red fibers from
the gown were similar to several fibers picked off
the victim’s coat. More precisely, eighty-nine fi-
bers were found on the dead woman from the floor
mats, closely matched along seven different color
shades, including a faded blue.
Lawlor was gratified to see how the physical evi-
dence brought the case together, and he used the
latest methods of microphotography to prepare ex-
hibits for the judge and jury. Mamie Cadden was
convicted of the murder.
Lawlor believed in coordinating his team and
pooling information, so during each significant
case he held daily conferences. They discussed
suspects and motives until they whittled down
possibilities to what seemed the most effective
avenues for investigation. They also learned how
to use the aura of science to trick suspects into
believing they had evidence when they did not.
Lawlor also trained them in crime scene processing
with exercises that had them on hands and knees
going through an overgrown field. Sometimes
they had to return to the same field the following
day to identify something placed there overnight
that they had not noticed before—even an item
as small as a matchstick or hairpin. This kind of
painstaking exercise assisted with another dicey
case, a murder in Howth.
During the summer of 1948, in a lover’s lane
area in the countryside south of Dublin, the body
of a woman was found nestled into a hollow in a
hillside. There was blood on her mouth, and it
soon became clear that her killer had bludgeoned
her about the head and face several times, and had
manually strangled her. The Technical Bureau ar-
rived to process the scene, photographing the body
before removal, and then moving through the area.
Fourteen officers got down on their hands and
knees to search for evidence.

30 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

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 They found two recent newspapers in the
hollow, apparently used as seats on the wet
grass the previous evening, and a cluster of
a dozen burnt matches, as if someone was
searching for something in the dark. Two
expensive fountain pens were also found,
one of them missing its clip. Not far away
was a purse, stashed under a bush, which
provided the victim’s name, Kay Boyne, a
38-year-old widow. Inside was a desperate
love letter from someone named John, and
her boyfriend turned out to be John Fanning
(who claimed to be her unofficial fiancée).
Fanning admitted that he had been with
Kay the evening before, but he said that a car-
load of her friends had picked her up, leaving
him to find his own way home. He claimed
he stopped at a pub and had then found a
ride with a friend. Nevertheless, questions to
his coworkers turned up an interesting item:
Fanning had recently confided to one woman
that he might commit suicide. His drink at
the pub also proved to have been fabricated,
but physical evidence tying him to the mur-
der was lacking.
Then, through interviews, it became clear
that both pens from the murder site had re-
cently been in Fanning’s possession: the broken
one belonged to him (he had the clip) and he
had borrowed the other pen from a co-work-
er the day before the murder. A recognizable
pen missing from Boyne’s handbag was found
in a pocket of Fanning’s shirt, hanging at his
house. When Fanning was searched, detec-
tives found a number of recent scratches on
several areas of his body, as if from a struggle,
as well as bloodstains on his trousers. Then a
stash of letters indicated that Kay Boyne had
been trying to break up with him and he’d himself rethinking his notions about motive,
been fiercely resistant. noting the tragedy in someone’s life of one
Arrested for murder, he went to trial. false step, fueled by overwhelming emotional
There, Fanning offered a confession, show- intensity. “Murder is murder … yet there are
ing that whatever violence had occurred had cases in which one feels that a line of demar-
been outside his consciousness—he had sim- cation may be drawn.”
ply reacted from desperation. In fact, a medi- Superintendent George Lawlor had a stel-
cal examination indicated a physical anomaly lar career, working long hours for the Garda
that his defense used to buttress his apparent and incorporating every scientific innovation
insanity: Fanning’s heart and liver were trans- about which he learned. He offered advice
posed—each was where the other should have freely to others who asked, and when he died
been. Two medical experts testified that this in January 1961, he was consulting on a case
congenital defect was associated with men- for an inspector general from India. Despite
tal deficiency. The prosecutor had a difficult his apparent obscurity, Lawlor deserves rec-
time proving there had been an intent to kill ognition as an early role model for an entire
and the defense countered that since Fanning police force and an eminent advocate for the
worked as a chemist’s assistant, he could eas- use of science in law enforcement.
ily have poisoned Kay if he had intended her
harm. The homicide appeared to have been References
a tragic over-reaction. Reddy, T. (1991). The murder file: An Irish detective’s
After an hour and a half of deliberation, casebook. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
the jury found Fanning guilty but recom- Reddy, T. (2005). Murder will out. Dublin: Gill &
mended mercy, as there was no evidence of Macmillan.
malice aforethought. He received death, but Thorwald, J. (1964). The century of the detective. New
this was later commuted to life. Lawlor found York: Harcourt, Brace & World. n
About the Author
Katherine Ramsland, PhD, CMI-V, has published 33
books, including True Stories of CSI and Beating the
Devil’s Game: A History of Forensic Science and Criminal
Investigation. Dr. Ramsland is an associate professor of fo-
rensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania and
has been a member of the American College of Forensic
Examiners since 1998.

For Most People, College is a Waste of Time

By Charles Murray, Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal © 2008 Dow Jones & Company

Imagine that America had no system of post-
secondary education, and you were a member of
a task force assigned to create one from scratch.
One of your colleagues submits this proposal:
First, we will set up a single goal to represent
educational success, which will take 4 years to
achieve no matter what is being taught. We
will attach an economic reward to it that sel-
dom has anything to do with what has been
learned. We will urge large numbers of people
who do not possess adequate ability to try to
achieve the goal, wait until they have spent a lot
of time and money, and then deny it to them.
We will stigmatize everyone who doesn’t meet
the goal. We will call the goal a “BA.”
You would conclude that your colleague
was cruel, not to say insane. But that’s the
system we have in place.
Finding a better way should be easy. The
BA acquired its current inflated status by ac-
cident. Advanced skills for people with brains
really did get more valuable over the course
of the twentieth century, but the acquisition
of those skills got conflated with the existing
system of colleges, which had evolved the BA
for completely different purposes.

32 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

Certification is the Solution
Outside a handful of majors—engineering
and some of the sciences—a bachelor’s degree
tells an employer nothing except that the ap-
plicant has a certain amount of intellectual
ability and perseverance. Even a degree in a
vocational major like business administra-
tion can mean anything from a solid base of
knowledge to four years of barely remem-
bered gut courses.
The solution is not better degrees, but no
degrees. Young people entering the job mar-
ket should have a known, trusted measure of
their qualifications they can carry into job in-
terviews. That measure should express what
they know, not where they learned it or how
long it took them. They need a certification,
not a degree.
The model is the CPA exam that quali-
fies certified public accountants. The same
test is used nationwide. It is thorough—four
sections, timed, totaling 14 hours. A passing
score indicates authentic competence (the
pass rate is below 50%). Actual scores are
reported in addition to pass/fail, so that em-
ployers can assess where the applicant falls in
the distribution of accounting competence.
You may have learned accounting at an anon-
ymous online university, but your CPA score
gives you a way to show employers you’re a
stronger applicant than someone from an Ivy
League school.
The merits of a CPA-like certification
exam apply to any college major for which
the BA is now used as a job qualification. To
name just some of them: criminal justice,
social work, public administration and the
many separate majors under the headings of
business, computer science and education.
Such majors accounted for almost two-
thirds of the bachelor’s degrees conferred
in 2005. For that matter, certification tests
can be used for purely academic disciplines.
Why not present graduate schools with cer-
tifications in microbiology or economics—
and who cares if the applicants passed the
exam after studying in the local public li-
brary?
Certification tests need not undermine the
incentives to get a traditional liberal-arts edu-
cation. If professional and graduate schools
want students who have acquired one, all
they need do is require certification scores in
the appropriate disciplines. Students facing
such requirements are likely to get a much
better liberal education than even our most
elite schools require now.
(800) 592-1399
Certification tests will not get rid of the But when so many of the players would ben-
problems associated with differences in intellec- efit, a market opportunity exists. If a high-pro-
tual ability: People with high intellectual ability file testing company such as the Educational
will still have an edge. Graduates of prestigious Testing Service were to reach a strategic deci-
colleges will still, on average, have higher certi- sion to create definitive certification tests, it
fication scores than people who have taken on- could coordinate with major employers, pro-
line courses—just because prestigious colleges fessional groups and nontraditional universities
attract intellectually talented applicants. to make its tests the gold standard. A handful
But that’s irrelevant to the larger issue. of key decisions could produce a tipping ef-
Under a certification system, 4 years is not fect. Imagine if Microsoft announced it would
required, residence is not required, expen- henceforth require scores on a certain battery of
sive tuitions are not required, and a degree is certification tests from all of its programming
not required. Equal educational opportunity applicants. Scores on that battery would ac-
means, among other things, creating a society quire instant credibility for programming job
in which it’s what you know that makes the applicants throughout the industry.
difference. Substituting certifications for de- An educational world based on certification
grees would be a big step in that direction. tests would be a better place in many ways, but
The incentives are right. Certification tests the overarching benefit is that the line between
would provide all employers with valuable, college and noncollege competencies would be
trustworthy information about job appli- blurred. Hardly any jobs would still have the
cants. They would benefit young people who BA as a requirement for a shot at being hired.
cannot or do not want to attend a traditional Opportunities would be wider and fairer, and the
4-year college. They would be welcomed by stigma of not having a BA would diminish.
the growing post-secondary online educa- Most important in an increasingly class-
tional industry, which cannot offer the halo riven America: The demonstration of compe-
effect of a BA from a traditional college, but tency in business administration or European
can realistically promise their students good history would, appropriately, take on similari-
training for a certification test—as good as ties to the demonstration of competency in
they are likely to get at a traditional college, cooking or welding. Our obsession with the
for a lot less money and in a lot less time. BA has created a two-tiered entry to adult-
Certification tests would disadvantage hood, anointing some for admission to the
just one set of people: Students who have club and labeling the rest as second-best.
gotten into well-known traditional schools, Here’s the reality: Everyone in every occu-
but who are coasting through their years in pation starts as an apprentice. Those who are
college and would score poorly on a certifi- good enough become journeymen. The best
cation test. Disadvantaging them is an out- become master craftsmen. This is as true of
come devoutly to be wished. business executives and history professors as
No technical barriers stand in the way of of chefs and welders. Getting rid of the BA
evolving toward a system where certification tests and replacing it with evidence of competence
would replace the BA. Hundreds of certification —treating post-secondary education as ap-
tests already exist, for everything from building prenticeships for everyone—is one way to
code inspectors to advanced medical specialties. help us to recognize that common bond. n
The problem is a shortage of tests that are na-
tionally accepted, like the CPA exam.
The essay printed above is adapted from Charles Murray’s
new book, Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing
America’s Schools Back to Reality (Crown Forum). In the book,
Murray presents an argument that the current higher educa-
tion system is outdated and needs extensive overhaul. He says
that many students would be better served by attending trade
schools or working for certifications rather than going deeply
into debt for a costly Bachelor of Arts degree.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 33
To Register: Call Toll-Free (800) 592-1399 or visit www.acfei.com
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New Members and Fellows

Welcome New ACFEI Members!

Christopher O. Akhidenor Donna L. Matthews Elizabeth L. Salley Mary E. Clemons
Terri Augspurger Tina M. McKain Eli M. Abeles Gerald L. Clough
Tonja Barnebee Tiffany Joy Michelli Maurizio C. Adornetto Michael James Conwell
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Michael A. Falcone Carroll M. Rottmund Robert Richard Bell Richard M. Dupee
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Patrick D. Glen David J. Schmidt Richard H. Besson John Felicetti
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Kelli S. Lingg Murali Talasila Dennis P. Bunda Leslie Hollile
Sharon Malik Tina Bulman Robert L. Calaway Alissa K M Hollinger
Guillermo Marin Robert A. Cerasoli Barbara A. Cassano Stephen Hummel
Guillermo Martinez Troy L. Dickerson Donnell R. Christian Jr. Earl J. Kasdon

Attention Forensic Educators

The Commission on Forensic Education
The Commission on Forensic Education, developed by The American College of Forensic
Examiners, emphasizes the importance of forensic science programs in education and is
committed to their expansion. The Commission offers guidance on instruction, provides
help to those who teach or study forensic science, and reviews professional certification
programs. The Commission is an effective and essential network that helps educators and
students stay informed of the latest innovations, breakthroughs, and important research in
the field. Commissioner membership is open to college and university administrators and
full-time, part-time, and adjunct professors; Associate Commissioner membership is open
to high school science teachers. The Commission helps educators advance the field and
inspire future forensic professionals through providing supportive services:
• Helping educators network with fellow teaching professionals and top experts in the
field.
• Teaching potential students about the importance and the benefits of studying foren-
sic science.
To join the commission, apply • Giving members a highly visible forum to publish and distribute their research.
online at www.forensiccommission.com • Helping members stay current in a constantly evolving field by providing quality
or call Anna at (800) 592-1399 continuing education.
• Providing certification programs that recognize achievement.

36 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

Jason Khoury Duane A. Overturf Keith X. Terrell Michelle Erin Snyder
Sharon J. Koch Patricia Paterson Leon Cass Terry Lorna Jean Ste Marie
Ben Kohen-Kadosh Jairo Pelaez Marvette J. Thomas Richard Stewart
Alex Kwechansky Hans Petersen Anthony Paul Vappie Karl V. Umbrasas
Joseph A. Langevin Lee Anthony Picariello William T. Veith Laura Kay Wood
Daniel LaPadula Jose E. Pico Moises Velazquez Jr.
Nika E. Larsen Gaylon K. Powers Dean J. Vlahos New Diplomates
Trisha Latimer Mark J. Pry Ryan Wessels Alireza Bagherian
William S. Leach Chris E. Quigley Heather Westphal Stuart S. Hart
Paul S. Leonard Richard A. Reed Samuel M. White Syed Shoaib H Shah
Morgan Liddell Diane J. Reich Alicia A. Williams
Stacey M. Loggins Mary Alice Ricci Tammy Lynn Wooten New Fellows
John J. Lukaszewski Jr. Barbara Rosenberg Ronald F. Worst James D. Blair
Carlos J. Maggi Cheri D. Rosser Ruth Wyatt Dale W. Cillian
John F. Magino Donna Rudak Mujahid Tariq Ali James B. Clarke
Jessica D. Majors Yvonne Mendez Schroeder Liane Best Randolph Joseph Malsky
Mark A. Manzi Carra S. Sergeant Tessie Lea Bowmaker John M. Simonis
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Springfield, MO 65804
Books by ACFEI Members
s True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes
Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular
TV Show, by Katherine Ramsland
s Disaster Archaeology, by Richard
A. Gould
s The Exam Cram 2: CISSP, by
Michael Gregg
s Witness Preparation for
Deposition and Witness Preparation
for Trial, by Jan Mills Spaeth
38 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
True Stories of CSI: The Real
Crimes Behind the Best Episodes
of the Popular TV Show
By Katherine Ramsland, PhD
True Stories of CSI answers the question every
fan of the TV show asks from time to time: “Could
that really happen?” Katherine Ramsland takes us
case-by-case through episodes that not only could
happen, but did, detailing the real-life crimes that
inspired some of the more shocking episodes of the
show.
Each chapter opens with a brief description of
an episode of CSI, then goes on to reveal the sto-
ry of an actual crime that is disturbingly similar.
Ramsland’s work is notable not only for making
the connection of fact to fiction that satisfies the
curiosity of so many viewers, but also for her own
natural storytelling ability.
Ramsland often lays the crime out chronologi-
cally, allowing her readers to experience the same
twisting journey that police and forensic investiga-
tors took. Often, the revelation of new evidence
points an investigation in a different direction or
sows doubt in what seemed to be an open-and-shut
case.
Ramsland brings us face to face with the cruel
and calculating criminals that perpetrated such hei-
nous crimes. These are not the creations of a team
of writers, but actual people—liars, narcissists, psy-
chopaths—dangerous criminals who once walked
freely in our society.
Ramsland also brings to light the actual practice
of forensic science. She examines the methods that
brought these criminals to justice—technology
that has been evolving at a break-neck pace these
past decades, criminal justice procedure that deter-
mines the pace of the investigation, and even the
coincidences that led police to the evidence that
would name a killer and put him behind bars for
life. These cases do not wrap up in a neat package
in 60 minutes minus commercial breaks, but they
definitely open the reader up to the real world of
crime scene investigation.
Katherine Ramsland’s multiple degrees in-
clude a master’s in forensic psychology. She
is the author of more than two dozen books
and currently teaches forensic psychology as
an assistant professor at DeSales University in
Pennsylvania. Visit her Web site at www.kath-
erineramsland.com.
Ramsland has been a member of the ACFEI
since 1999, is a Certified Medical Investigator,
and was a presenter at the 2007 ACFEI
Conference.
Disaster Archaeology
By Richard A. Gould
“Closure … is a universal human experience in
which emotions surrounding uncertainties about
the fate of a relative or friend lost in a disaster are
resolved to some degree by identification of the
victim through physical evidence.”
Richard A. Gould, author of Disaster Archaeology,
has produced a work that not only acts as a primer
on disaster archaeology and its many applications,
but that also communicates his passion for the
truth—a passion with which all forensic profes-
sionals are familiar.
Gould opens with a chapter defining disaster
archaeology and goes on to discuss the prominent
role of this demanding but important work dur-
ing an era in which massive natural disasters and
horrifying terrorist attacks have befallen our na-
tion. Disaster archeology is particularly difficult
because the task requires identifying remains while
the physical and emotional effects of the disaster
are still being felt. There are not thousands of years
buffering scientist from subject—the deceased are
members of the same society as the investigators.
Additional chapters discuss cases in a variety of
locations—including the United States, Russia,
even underwater—under a variety of circumstanc-
es: the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, an investiga-
tion in human rights violations from decades ago,
a fire in a nightclub, and even prehistoric cannibal-
ism. Gould samples the vast range of applications
for forensic archaeology. Beyond simply educating
his readers, Gould inspires with his dedication of
bringing closure to those who have already been
through too much.
Richard A. Gould is a professor of anthropology
at Brown University and led full recoveries at the
Station nightclub fire scene in Rhode Island. He
is the author of Recovering the Past and Archaeology
and the Social History of Ships. He is currently vice
president and treasurer of Forensic Archaeology
Recovery (FAR), a volunteer team based in Rhode
Island.
Gould has been a member of the ACFEI since
2007 and is currently serving on the Commission
on Forensic Education.
The Exam Cram 2: CISSP
By Michael Gregg
The Exam Cram 2: CISSP is a fast-paced presen-
tation of facts—excellent in assisting any informa-
tion systems security professional with the review
www.acfei.com
he or she needs to perform well on the Certified
Information Systems Security Profession, CISSP,
exam.
Chapter topics run the gambit from physical
security to cryptography, telecommunications to
business continuity planning. In addition to the
important facts that comprise the chapters, each
chapter also contains various teaching tools includ-
ing “hot lists” of crucial terms and concepts; alerts
regarding the actual exam; tips, notes, and sidebars
for additional information; and a “Need to Know
More?” section that references additional sources
of information.
Exam Cram 2 will prepare you not only with the
information you’ll need to answer the questions cor-
rectly on the test, but also information regarding
the exam itself with tips that will help test-takers
reach their full potential on this exam, as well as
practice questions in each chapter and two full prac-
tice exams at the end of the book. There is even a
tear-out cram sheet that lists the most important
facts for last-minute preparation and a CD with
the preview edition of exam-simulation software.
Exam Cram 2: CISSP is the perfect marriage of
a thorough presentation of information and tried
and true education practices. Anyone preparing
for the CISSP exam and anyone looking to ex-
pand their knowledge in the Information Security
Systems field would do well to pick up this book.
Michael Gregg has more than 20 years of expe-
rience in the IT field. He holds multiple degrees
and many certifications, including CISSP. He has
consulted and taught for many Fortune 500 com-
panies. He is a member of the ACFEI as well as the
Texas Association for Educational Technology, and
he has been a member of the ACFEI since 2004.
Witness Preparation for Deposition
and Witness Preparation for Trial
By Jan Mills Spaeth, PhD
Perhaps more than in any other field, forensic
professionals are called upon to contribute to court-
room proceedings. For those new to the process of
serving as a witness and for those interested in im-
proving the quality of their testimonies, Jan Mills
Spaeth, along with the American Bar Association,
has produced a two-DVD series to address prepa-
ration for both depositions and trials.
Witness Preparation For Deposition begins with
a brief discussion of what can be expected at a de-
position, as well as the purpose of the deposition.
Spaeth communicates valuable information to the
viewer by expanding on the degree to which a de-
position can influence the following trial, or even
(800) 592-1399
influence whether a case goes to trial or is settled
out of court.
Witness Preparation for Trial has a similar open-
ing that explores not only what will be expected
of a witness, but also what the witness will see and
how the witness can expect the lawyers, judge, and
jury to act.
Both DVDs cover Spaeth’s method of answering
questions that, if followed, will allow the witness
to avoid giving incorrect or misleading answers. s Katherine Ramsland
Spaeth then discusses the 10 critical qualities all
credible witnesses must present, including com-
petence, conciseness, and clarity.
Throughout the discussion, the DVDs include
dramatized examples of witnesses, lawyers, judges,
and jurors. Spaeth has produced a program that
not only tells, but shows witnesses how to conduct
themselves. This method of presentation makes
the learning process more effective. Spaeth also
gives viewers inside information—an expert’s per- s Richard A. Gould
spective of the courtroom—so that witnesses can
understand how their behavior will be perceived
by attorneys, judges, and juries. Throughout the
DVDs, Spaeth points out critical missteps that wit-
nesses must not make in order to avoid being ad-
monished by the judge, or, in severe cases, to avoid
causing a mistrial.
These DVDs are essential for everyone who is
called upon as a witness—both those new to the
process and those with experience who want to s Michael Gregg
establish themselves as credible and valuable wit-
nesses.
Jan Mills Spaeth, PhD, has been a member
of ACFEI since 1996. She has written extensive-
ly on legal issues, particularly jury selection, trial
simulations, witness preparation, and case strategy.
Spaeth has been an educator for the University of
Arizona and numerous colleges, and she has been
a frequent guest on many television and radio
talk shows and news broadcasts. Her Web site is s Jan Mills Spaeth
www.azjuryresearch.com n
Have a book you
would like reviewed?
Mail it to:
Editor; The Forensic Examiner;
2750 E. Sunshine St.;
Springfield, MO 65804
Be sure to include a press release.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 39
 Re e d Hayes
nett a and
on Ian
By Kim

40 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

 Handwritten material often shows red flags
for negative behavior that might not be detected
through more traditional investigative techniques.
This cutting-edge risk assessment tool provides a
discreet and unobtrusive way of validating hunches
and gleaning useful information about suspected
deceivers, assisting in the implementation of
alternative possibilities in investigations.
Handwriting analysis is a comparatively quick
method of peering into a subject’s mind and is es-
pecially useful in detecting devious and potentially
dangerous or risky behavior. The following samples
illustrate this method of predicting and tracking be-
havior, revealing how the writer/suspect was feel-
ing at the time of the writing, as well as showing
long-term behavioral patterns.
This dynamic method was developed and test-
ed over a period of 10 years by the authors of
this article, graphologist Kimon Iannetta and Dr.
James Craine, head of Neuropsychology Services
Department at Hawaii State
Hospital in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
The basics regarding risk evalua-
tion through handwriting are pre-
sented here. However, readers are
encouraged to consider Iannetta’s
Danger Between the Lines, a re-
source manual pertaining specifi-
cally to the evaluation of risk and
violence potential that resulted
from the Hawaii study. To help
flesh out a useful profile of any
subject, it is also recommended s Peculiar mood shift.
that readers use the full set of 124 Forensic Profiling the subject need not be present when the exami-
Cards (some of which are illustrated here), which
include all of the danger signs as well as the facili- to participate in any testing procedure. There is,
tators and inhibitors to dangerousness identified
by the study. Also recommended is Hayes’ Between
the Lines, which covers a full range of graphological
material outside the criminal context.
Profiles of subjects presented herein are designed
to illustrate specific handwriting indicators and how
they can manifest in individuals’ behavior. The
(800) 592-1399
s Signature from early in Jackson’s ca-
reer: self-protection shown in the encir-
cled name; final n creates a barrier be-
tween self and the world.
analyses are admittedly brief and are not intended
to be exhaustive studies. However, additional pro-
s Although still self-protective (partially
files that are interactive and more in-depth are avail- encircled name) Jackson has declared him-
able at http://www.trialrun.com/id4u/profiles.html. self a star by the final burst of fireworks.
Handwriting, being closely tied to one’s brain
and emotional responses, illustrates a person’s state
of mind at the moment pen is placed to paper.
As moods and circumstances change, so the writ-
ing will change, often subtly, but sometimes more
dramatically. This calls for the evaluation of more
than one sample of writing for added accuracy
and insight, whenever possible. This also permits
the analyst to consider the writing
over a period of time, which can
add further clues to the investiga-
tion process or contribute to bet-
ter understanding of crimes after
the fact.
Michael Jackson
The handwriting of Michael
Jackson is clearly reflective of ex-
treme changes over many years.
Among the obvious benefits of
graphological assessment is that s Eccentric, exaggerated signature at the
time of marriage to Lisa Marie Presley.
nation takes place and, in fact, does not even have Taken from the marriage license, the unat-
tractive signature looks like a jellyfish, re-
vealing his need to hide or conceal, and
therefore, little chance that the material to be ex- covers much of the page, showing egotism
and feelings of grandiosity.
amined will be consciously or deliberately altered
in hopes of creating a certain result. Drawbacks
include limited samples of writing—perhaps writ-
ten under adverse conditions—or the evaluation of
written material produced after a crime has already
been committed. The competence of the analyst
s Publicly upbeat (rising baseline), pri-
vately turbulent (note tightly retraced
stroke where marked)
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 41

s Jackson’s signature during his 2004
trial for child molestation fills the entire
page, revealing his bigger than life self
image; twisted upper zone formation
shows distorted thinking and morals; ex-
cessively high M and n arches denote
delusions of grandeur and compensation
for feelings of self-doubt; poorly formed,
variable midzone letters (“ichael,” “ack-
son”) suggest inability to deal clearly with
everyday issues.
42 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
may also be a contributing factor as to the accu-
racy of the evaluation.
No analysis should be based on one or two fac-
tors or an individual finding in the writing. Rather,
the writing must be carefully weighed and evaluat-
ed by taking all signs into consideration. People—
including criminals—are complex. Red flags should
be considered for both frequency and intensity,
and positive factors should be weighed against
negative.
It is to be noted that there is no specific “crimi-
nal type” as identified by handwriting, as crimes
and other negative behavior come about for a
variety of reasons. There are nevertheless many
writing clues that, when considered as a whole,
are highly valuable in determining perpetrators’
characters and the motivating factors behind their
misdeeds.
Red flags
A red flag with respect to one’s emotional state is
when the writing lines sink downward. This is sug-
gestive of a depressed mood likely accompanied by
negative thoughts, which dampens the person’s en-
ergy and enthusiasm and may contribute to nega-
tive or desperate behavior. Note, however, that
downhill lines can be a temporary sign that may
show up as a result of fatigue or illness and then dis-
appear as the individual becomes rested. (More than
one writing sample is obviously required.) Also, this
is not necessarily an indicator of suicidal ideation.
It is nevertheless clearly evident in the writing of
Charles Bishop, the teenager who believed Osama
Bin Laden to be justified in the attacks of Sept. 11,
2001, and who subsequently flew a small plane into
a Florida building.
In some instances it is relatively easy to detect
mental instability from writing, as in the case of
Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. His
unstable, disorganized character is clear in the er-
ratic letter forms and spacing, variable slant and
pressure, tangled lines, cross-outs, and rambling
language. The writing is devoid of controls.
On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the
writing (opposing page) of a long-time underworld
hit man, which at first glance seems “normal” or
“nice.” In this case, the rigidly perfect writing shows
a façade of strength, masculinity, and over-con-
trol. There is no flexibility, no give, to the writer’s
thoughts and emotions. Along with these indica-
tions are the multiple angles that may not at first
be evident, revealing intense anger, especially con-
sidering the heavy pressure of the writing which
represents intensity of feeling. His “job” as a hit
man is a perfect vent for the inner rage and hostil-
ity that dominate his life.
Every exaggeration in handwriting is symbolically
representative of the extreme views and outlook of
the subject: whether the writing is too slack or over-
ly rigid; has exaggerated spacing, size or pressure;
or contains repeatedly odd forms. Unusual and
unique symbols all reflect the dance of the mind
as the writer leaves behind footprints that are eas-
ily tracked and deciphered. If the symbols are aes-
thetic, well-formed, and supported by other posi-
tives, they may indicate talent or special skills, but
if visually unpleasant and combined with negative
factors, can reveal obsessions or odd thinking.
Frequently criminals use a personal pronoun
I (PPI) that deviates strongly from the copybook
model. This letter, symbolic of one’s self-image, is
often distorted or unusual in some way, pointing
toward an odd or disrupted view of self which,
when accompanied by other negative signs, can
facilitate criminal behavior. (See Forensic Profiling
Cards D-1, Page 44.)
Charles Ng, serial killer
Serial killer Charles Ng wrote twisted, awkward
personal pronoun I’s. Ng, along with Leonard
Lake, is suspected of murdering up to 25 people
at Lake’s ranch in Calaveras County, California in
the early 1980s. Ng’s creativity was instrumental
in building a complete torture chamber where the
two filmed themselves raping and abusing their
www.acfei.com
victims, most of them women. Ng was convict-
ed of 11 of the murders—those of six men, three
women, and two baby boys—and is presently on
death row awaiting execution. Ng’s personal pro-
noun I is contorted, showing a distorted self-image.
The downstroke of the letter is bent, suggesting
a twisted “backbone” and a perverted approach
that contributed to his ability and willingness to
bond with Lake. The i dots are repeatedly made
like slashes, indicative of deeply rooted hostility,
s Charles Bishop, teenager who flew a plane into a Florida building.
expressed in this extreme case as rage and cruelty.
Down-slanted crossbars (see t in “best”) reveal a
need to dominate and control. At the same time,
Ng had little control over his own urges and emo-
tions as the variable slant and pressure patterns of
his writing attest. Lower loops that pull strongly
to the left are suggestive of regressive, underdevel-
oped, or odd sexual attitudes.

Broken letters
The writing of criminals sometimes contains bro- s Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

ken or segmented letters, suggesting weak bound-

aries between conscious thought and unconscious
drives. This implies that the “current is broken.” It
is often seen in the writing of those who are dishon-
est or able to compartmentalize their lives; in some
instances the person leads a double life. (Note: Care
must be taken to determine that the breaks are not
the result of a faulty pen. Also, this sign is at times a
reflection of physical health issues, particularly if the
writing in general is tremulous or uncertain. Breaks s Underworld hit man—“persona writing” designed to hide and impress
between individual letters do not count here.)

s The writing of former Enron CEO Ken Lay displays seg-

mented letters.
s The writing of murderer Charles Ng displays a distorted pronoun “I”.

Segmented letters are clearly evident in the writing

of Ken Lay, best known for his role in the corruption
scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation.
CEO and chairman of Enron from 1986 until his
resignation on January 23, 2002, Lay became syn-
onymous with corporate abuse and accounting fraud
when the scandal broke in 2001. He was found guilty
of securities fraud and related charges and could have
faced 20 to 30 years in prison, but he died of heart
failure before his scheduled sentencing.
Lay’s rather firm personal pronoun I denotes confi-
dence and independent thinking, supported by print-
script suggestive of self-control. The repeated angular
formations of the t’s that look like flags or sails and
reach into the upper zone of the intellectual arena
point toward strategic thinking and an ability to see
various angles of situations. Rather closely dotted i’s
indicate attentiveness to detail. However, segmented
letters (especially lower case a’s) denote poor integra-
tion and a propensity for devious, dishonest behavior
so that the right hand did not know what the left
was doing. Variable emotions and responses are im-
plied by fluctuation in slant and letter size. Tangled
lines imply confused thinking and poor judgment
despite Lay’s ability to strategize. (Note that Charles
Ng’s writing also contains segmented letters.)
Beth Friedman
Writing formations often referred to as “felon’s
claws” are frequently seen in the writing of unsa-
vory, dishonest characters. s A mugshot of Sirhan Sirhan

(800) 592-1399
423-9737 Fall 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 43
Winter

s Psychological Implications: The personal
pronoun ‘I’ is directly connected to the in-
dividual’s self-image. Distortions of this let-
ter suggest in one’s self-concept. The writer
has an odd, unique, or distorted self-image
(according to the individual shape, size,
etc. of the letter) and may exhibit compul-
sive behavior patterns. This may indicate
talents and unique abilities (when accom-
panied by positive indicators) or patho-
logical obsessions (when accompanied by
negative indications). Philosophies and/
or behavior may be altered to serve the
writer’s own emotional needs.
s A mugshot of Charles Ng
s A mugshot of Eric Rudolph
44 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
These claws are evident in the handwriting of
Beth Friedman, a 54-year-old Florida school
teacher convicted of having improper sexu-
al relations with one of her male students over
an extended period of time. Underhanded be-
havior is suggested in the claw-like lower loops
that are repeated in the personal pronoun
I. As noted above, distortion of this letter indicates
a poorly developed sense of self, particularly when
combined with the childish nature of her writing
indicative of a mentality that is not much more
advanced than that of her students. Wide distanc-
es between words portray emotional isolation and
difficulty forming intimate relations.
Martin James Kipp, rapist & killer
Distorted lower zone formations are seen in the
writing of rapist and serial killer Martin James
Kipp, above. Kipp was the son of a prostitute who
abandoned him at the age of 22 months. He was
adopted by relatives and raised by an alcoholic “fa-
ther” who often beat him in public. Kipp joined
the Marine Corps, where he won divisional hon-
ors in boxing. In 1981 he was accused of abducting
and raping a woman and, rather than face charges,
went AWOL. He was eventually captured and sen-
tenced but released from prison after serving only
19 months. In 1983 he beat, raped and strangled a
young woman in a savage attack, and struck again
15 months later, leaving another victim strangled.
The seemingly innocuous words of Kipp’s writing
sample might appeal to some young lady seeking
the perfect, well established partner, but the slow-
ly written, artificial handwriting screams danger.
Although the writing is clearly designed to impress,
the bizarre lower loops show contorted, angry views
and attitudes related to sexual fantasy. The personal
pronoun I is angular and hooked, revealing intense
anger closely connected to his self-image. Clubbed
writing strokes that plunge heavily downward show
brutality and relentless urges, especially when com-
bined with heavy pressure, an indication of deep-
seated emotions and lasting thoughts and feelings.
Odd, disconnected formations (for example, the f ’s)
reveal forbidden thoughts and desires, all carefully
hidden by near perfect midzone letter forms and
an exactly straight baseline which together consti-
tute a façade constructed to make an impression.
Kipp has few social boundaries and, given his lack
of social skills, his victims were generally taken by
surprise in places such as dark parking lots. His
murders were especially brutal.
Eric Rudolph, Olympic Park Bomber
Eric Rudolph, who committed a series of bomb-
ings across the southern United States in the 1990s
that killed three and injured at least 150 others, also
writes distorted lower zone structures. Rudolph was
connected with the Christian Identity movement: a
militant, racist, and anti-Semitic organization. He
declared that his bombings were part of a guerril-
la campaign against abortion, which he described
as “the homosexual agenda.” The distorted lower
loops of Rudolph’s writing pull strongly to the left,
representative of the past and, more specifically,
mother. The script is highly connected, which
denotes one whose thoughts are compulsive and
unbroken—once started on an idea or plan, there
was no turning back. Rigidly braced initial strokes
reveal deep-seated resentment—unresolved anger
from the distant past—while ground-in dots (af-
ter “planet” and “mother”) denote explosive anger.
Down-slanted cross bars such as those in “task,”
“most,” and “significant” show a need to domi-
nate and control while retraced upper loops sug-
gest restrictive, narrow morals. The smallness of
the writing lends focus and concentration, as do
the relatively well placed i dots. Disappointment or
www.acfei.com
depression is shown in words that sink downward
(see “mother” and “whether”).

Aileen Wuornos, serial killer

Club formations, also very negative, are evident
in the handwriting of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida
prostitute who shot her “Johns” at point-blank
range. She was filled with rage and aggression as
indicated by her exceptionally sharp, spiked writing
style full of club-like strokes (see markings) and all
held under wraps by repression (tightly squeezed
letters) until the point of explosion. Strong focus is
shown in the concentrated, rather careful writing.
Precisely placed t crosses add to detail-mindedness
and also show strong willpower at times amount-
ing to brutality, hence the clubbed forms. Letters
that jut below the baseline point to negative un-
conscious motivations and aggressive behavior,
intensified by letters growing successively larger.
The personal pronoun I’s are rigid, retraced, and
s Psychological Implications: Segmented
unpleasant, and the upper loop formations are con- napped by a black man. The writing is exception- (broken) letters suggest weak boundaries
stricted, showing limited or undeveloped ethics. ally mundane (shown by a predominant midzone), between conscious thought processes and
immature (childlike writing style), and repressed unconscious drives and urges. The writer
lacks integration and is incongruent in
(squeezed, retraced letters), which together reflects emotional or ideational processes. Broken
lack of discrimination and self-understanding. Its letters indicate the writer’s deficiency in
handling situations with moral distinction
carefulness is indicative of a façade of normalcy or judgement. The writer may have little
and a desire to create a certain impression. Poorly regard for laws or rules, and can be a law
unto self. Broken letters in the personal pro-
Christine Falling, trusted nanny defined morals are reflected in the stunted upper noun ‘I’ and/or signature are especially
Christine Falling, whose writing contains twisted loops, and exceptional self-underestimation in the significant, and are indicative of a serious
upper loops, killed a number of children (she of- very low t crosses. As desperation took hold, Smith disturbance in self-concept.

ten said she “loved them to death”) and an elderly
person who had been placed in her care. Her kill-
ing method of choice was, as she called it, “smo-
theration” in response to voices chanting, “Kill the
baby” after which she simply reported that the child
had “stopped breathing.” Distorted ethics (twisted
upper zone forms) and odd ideas (bizarre letters
such as g in “everything” and “anything”) are seen
along with poor self-worth (disrupted personal
pronoun I, low t crosses, and primarily midzone
script). Ground-in dots denote anger and obsessive
thinking. Essentially midzone writing with unde-
veloped upper loops implies a limited outlook and
no sense of ultimate consequences.
Susan Smith, who drowned her two sons
Susan Smith seat-belted her two young sons
into her car and pushed it into a lake where they
drowned, after which she claimed they were kid-
probably felt there was no other way out than to
eliminate her children from her troubled life.
O.J. Simpson
s A mugshot of Aileen Wuornos
Orenthal J. Simpson, known as “O.J.” or “The Juice”
is one of the most famous running backs in American
football history, and was winner of the Heisman
trophy. In 1995, Simpson was acquitted in crimi-
nal court of the double murder of his wife, Nicole
Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. In 1997, he
was found liable for their deaths in civil court, but
to date has not paid the judgment. In 2007, he was
arrested and charged with making an armed attack
for an incident involving his efforts to recover sports
memorabilia he regarded as “stolen.” A jury convicted
Simpson on all charges and he was awaiting sentenc-
ing at the time of this article’s publication. s A mugshot of Christine Falling

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 45


s Psychological Implications: Felon’s claws
(backward claw formations) suggest sneaky,
underhanded, devious, and irresponsible
behavior. The claws imply that the writer’s
“emotional cup” is never full and that the per-
son feels starved for love. The person may
seek emotional fulfillment in deviant ways.
This sign is suggestive of unresolved sexual
desires, sexual guilt, tension and/or anxiety.
It connotes possible sexual aberration and/
or harsh, physically brutal sexual fantasies
or practices, especially when combined with
other strong negatives. It is frequently found
in the handwriting of criminals.
s O.J. Simpson
46 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
The writing sample below is from the so-called
suicide note written by Simpson after the murders
and before the infamous car chase on the freeways
of Los Angeles. The first statement of the sample
appears to be a lie, as it is incomplete and improp-
er. In fact, Simpson was unable to write that he
did not murder Nicole. Additionally, there is ex-
ceptional anxiety in the cross-outs after the word
“understand.” Extra wide spacing between “I” and
“loved” denote pauses in thought, suggestive that
perhaps he did not love Nicole after all. Segmented
letters (see d in “loved”) show compartmentalized
thinking and point to dishonesty. Out-of-place
capitals (pop-up letters) reveal strong independence
and self-assertion, intensified by words that grow
larger (“understand,” “always,” “and”). Strange let-
ter forms indicate odd thinking (b in “problem,” p
in “despite”) verified by unclear letter formations
(“weren’t” and “least”) and nonsensical statements
(“for now we weren’t right for each other at least
for now”). Explosive anger is revealed in the heavy
dot after “now” (and others not shown here), and
strong willpower is portrayed in firm cross bars.
Emotional turmoil is evident in the variable slant,
letter size, and pressure patterns, augmented by the
stressful cross-outs and corrections.
As earlier suggested, handwriting produced over
a period of time can be instrumental in producing
longitudinal studies of subjects. In the case of O.J.
Simpson we have access to signatures that (with
one exception) were written within a three-day
time span during a traumatic phase of his life and
reveal extremes of feeling during that time. The
signatures work much like a lie detector or body
language, only the dynamic thinking and personal
symbols are preserved for continued study. In other
cases (see Timothy McVeigh and Ted Kaczynski,
below), writing samples show changes over a lon-
ger time span.
Signature 1: Written years before the murders,
the signature proceeds rapidly forward, show-
ing smooth mental and physical movement. The
swings in the lower zone are easy and fluid, much
like O.J.’s quick moves on the football field for
which he was famous.
Signature 2: Written earlier on the night of
the murders during the dance recital for O.J.’s
and Nicole’s daughter Sidney. The signature pulls
sharply leftward, hiding what lurked just beneath
the surface—a symbolic knife blade written with
heavy pressure showing intense feeling regarding
that symbol. The knife formation appears to stab
the downstroke of the assertive p stem, then force-
fully changes direction and moves forward with
speed, organization, and stealth right along and
under the same path as the “son” portion of the
signature, which lies in the conscious midzone.
These strokes rise upward and forward, becoming
increasingly large and with added final thrust. The
image portrays planning, thoughtfulness, organiza-
tion, force and concealment.
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 Signature 3: Penned that evening after the mur-
ders upon O.J.’s arrival at LAX Airport. Still pull-
ing to the left, the implication is one of hiding and
subterfuge. At the same time the signature races
forward, with the knife blade formation in the s
in “son” still dark in his mind, the vision still im-
pressed in his head ... and racing to flee to safety.
Signature 4. Signed just before the infamous
car chase. The “tic” (leftmost arrow) shows rage,
while confusion and turmoil are evident in tangled
formations and the midzone letters (representing
the person’s reality) are squashed to nothing and
turned upside down toward the end. This reflects
an effort to hide while still running in circles, to
find a way out of his waking nightmare.
Timothy McVeigh
Three samples of Timothy McVeigh’s writing are
provided. The first was written sometime before
McVeigh carried out the April 19, 1995, bomb-
ing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people, includ-
ing 19 children. The second sample (a personal
note to his sister signed “Tim”) and the third were
written while awaiting execution after being con-
victed of the bombing.
McVeigh grew up in a small town in upstate New
York. His father, a blue collar worker who was em-
ployed making radiators, and his mother, a travel
agent, were reportedly often absent during his for-
mative years. In school he was considered outgo-
ing, bright and talkative. According to biographical
accounts, McVeigh loved guns at an early age and
often took them to school. He is said to have spent
hours by himself shooting at targets and dreaming
of one day being in the special forces unit in the
military.
After high school McVeigh joined the Army,
where he served as an artilleryman. Those who re-
call his time in the military remember that he talk-
(800) 592-1399
s Psychological Implications: Lower zone
ed incessantly. During the Gulf War he killed two distortions point to unusual or disturbed
enemy soldiers and bragged about it. He finished physical or sexual desires. When strong-
ly distorted, there amy be unconvention-
his tour in the Gulf and then wanted to become a al practices or sexual fantasies. Sexual
Green Beret. However, frustrated over his failure to confusion and/or emotional blocks are
complete the required training, McVeigh became also implied.
bitter and eventually turned his rage on the team
he so wanted to be a part of.
He became a drifter, living in motels, frequenting
gun shows, and growing increasingly bitter about
the federal government and its control. He became
outraged and started planning his personal protest
when the FBI raided the Branch Davidian com-
pound in Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993—which
happened exactly 2 years before the bombing in
Oklahoma City—and he visited the site to dem-
onstrate his anger over the raid. He witnessed the
tanks used by the government on the Davidian
compound as the same tanks he had driven in the
Gulf War, which further inflamed his anger. This
created the framework for the violence that would
later erupt in Oklahoma City.
McVeigh chose to print. This reflects a desire to
s A mugshot of Susan Smith
communicate clearly without revealing emotion-
al content and also suggests an urge to be in con-
trol of his immediate environment. Printing often
shows someone who is cautious about establishing
and maintaining significant interpersonal relations
and, with other signs, points to improper bonding
and attachment. This often contributes to suspicion
and doubt regarding others’ motives, particularly
when wide spaces appear between words, indica-
tive of a need for “elbow room.”
Overall, McVeigh’s rather consistent writing de-
picts intelligence, systematic thinking, and an abil-
ity to be shrewdly manipulative and controlling. s A mugshot of Timothy McVeigh
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 47

s Psychological Implications: Clubs indi-
cate extreme decisiveness and/or force-
fulness. Look for brutality or cruelty, es-
pecially when seen in conjunction with
poor quality writing. It may indicate a
“hit first, ask questions later” impulsive-
ness. When seen in the personal pronoun
‘I’ and/or signature, it suggests pervasive
characterological anger (conscious or un-
conscious) and may indicate a disturbed
self-concept.
48 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
The writing is organized and focused. Well-placed
t crosses show precision, while relatively straight
baselines denote self-control. Every i is dotted and
every t crossed, so he would not miss any impor-
tant details in any undertaking.
However, negative signs abound. Certain repeat-
ed structures in the writing reveal McVeigh’s obses-
sion with unmet dependency needs. In particular,
the g’s curl into a fetal position, as does the capital
T in the first signature. The y’s in the first sample
are especially troublesome as they are angled and
weapon-like, revealing aggressiveness and a hidden
agenda. (As shown in the later writing samples,
these angles disappeared after the bombing.) The
unusually formed y and g structures reveal improper
bonding and an overwhelming need for intimacy,
yet emotional withdrawal is shown in the unnatural
leftward pull, the wide distancing between words,
and the linear printing style.
The signature is particularly revealing in that it
is of an entirely different style than the text above
it, a sign of conflict between inner desires and feel-
ings and outward expressions. What you see is not
necessarily what you get. The initial letter pulls far
to the left, showing emotional withdrawal and pre-
occupation with the past.
Upon close examination, there are subtle char-
acteristics that reflect special personal concerns
and behaviors of this writer. Of particular note
are the habitual reversals in direction of the writ-
ing at certain critical junctures. These occur with
unique endings such as the “ut” and “nt” at the end
of words. Similar backward formations are seen
in “exists” and “which.” Contrary to normal, this
denotes defiant, I’ll-do-it-my-way thinking, indi-
cating that he is able to carry out his activities in a
creative, unconventional manner.
Aggressive impulses are seen in club-like struc-
tures at the beginning of some downstrokes, espe-
cially visible when the writing is enlarged (see t in
“arrest” and “tell”), in the angular y’s as previously
noted, and letters that are written as X’s (in particu-
lar, the letter t). The expression of his violent urges
is facilitated by the backward formations and out-
of-place capitals that reveal resistance to authority.
Further, he is able to compartmentalize his thoughts
and desires because the writing contains segmented
letters (Y in “York,” for example). It appears that
McVeigh was ready for battle.
From McVeigh’s writing, we would recognize in
advance, without knowing him or his violent crime,
that he was an introverted person and an organized
planner. He conceived ideas based on his personal
belief system and carefully and accurately put things
together with precision and perfection. His think-
ing style was obsessive and driven by strong, power-
ful feelings and a desire to act on them. He needed
to communicate and did so clearly. McVeigh want-
ed to be important, yet felt rejected, and his final
rejection resulted in retaliation.
The next two handwritings were written by
McVeigh while in prison. The personal note was
signed “Tim” as he felt comfortable with the recipi-
ent, his sister, with no need to impress her because
he knew she loved him unconditionally.
The final note before his execution was signed
with his affected signature but not so bold or ex-
treme as before. What we are left with is still a lone-
www.acfei.com
ly, intelligent, and organized man, maintaining his
dignity and pride and ready for his own end. All
of the anger apparent in the first letter had been
expended with his grand finale/explosion, and he
seemed to be at peace in comparison.

McVeigh Sample 2, note to his sister

McVeigh Sample 3, shortly before his execution

s Psychological Implications: Thinking and

morals may be distorted or strange. The
writer may twist ideas or morals to fit his
Osama bin Laden behavior or to justify his actions.
Another well-organized terrorist is Osama bin
Laden, whose writing appears at right. Although
the sample is of poor quality, it is nevertheless
evident that the lines are straight and even, and
the writing is arranged nicely on the page, indi-
cations of organized thought processes. As the
text is written in Arabic, it moves from right
to left.
Therefore, the right represents where he is com-
ing from and the left is symbolic of his future,
his goals. As the writing gradually moves away
from the right margin and proceeds closely to
the left edge of the paper, there is evidence that
he is future-oriented and he is intent on meet-
ing his aims. He sees the big picture and plans
far ahead.
Bin Laden’s handwriting and signature (at right)
are interesting pictorially, whether or not we are ca-
pable of deciphering the Arabic characters. Both
s Osama bin Laden
are written with exceptional slowness, indicating
careful calculation and deliberate movement sug-
gestive of certainty and strong will. The enlarged
size of the signature reveals tendencies toward
megalomania and a desire to rule and prove him-
self. The two circles—black versus white, positive
versus negative—show conflict and anxiety. The
signature shape seems to symbolize a menacing Theodore John ‘Ted’ Kaczynski
insect or a rifle. Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, commonly known as
the Unabomber, is a convicted terrorist best known
Translation (right to left) for his campaign of sending bombs to several uni-
First line: Your brother in Islam; second line: versities and airlines from the late 1970s through
Usama bin Mohamm Laden (signature) early 1990s, which killed three and wounded 29. s A mugshot of Ted Kaczynski

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 49


s Kaczynski Sample 1, many years before the bombings
s Kaczynski Sample 2, angry letter to friend
s Kaczynski Sample 3, letter to family member
s Kaczynski Sample 4, letter to potential girlfriend
s Kaczynski Sample 5, letter from prison
50 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
Charged with many federal offenses stemming from
this activity, Kaczynski pleaded guilty and was sen-
tenced to life in prison.
While an infant, Kaczynski had a severe aller-
gic reaction to medication. He was in the hospi-
tal for several weeks and allowed only infrequent
visits from his parents, who were barred from
holding their child. The once-happy baby was
reportedly never the same. Afterwards, he be-
came increasingly withdrawn and unresponsive
to human contact.
According to various accounts, testing showed
the young Kaczynski to have a high IQ, and records
indicate that his academic performance through-
out his early life was brilliant. As a result of his in-
telligence, he was allowed to skip the sixth grade,
which he described as a pivotal event in his life.
He remembers not fitting in with the older chil-
dren and being subject to verbal abuse and teasing
from them.
Kaczynski did well academically in high school
but reported some difficulty with mathematics in
his sophomore year. He was subsequently placed in
a more advanced math class and mastered the mate-
rial. He then skipped the 11th grade so that he was
able to graduate from high school two years early.
In the fall of 1958, at age 16, he was accepted as a
student at Harvard.
At Harvard, Kaczynski was a volunteer test sub-
ject in personality-destruction experiments conduct-
ed by Harvard psychologist Dr. Henry A. Murray, a
former CIA interrogation and psychological warfare
expert, who was known to have experimented with
multiple mind-altering drugs. The experiments,
called “Dydactic Interaction Of Alienated Subjects”
tested subjects’ beliefs and personality traits. The
test results have since been sealed. Kaczynski later
traced some of his emotional instability and fear of
mind control to those tests. (Further details about
these experiments are covered in Peter Vronsky’s
highly recommended book, Serial Killers: The
Method and Madness of Monsters.)
After graduation from Harvard in 1962,
Kaczynski attended the University of Michigan,
where he earned a master’s degree and a PhD in
mathematics. There he began a research career, but
he made few friends. One of his professors said, “It
is not enough to say he was smart.” At Michigan
he held a National Science Foundation fellowship,
taught undergraduates for 3 years, and published
articles related to his dissertation in mathematical
journals. After he left Michigan, he published ad-
ditional papers.
In 1967, Kaczynski was hired as an assistant
professor of mathematics at the University of
California, Berkeley, but his aloofness and reserve
caused students to rate him poorly. Despite pleas
from the department staff, he resigned without ex-
planation in 1969.
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 After resigning his position at Berkeley,
Kaczynski held no permanent employment.
He lived a simple life in a remote shack on
very little money, occasionally worked odd
jobs, and he received some financial support
from his family.
As with Timothy McVeigh, Kaczynski’s
handwriting confirms his intelligence. The
first sample of printing (produced many
years before the bombings) is organized and
well placed on the page. It is clear, direct,
and efficient. The lines are even, spacing is
consistent, and all dots and crosses are in
place. Together, these factors denote clarity
of thought and expression and an ability to
think logically and with an eye toward im-
portant details. The exceptional consistency
of the writing points to perfectionism, com-
pulsion, and rigid self-control.
The signature (representing one’s out-
ward expression, the face that is shown to the
world) conforms closely to copybook writ-
ing, suggesting a desire to be seen as fitting
in and seeming to adhere to what is expected.
Like the printed text, it is clear and relatively
consistent. The i is carefully dotted, indicat-
ing care with details and specifics.
The additional samples reflect changes over
the years. The awkwardly bent upper loops of
sample two, along with the somewhat vari-
able slant and baseline, show emotional stress
and potential breakdown. This is a letter in
which Kaczynski expressed anger to a friend
he felt had betrayed him.
The third Kaczynski sample, written to a
family member, is interesting in that it is a
mixture of cursive and printing. The print-
ed portions, which grow larger and bolder as
they progress, are obviously produced for ef-
fect and emphasis. However, the authors note
that a mix of writing styles within one sample
is sometimes a facilitator to the expression of
negative urges. It suggests sudden bursts of
energy or self-assertion and is often accompa-
nied by out-of-place capitals, which signals in-
dependence and defiant action. In this sample
and the previous one, the personal pronoun
I is more vertical than the rest of the script,
again confirming independent thinking and
a tendency toward withdrawal. The retraced
upper portion of the letter portrays repression
and a narrow philosophical outlook.
Sample four, less stable than the previous
writings, is from a letter written to a poten-
tial girlfriend. While Kaczynski wanted a sig-
nificant female in his life, he was never very
comfortable with women and had difficulty
communicating intimately with them. The
variable slant and baselines show fluctuating
(800) 592-1399
emotional responses. The personal pronoun ter his attention on reading and study. Feelings
I is changeable in size and slant, suggestive of of isolation continue to show in the wide dis-
a shifting self-image. Intense irritability and tances between words. It is evident that in fact
growing anger are seen in the jabbed dots and Kaczynski needs the structure and stability of
heavy punctuation. Segmented letters reveal prison in order to “hold things together.” n
disconnectedness or disassociation, allowing for
compartmentalized thinking (see especially the
g in “Although” and some of the y’s as in “any”
and “celebicy”). Kaczynski’s difficulty with in-
timacy is confirmed by the rather small and/or Handwriting indicators discussed herein are
only a selection of the many risk factors that
incomplete lower loops of his writing, which
are potentially evident in handwritten mate-
imply emotional or sexual isolation. Wide word rial. As earlier indicated, the authors’ studies
spacing also shows emotional distancing. have determined that there are multiple signs
The final sample, penned after Kaczynski revealing potential criminal behavior or vio-
lence, but it is imperative to consider all fac-
was imprisoned, is notable for the changes evi-
tors, both positive and negative, before reach-
dent in the personal pronoun I. The bottom of ing final conclusions.
this letter—its base and the symbolic founda- Additional material regarding the use of
tion of the self—is relatively weak. This implies written communication as an investigative tool
may be found at http://www.trialrun.com, in-
some lack of stability and personal strength, al-
cluding more extensive interactive profiles of
though this might be expected given the pro- people known to have been dangerous or vi-
tected surrounding in which Kaczynski now olent. Readers are encouraged to contact the
finds himself. The writing remains organized, authors for further information (see URL ad-
dresses below).
consistent, and focused, allowing him to cen-
About the Authors
Kimon Iannetta has three decades of experience working with law enforcement, se-
curity professionals, and human resources specialists. Her profiling
techniques add another dimension in identifying high-risk poten-
tial in employees, patients, prisoners, and criminals. Additionally,
her knowledge of graphology assists in tracking and targeting
suspects and understanding timelines of criminal behavior. As the
founder of Trial Run, she performs jury consultation, witness profil-
ing and pre-trial evaluations for attorneys. Her most recent book is
Handwritings & Drawings of Death Row Prisoners, which she uses
as a textbook, along with her set of 124 Forensic Profiling Cards.
She is the author of Danger Between the Lines, a reference manual for profiling violent
behavior, and its companion tool, and she provides tutoring and training sessions in the
use of these resources. Iannetta is also the author of Precision Personnel Placement, a hir-
ing and management tool for human resource professionals. She is a Life Fellow of the
American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, a member of the American Society of
Industrial Security, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Examiners. Her
Web site is http://www.trialrun.com. Her books may be purchased at http://www.tri-
alrun.com/id4u/buy_books.html.
Reed Hayes is a long-time graphologist who focuses his expertise on the examination
of questioned handwriting and documents as well as the evaluation
of handwriting for personnel screening purposes. He holds certifica-
tions from the International Graphoanalysis Society and the National
Association of Document Examiners and has been a member of the
American College of Forensic Examiners Institute since 1992. Reed
is the author and co-author of several articles and books including
Forensic Handwriting Examination: A Definitive Guide (2006), Written
in Crime (1995) and Between the Lines: Understanding Yourself and
Others Through Handwriting Analysis (1993). He lectures extensively
on various aspects of handwriting and currently teaches a distance course in questioned
handwriting and document examination. His Web site is http://www.reedwrite.com.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 51
 ANALYZING
EVIDENCE
IS ONLY THE START
WHAT YOU SAY
IN THIS CHAIR
CAN MAKE OR
BREAK THE CASE
AND YOUR CAREER

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 CE ARTICLE 2: To Shoot or Not to Shoot (pages 54–64)

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES KEY WORDS: shooting response, perpetrator, confrontation

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:
1. Demonstrate understanding of the issue of weapon identification and of the difficulty involved in distinguishing TARGET AUDIENCE: law enforcement officers, prosecutors, law officials
weapons from innocuous objects under forensically-relevant circumstances. Demonstrate understanding of the
situational and psychological dynamics underlying possible confusions of weapons and innocuous objects.
2. Describe how in controlled experiments, respondents were relatively ineffective at distinguishing weapons
from innocuous objects and indicated strong tendencies to shoot at “perpetrators” either armed or carrying
PROGRAM LEVEL: update
an innocuous object such as a power tool.
3. Describe how these results were obtained under idealized conditions, and that variables typically present in
actual crime scenes would tend to reduce accuracy still further. DISCLOSURE: The author has nothing to disclose.
4. Tell how respondents in controlled experiments, although exhibiting strong tendencies to shoot perpetra-
tors themselves, generally felt that police officers should not do so even under conditions crafted to require
a shooting response on the part of police. PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT
In recent research, we found that eyewitness memory and interpretation of crime scenes were less effective than anticipated. However, conditions which enhanced the feature-intensive processing of crime
scenes tended to facilitate or improve both memory and interpretation. In the present study, abilities to evaluate potential hazard and appropriate police response to armed assailants were addressed under
idealized laboratory conditions. Using methods established in previous work, and in consultation with experienced police field training officers, we developed scenes of situations involving armed assailants
confronting victims. Using these scenes, it was shown that the majority of civilian respondents demonstrated very low capacity for distinguishing weapons from innocuous objects in context, even under
ideal viewing conditions. However, respondents were in general personally willing to fire on what appeared to be an armed perpetrator, even if that “perpetrator” was holding a power tool rather than an
actual weapon. In contrast, the vast majority of respondents was unwilling to accept a shooting response to the same situations on the part of police, even when the situations in question were rated by
experienced police officers as absolutely requiring a shooting response to prevent loss of life. Results are considered in terms of the Gestalt/Feature-Intensive processing theory of cognition, and in terms
of the ramifications of these findings for jury and public perceptions of officer involved shootings.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS (Answer the following questions after reading the article)
1. Bartlett showed that mental representations: 4. About ____% of college-student respondents felt that police officers, in situations crafted to
a. Remain static, but are nearly perfect records of reality. require a shooting response 100% of the time, should fire.
b. Remain static, but may exhibit diminished accuracy. a. 100%
c. Are significantly reconfigured and changed with time. b. 84-87%
d. May be relied on to represent reality under conditions of stress. c. 11%
d. 0%
2. We would anticipate the ability to distinguish weapons from other objects to:
a. Improve under real-world, dynamic field conditions. 5. What reasons did respondents give for suggesting that officers should not fire?
b. Deteriorate under real-world, dynamic field conditions. a. Elaborate systems of rules of engagement.
c. Be identical across all conditions. b. Need to assume or understand perpetrator motives.
d. Be related to honesty and integrity on the part of police officers. c. If they did fire, they should shoot an arm or leg to reduce harm.
d. All of these.
3. In a controlled experiment, under idealized circumstances, college-student respondents on
average confused a power screwdriver with a pistol:
a. Most of the time.
b. Less than 50% of the time.
c. Approximately 11% of the time.
d. Virtually never.

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(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 53

 CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

Shoot NOT
To or to

SHOOT:
Response and
By Matthew J. Sharps and Adam B. Hess

n recent research, we found that eyewitness memory and interpretation of crime scenes were less
effective than anticipated. However, conditions that enhanced the feature-intensive processing
of crime scenes tended to facilitate or improve both memory and interpretation. In the present
Interpretation study, abilities to evaluate potential hazard and appropriate police response to armed assailants
were addressed under idealized laboratory conditions. Using methods established in previous
work, and in consultation with experienced police field training officers, we developed scenes of
of Response situations involving armed assailants confronting victims. Using these scenes, it was shown that
the majority of civilian respondents demonstrated very low capacity for distinguishing weapons

to Armed from innocuous objects in context, even under ideal viewing conditions. However, respondents were
in general personally willing to fire on what appeared to be an armed perpetrator, even if that “perpe-
trator” held a power tool rather than an actual weapon. In contrast, the vast majority of respondents

Assailants was unwilling to accept a shooting response to the same situations on the part of police, even when
the situations in question were rated by experienced police officers as absolutely requiring a shooting
response to prevent loss of life. Results are considered in terms of the Gestalt/Feature-Intensive pro-
cessing theory of cognition, and in terms of the ramifications of these findings for jury and public per-
ceptions of officer involved shootings.

When a police officer confronts an armed sus-
pect, the officer’s choice of response must be made
swiftly. Frequently, such decisions must be made
in less than a second. During that time, many
factors in the scene must be evaluated: the sus-
pect’s motions; where the weapon is aimed; the
presence of other people, including other poten-
tial suspects, and whether or not they are in the
officer’s probable field of fire; and other potential
sources of hazard, to self, to others, and to the sus-
pect, in the immediate environment (e.g., Gelles,
2006; Montejano, 2004; Tietjen, 2004; Moore,
2006). This type of rapid cognitive processing is
frequently required of law enforcement officers
under conditions of darkness or semidarkness. In
addition, as is also the case in eyewitness identifi-
cation situations, a given suspect’s weapon may be
occluded or partially occluded by suspect cloth-
ing, posture, or structures behind which the sus-
pect may have taken cover (e.g., Narby, Cutler, &
Penrod, 1996; Sharps, Barber, Stahl, & Villegas,
2003). All of these factors contribute to the dif-
ficulty inherent in the rapid and pervasive cogni-
tive processing involved.
In view of these extensive processing demands, er-
rors in perception or cognitive processing are likely to
be relatively frequent. In situations involving deadly
force, such errors may of course result in tragedy.

54 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 55
 A classic case of this type occurred in 1999 in
New York City, when Amadou Diallo was shot
and killed by New York City police officers (e.g.,
Gladwell, 2005). It must be noted that Diallo’s
behavior was not typical for the innocent person,
which he in fact proved to be. When challenged by
plainclothes police, he ran. He was unresponsive
to police commands, possibly because of language
issues. During his flight from the police, Diallo at-
tempted to escape through a door, and he appar-
ently became increasingly agitated while attempting
to open it. He began to dig in his pockets while
turning his body away from the officers. Ultimately
he drew what appeared to be a black object from
a pocket, which he raised in the direction of the
officers. At least one officer perceived the top of
this object as the slide of a semi-automatic pistol.
The officers fired, with lethal effect. The object,
as has been extensively publicized ever since (e.g.,
Lee, 2005), turned out to be a wallet.
This type of event, in which officers mistake a
non-lethal object for a firearm, is not common in
terms of occurrence per police contact, but the ef-
fect does exist and has been extensively reported.
Recently, a man in Tacoma, Washington, was shot
and killed by police officers when he pointed a
“small black cordless drill” directly at the officers
after threatening to shoot them (Associated Press,
2007). In Central California alone, the authors
are aware of a number of such instances involving
a toy rocket, pellet guns, and—for perhaps incom-
prehensible reasons—a suspect who pointed a shoe
at an officer from a position of cover behind a bed.
Many other instances might be cited, although it
is not the purpose of the present article to present
a catalog of such errors—there are, quite simply, a
fairly large number of cases in which various rela-
tively innocuous objects have been mistaken for
firearms.
As noted above, extraordinary demands are
placed on the cognitive and perceptual abilities
of police officers in cases of gun violence. Public
perception of these incidents, however, typically
does not center on the cognitive or perceptual is-
sues involved. In the prototypical case cited above,
Diallo, presumably because of language issues, dis-
obeyed police commands. Presumably also because
of fear and emotional arousal, he ran from police
and made motions similar to those that a bona fide
suspect would make in drawing a weapon. All of
this occurred quickly and under very limited view-
ing conditions from the standpoint of officers.
However, the officers’ error in shooting him was at-
tributed, in many sources, to racism (see Gladwell,
2005, for extended discussion).
Accusations of racism and of failures of integ-
rity are frequently made in such cases, explicitly
or implicitly. In a recent example, the authors ob-
s Author, Mathew J. Sharps holds a cordless electric power drill, similar to the tool that was often mistaken
for a gun in a recent study. served a number of ad hominem attacks, in local

56 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

media and “on the street,” on the officers involved
in the pellet gun case mentioned above; it seemed
incomprehensible, to many people, that officers
could possibly mistake a pellet gun for a real fire-
arm in the dark. Yet, a pellet gun is specifically
engineered to resemble a handgun. Various me-
dia and Web-based sources publish what amount
to databases on police shootings, including those
made under circumstances such as those cited above
(e.g., Lee, 2005). The Diallo case even inspired a
famous singer to write and perform a popular song
(Gladwell, 2005).
Frequently, however, this media and popular atten-
tion has little or no basis in fact; while, as Gladwell
points out, the Diallo case was not “exactly exem-
plary police work” (p. 197), “there was no evidence
that the four officers in the Diallo case were bad
people, or racists, or out to get Diallo” (p. 197).
For these reasons, it is suggested here that pop-
ular perception of these mistaken-object effects,
at least in many cases, may have more to do with
highly unrealistic public and mass-media expecta-
tions, and with popular ideas about deadly force,
than with putative racism or integrity issues on the
part of police. To mistake a black square object in
the dark, such the top of a wallet, for the slide of a
semi-automatic pistol, or to mistake a near-perfect,
full-size pellet-firing facsimile of a firearm for the
real thing, does not necessarily impugn the char-
acter of a given officer in question.
These considerations certainly do not excuse
or justify unwarranted use of force; although it is
certainly true that inappropriate or excessive use
of force, including deadly force, does occur (e.g.,
Grossman, 1996), no sane person would condone
or excuse the shooting of innocent persons under
any circumstances. However, especially in view of
the enormous professional, personal, and legal costs
that frequently face officers in situations of genuine
or alleged wrongful death, it seems unlikely that
the most parsimonious explanation of the major-
ity of these errors is lack of integrity on the part
(800) 592-1399
of the police. It seems probable that these errors
more typically result from fundamental character-
istics of the human nervous system, when under
heightened stress.
But where deliberate malfeasance or integrity is-
sues are absent, where do these errors come from?
Although the effects are complex, diminished per-
ceptual and cognitive resources may, of course,
result from the physiological arousal that derives
from danger and from physical effort, such as that
involved in a foot chase (e.g., Clifford & Scott, s Amadou Diallo
1978; Morgan et al., 2004). There are broad in-
dividual differences in such
effects; some people function
better under stress, including
the stress of violence, than oth-
ers (e.g., Grossman, 1996),
for reasons that have not yet
been fully elucidated. Yet law
enforcement officers are typi-
cally selected from, and self-
select into, groups of people
who have undergone rigorous
training, an important purpose
of which is to reduce negative
psychological response to high
levels of arousal. It seems, in
short, that some other basic
characteristics of the human
nervous system are likely to
be involved in the generation
of these errors.
In fact, even in the absence
of identifiable stress or dan-
ger, people in general may ex-
hibit remarkably poor perfor-
mance in describing what they
have seen, and in deciding on
appropriate actions based on
their observations. Studies in
our laboratory have addressed
the ability of respondents to
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 57
 identify forensically relevant inanimate objects such
“What we see is not as weapons and vehicles. We have shown that even
necessarily what we ‘get’ under ideal conditions of lighting, exposure time,
freedom from contextual distraction, and relatively
at deeper levels—semi- brief retention intervals, pistol identifications were
automatic pistols may on average less than 50% correct (Sharps, Barber,
Stahl, & Villegas, 2003). Even poorer performanc-
become revolvers in the es derived from a similar study of vehicle identifica-
tion (Villegas, Sharps, Satterthwaite, & Chisholm,
elastic workings of the 2005). Again under idealized conditions, vehicles
mind, blue Chevrolet were identified correctly, on average, only one quar-
ter of the time. This serves as strong evidence that
Caprices may become the representations initially formed by human be-
white minivans (as in the ings may be significantly diminished and reconfig-
ured by the nervous system even under normal cir-
Washington sniper case; cumstances (see Bartlett, 1932; also see Ahlberg &
Sharps, 2002). What we see is not necessarily what
e.g., Blades, 2005; Villegas we “get” at deeper levels—semi-automatic pistols
et al., 2005), and, as has may become revolvers in the elastic workings of the
mind, blue Chevrolet Caprices may become white
been seen, a momentarily- minivans (as in the Washington sniper case; e.g.,
glimpsed wallet may readily Blades, 2005; Villegas et al., 2005), and, as has been
seen, a momentarily-glimpsed wallet may readily
become ‘some kind of gun.’” become “some kind of gun.”
The fact that such cognitive reconfiguration
occurs has been known for more than 70 years.
Bartlett (1932) addressed similar issues in the
realm of memory. He showed that memory is not
58 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
the static, videotape-like system of popular imagi-
nation. Rather, cognitive representations become
reconfigured. Representations become shorter and
more abbreviated. Details are lost, leaving general
gist representations on which information obtained
after the fact may act to alter memory elements,
which may or may not have been correct in the
first place. Finally, personal belief can alter memory
significantly in both the visual and verbal realms.
For example, Bartlett (1932) showed that custom
and cultural beliefs significantly altered British sub-
jects’ memories of Native American stories, and that
relatively abstract figures were recalled by respon-
dents as specific, meaningful pictures of everyday
objects if suggested to be such by the experimenter.
Modern work in several venues has confirmed the
major points originally described by Bartlett (e.g.,
Ahlberg & Sharps, 2002; Bergman & Roediger,
1999).
Research under the auspices of the Gestalt/
Feature-Intensive Processing theory of visual cogni-
tion (G/FI) has shown that these phenomena may
be encapsulated along a single processing dimen-
sion (Sharps & Nunes, 2002; Sharps, 2003). As
has been shown in the eyewitness memory studies
outlined above, people typically encode what they
see in a “gestalt” manner, with little actual atten-
tion to details that might assist in making a cor-
www.acfei.com
rect identification. This tendency, repeatedly ob-
served in work on eyewitness identification, would
be strongly expected to reduce the ability of an ob-
server, especially under the conditions typical of a
crime situation, to identify a weapon or other ob-
ject correctly as such and to act accordingly.
In an earlier study (Sharps, Hess, Casner, Ranes,
& Jones, 2006 and in press), we employed this
perspective and framework to test the ability of
untrained, civilian eyewitnesses to distinguish a
weapon, specifically a 9mm Beretta semi-automat-
ic pistol, from an innocuous object, specifically a
Sears Craftsman power screwdriver, in context. In
view of the cases cited above, especially the recent
Tacoma incident involving the cordless drill, this
research may provide important data for investiga-
tive and courtroom situations.
This research (Sharps et al., 2006 and in press)
employed high-quality digital photographs of eco-
logically valid crime scenes, developed with the ad-
vice and supervision of expert police officers who
were highly experienced in tactical realities and in
the sorts of situations encountered by witnesses
and officers on the street. These photographs de-
picted a potentially violent crime scene, in which
a male or female perpetrator appeared, holding the
handgun or the screwdriver. The scene was either
(a) a “simple” one, sparse in terms of potentially
distracting objects, or (b) was “complex,” includ-
ing a “victim” threatened by the armed perpetrator
as well as typical street clutter. Exposure time was
a full 5 seconds, far beyond the amount of time
under which relevant tactical decisions are typi-
cally made. Lighting was excellent and, of course,
the scene was static, with no motion or possible
occlusion to distract or diminish the views of the
respondents. Under these idealized conditions, it
was interesting to note that the vast majority of re-
spondents who saw the gun identified it correctly
as a gun, although the complex scene was associ-
ated with diminished accuracy in this regard. What
was less heartening, however, was the fact that the
vast majority (89%) of subjects who saw the power
screwdriver, specifically 92 out of 103, also iden-
tified it as a gun. If these results generalize across
situations and populations, the depressing reality
is that the human nervous system tends to recon-
figure harmless objects into guns if the context is
right. This result is of obvious relevance to the is-
sues discussed above; rather than having anything
to do with duplicity or integrity issues, many such
errors may derive from what appear to be the gen-
eral characteristics of human visual cognition when
faced with these types of situations (see Sharps et
al., 2003).
These considerations motivated the present ex-
periments, reported below. It has been shown that,
in context, people tend to identify non-weapons
as weapons with a fair degree of regularity. Does
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this also influence their actions? The standardized
stimulus materials described briefly above, depict-
ing realistic crime situations in static format, al-
lowed us to address a question of significant po-
tential importance for the weighing of evidence, in
courtroom and investigative situations, concerning
police shootings: What would the average citizen
do in an officer’s place, if faced with a similar situ-
ation? In other words, does the average person,
faced with the question of whether an armed per-
petrator should be fired upon, integrate the neces-
sary feature-intensive information about the weapon
or non-weapon in context to arrive at an accurate
decision?
Also, regardless of what the average person would
do when faced with an armed assailant, what do we
typically expect the police to do in the same life-or-
death situations?
The present experiments addressed these ques-
tions.
EXPERIMENT 1
The intent of this experiment was to address the
question of how untrained people would react,
themselves, if placed in the position of police of-
ficers confronting a situation potentially involving
firearms and firearm violence.
Participants. The participants in this study were
recruited from the Psychology Department Subject
Pool of the California State University in Fresno,
California. Eighty-seven women (mean age 19.36,
SD = 1.31) and 38 men (mean age 20.16, SD =
1.68) provided usable data, participating for col-
lege credit. The population was reflective of the
multiracial makeup of the region, and all respon-
dents were shown to be able to resolve visual stim-
uli (standard letters from the Snellen test of visual
acuity) far smaller than the actual objects to be
resolved. Gender proportions reflected those of
the subject pool population. This pool, which has
a relatively high attrition rate in their first year of
college, may reasonably be generalized to the pop-
ulation at large, although these college-aged indi-
viduals are of course generally young and in good
health.
Materials. As in our previous research (Sharps et s Black and white hands rise up from
al., 2006 and in press), this study employed high- the crowd of several thousand protesters
during a march around the Department
quality digital photographs of ecologically valid of Justice in Washington D.C. Thursday
crime scenes, developed with the advice and super- protesting the acquittal of four white
police officers in the slaying of unarmed
vision of expert police field training officers. All African immigrant Amadou Diallo.
officer advisors were highly experienced in tactical Lawyers representing the family of
realities and in the sorts of situations encountered Amadou Diallo took their case to Justice
Department officials in an effort to per-
by witnesses and officers on the street. The photo- suade federal prosecutors to pursue a
graphs depicted a potentially violent crime scene, criminal civil rights case against the four
New York police officers acquitted last
in which a male Caucasian perpetrator appeared, week in the 1999 death of the African
armed with a Beretta 9 mm handgun. Four scenes immigrant in his Bronx neighborhood.
KRT PHOTOGRAPH
were employed. The first scene was a “simple” one,
sparse in terms of potentially distracting objects.
The second was “complex,” including street clut-
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 59
 ter, garbage cans, and other potentially distracting
items. The third scene included several bystanders
and a young, female “victim” threatened by the
armed perpetrator, as well as the typical street clut-
ter of Scene 2.
An additional fourth scene was generated, iden-
tical to Scene 3 except in one respect. In Scene 4,
the weapon was replaced with a power screwdriver,
as in our earlier work in the eyewitness realm (e.g.,
Sharps et al., 2006 and in press). This manipula-
tion has recently assumed specific significance in the
wake of the Tacoma shooting referenced above.
Thus, in the first three pictures, the “perpetrator”
was seen to be holding a handgun or pointing it at
a “victim.” In the fourth, the “perpetrator” was an
unarmed person holding a power screwdriver, or
perhaps waving the tool for emphasis in a non-le-
thal discussion or argument with the “victim.” The
conditions for all four scenes involved uniformly
excellent lighting (strong sunlight), and the relative
comfort of witnesses being seated, 10-20 feet from
a standard white movie screen, which they faced
and on which the given scene was projected.
There was no movement or occlusion of impor-
tant elements of the scenes, and of course there
was no personal danger for the respondents in the
experiment. As in our previous work, these ideal-
ized conditions were selected with the knowledge
that an actual criminal situation, evolving quickly
in uncertain lighting and potentially occluded con-
ditions, will typically result in poorer performance
given the known dynamics of human visual cogni-
tion (e.g., Narby, Cutler, & Penrod, 1996; Spoehr
& Lehmkule, 1982).
Procedure. Each respondent viewed only one
of the four scenes described above. Respondents
were given the following instructions: “On the
screen, you will see a scene or a series of scenes
which may or may not involve a crime or sources
of danger. These scenes will be shown very briefly.
A person holding a weapon is a source of danger,
because he or she could point it at you and shoot.
You may intervene to protect yourself or others
if you see an individual holding a weapon. You
demonstrate your decision to intervene by shoot-
ing at the perpetrator holding the weapon (press-
ing the button). If you decide to shoot (or press
the button), you must do so quickly before the
scene is gone.” (Note: The “shooting at the per-
petrator” instruction was given for the “dart gun”
condition described below; the “button” instruc-
tion was given for the Lafayette response appara-
tus condition, also described below.)
Based on police advice and on information pro-
vided in training for police psychologists and for
United States Marshals (e.g., Montejano, 2004;
Moore, 2006; Tietjen, 2004), respondents saw the
scene for a period of either 2 s or ½ s, times that
effectively bracketed the actual response time that
60 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
would be available to a police officer encountering
this situation.
Half the respondents were given the instruc-
tion to press a button on a Lafayette Instruments
response apparatus if their decision was to fire on
the “suspect.” The other half were asked to make
this decision, if they deemed it necessary, by liter-
ally “firing” on the suspect, depicted on the screen,
with a toy suction-cup dart gun. Obviously this
latter manipulation was not intended to mimic the
complex dynamics involved in firing a real weapon.
Rather, we wished to provide preliminary informa-
tion, for the sake of future research, on whether the
simple act of raising a “weapon” into a simulacrum
of a firing position, while attempting to aim at a
target, might have an influence on the ability to
ascertain the necessity of a shooting response.
Results
To evaluate the effects of exposure time, shoot-
ing framework (dart gun versus button), and gen-
der of respondent, a “combined shooting score”
was computed across scenes. For each of the four
scenes, a decision to shoot was rated as 2, where-
as a decision not to shoot was rated as 1. It was
shown that, overall, respondents were more likely
to indicate a decision to shoot when pressing the
button than when “firing” the dart gun, F (1,124)
= 6.82, p = .01. The mean score across scenes for
the button was 7.25 out of 8 possible, (SD = .98);
the mean score for the dart gun was 6.82 (SD =
.88). Neither the gender of the respondent, nor
the exposure time (2 s versus ½ s), were significant
influences on overall decision to shoot.
The pattern of results for the four scenes em-
ployed was consistent with the predictions of G/
FI theory (Sharps & Nunes, 2002; Sharps, 2003).
The scene involving a lone perpetrator holding a
gun, in a simple environment, with no victim, re-
sulted in the smallest number of individuals de-
ciding to shoot. However, even under these cir-
cumstances, in which no crime was depicted (the
“perpetrator” as depicted in the “simple” scene
could have as easily been target-shooting as com-
mitting a crime), 64% of respondents indicated
the decision to fire. This result was significant
(χ2 [1] = 9.80, p = .002).
In Scene 2, which depicted the same individual,
alone and armed, but in an area with garbage cans,
debris and typical street clutter, the proportion of
those who decided to shoot rose slightly, to 67%
(χχ2 [1] = 14.79, p < .001). In Scene 3, when a
“victim” and several bystanders were added to this
condition, and the perpetrator was seen to be hold-
ing a pistol, the proportion of “shooters” rose sig-
nificantly, to 88% (χ2 [1] = 72.20, p < .001).
Finally, the victim condition was repeated, ex-
cept that the perpetrator held the power screwdriver,
rather than the gun. The proportion of respondents
www.acfei.com
who decided to shoot him was 84.8% (χ2 [1] =
60.55, p < .001).
Further research will be needed to clarify this finding
and to select between theoretical alternatives. “respondents were
The effect of scene on shooting score was signifi-
cant, F (3,122) = 10.53, p < .001. Predetermined
Several important points may be derived from
these results. First of all, when untrained people equally likely to
paired t-tests (p = .05; experiment-wise error rate/cap-
italization on chance = 14.26%) indicated that both
(the same people who are, of course, eligible for jury
duty) “confronted” a suspect, the majority decided shoot the perpetrator
scenes with the victim produced higher proportions
of “shooters” than did those without, but that there
to shoot him under all conditions employed. A
slightly larger number decided to do so when they whether he was
was no significant difference between the screwdriver
and gun conditions when the “victim” was present
had the opportunity to be distracted by other ob-
jects in their visual fields, such as street clutter and armed or unarmed,
(p < .05). In other words, respondents were equally
likely to shoot the perpetrator whether he was armed
garbage cans, than when such objects were not pres-
ent. However, when a “victim” was also depicted, as long as there was
or unarmed, as long as there was a potential “victim”
in the scene. It made no difference whether the per-
and the “perpetrator” held a gun, the number of
these individuals who decided to shoot rose to an a potential ‘victim’ in
petrator held a gun or a power tool. overwhelming majority; 88%, nearly 9 out of 10,
made this decision. the scene. It made no
Discussion
The small but significant difference between the dart
When the “suspect” held a power tool rather than
a gun, approximately 85% elected to shoot this un- difference whether
gun and timer conditions may have resulted from a
disinclination to shoot when actual targeting behavior,
armed individual. The difference between the gun
and screwdriver conditions was not significant. It the perpetrator
even involving a toy gun, was required. However, it
could also have resulted from a higher degree of active
should be noted that the situation in which most
people effectively decided to kill an unarmed sus- held a gun or a
attention, and concomitant processing of the scene, in
the dart-gun situation. This would be predicted to re-
pect was similar to the circumstances surrounding
the Diallo case and the recent Tacoma incident, power tool.”
sult in a heightened level of feature-intensive process- with the potentially important exceptions of dif-
ing, which would in turn be expected to enhance gen- ferent body postures and orientation of the mis-
eral cognitive processing of the scene (Sharps, 2003). taken objects involved, and the exception that the

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 61

 Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank
Chief of Police Jerry Dyer
and the staff and Training
Bureau of the Fresno Police
Department for their unstint-
ing expert advice, generosity,
and support of this research.
Thanks also to Scott Larsen,
and to Amy Neff, Morgan
Goodwin, and Randy Vaughn-
Dotta for their help in the
preparation of the materials
for this research. The research,
views, and opinions presented
in this paper are those of the
authors, and do not necessarily
reflect the views or opinions of
the Fresno Police Department,
or of its chief, staff, officers, or
employees.
62 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
present results were obtained under ideal visual
circumstances: involving static stimuli, free of oc-
clusion, in excellent lighting, and with no personal
risk. We would venture to suggest that these very
high numbers of those who decided to shoot the
unarmed suspect under ideal conditions might be
inflated even further under the rapidly changing
and visually confusing circumstances of a typical
police emergency.
There are, of course, limitations and exceptions
to these results. In the “complex” scenes, the gun
or power tool was held, in a one-handed grip, at
an orientation that pointed it in the direction of
the victim. As pointed out by reviewers of an ear-
lier version of this paper, this very posture may
have conveyed menace, which may in turn have
contributed to respondents’ decisions to “shoot.”
It is of course true that in some cases (e.g., the
Tacoma case cited above), innocuous objects re-
ally are pointed directly at officers or potential ci-
vilian victims (note that this was not the case in
the Diallo tragedy). However, a less “menacing”
posture, involving a less direct orientation of the
object toward a potential “victim,” might reduce
the shooting tendencies observed. On the other
hand, any other posture would have placed both
the gun and the power tool in a non-profile view,
reducing the level of feature-intensive visual infor-
mation available to the observer and thus, perhaps,
resulting in even greater confusion of innocuous
objects with weapons. It should also be noted that
it would be difficult to ascertain at what point in
orientation a given object comes to be viewed as
sufficiently menacing to increase the decision to
fire on the part of an observer. However, this im-
portant point concerning weapon/object orienta-
tion should absolutely be addressed parametrically
in future studies, employing different objects, held
at different orientations and viewed from different
perspectives.
The instructions for this experiment, quoted
above, informed respondents that they would see
a situation in which a weapon might or might not
be present. Cognitive framing is of course criti-
cally important for perception (see Bartlett, 1932;
Ahlberg & Sharps, 2002). The intent here was to
simulate, as far as possible, the minimum level of
information that might be held by a law enforce-
ment officer answering a call. However, as pointed
out by a reviewer, this study did not address what
might happen if a respondent were to encounter
this situation unexpectedly, with no knowledge
that he or she might be about to view a crime, or
that a weapon might be present. Such a situation
might very well precipitate a different result, and
again should be addressed in future research.
In addition, also as pointed out by a reviewer of
an earlier version of this paper, individual differ-
ences in such factors as temperament, tendencies
toward impulsive aggressivity versus deliberation,
and racial attitudes might very well be expected to
influence these results. None of these factors were,
of course, topics of the present study, but it should
be emphasized that the present results should not be
construed as reflecting universal human tendencies.
Once again, these are important topics for future
research.
Finally, of course, it is essential to emphasize that
the present results do not excuse or condone the
shooting of innocent persons under any circum-
stances, let alone under circumstances in which po-
lice integrity issues or other biasing conditions actu-
ally exist. The most important point of the present
research is simply this: under excellent conditions of
visibility, a randomly-selected population of young
adults observed a person holding either a gun or a
power tool in the same position and orientation.
Between 64% and 88% of the respondents indicated
a decision to fire on this person. They were most
likely to make this response if the object in question
was pointed at another person. When this was the
case, it made no statistical difference whether the
object in question was a gun or a power screwdriver.
These results indicate an important potential source
of cognitive confusion in weapon/object discrimi-
nation, and further suggest the need for evidence-
based law-enforcement training to address this issue
directly in practical field applications.
EXPERIMENT 2
The intent of this experiment was to address the
second question posed above: to determine how
untrained people felt that a police officer should re-
spond to a given situation involving gun violence.
Participants. The participants in this study were
33 women (mean age 19.36 years, SD = 3.80)
and 11 men (mean age = 20.72 years, SD = 2.28)
recruited from freshman psychology classes at
California State University, Fresno. These respon-
dents participated in the development of our da-
tabase established in recent work on eyewitness is-
sues (Sharps et al., 2006 and 2007) and were drawn
from the same population, with the same character-
istics, as the respondents of Experiment 1. Gender
proportions reflected those of the classes.
Materials and procedures. This work again em-
ployed the same types of high-quality digital pho-
tographs of ecologically valid crime scenes used in
our previous work (Sharps et al., 2006 and 2007),
developed with the advice and supervision of expert
police field training officers, highly experienced in
tactical realities and in the sorts of situations encoun-
tered by officers and witnesses on the street. These
photographs depicted a potentially violent crime
scene. In Experiment 1 above, only a male perpetra-
tor was employed, for the sake of typicality for real-
world crime scenes, which, of course, overwhelm-
ingly involve male perpetrators. In Experiment 2,
www.acfei.com
both genders of potential assailants were included,
in order to ascertain whether gender would influence
perceptions of proper police actions. Therefore, in
this study, a male or female Caucasian perpetrator
appeared, holding a Beretta 9 mm handgun in a
one-handed grip, oriented toward a young, female
“victim” amid typical street clutter.
Three senior field training officers and a senior
police commander were asked to evaluate proper
police reaction to these scenes. In all cases, there
was no question in the officers’ minds that this situ-
ation, as depicted, absolutely required a shooting
response for both the male and female perpetra-
tor; according to these officers, any police officer
encountering this situation must fire on the per-
petrator, who is depicted as clearly threatening an
unarmed person with a gun, in order to prevent
the probable imminent death of the victim. All
officers were in agreement on this issue.
In this experiment, we made use of an extended
exposure time, a full 5 seconds. As noted above,
law enforcement experts are generally in agree-
ment that a firearm assault situation such as that
depicted may result in a violent conclusion in lit-
erally less than a second (e.g., Montejano, 2004;
Tietjen, 2004; Moore, 2006). Therefore, respon-
dents had far more than typically ample observa-
tion and processing time in this study. The same
ideal conditions of observation used in Experiment
1 were duplicated here. After viewing the scene,
respondents were asked, as part of a realistic police
interview designed with the aid of senior, experi-
enced police field training officers, what a police
officer should do on encountering the situation de-
picted. They were also asked the reasons for their
responses to this question.
Results
The results of this study indicated a strong prefer-
ence, on the part of civilian observers, for the police
to refrain from firing if confronted with this situ-
ation. Overall, 11.36% of respondents felt that a
shooting response was called for, in a stimulus situ-
ation that was deliberately crafted to create an ab-
solute necessity for a shooting response. Responses
varied somewhat with both gender of observer and
gender of perpetrator, but the unexpectedly low
numbers of respondents who suggested the need
for a shooting response precluded formal statistical
analysis. Specifically, however, no male respondent
felt that a shooting response was justified with a
female perpetrator, although 22.22% of male re-
spondents felt that it was appropriate to shoot the
male perpetrator. Women in this experiment were
more likely to suggest the shooting of the female
perpetrator (11.76%), but only 1 of 16 female re-
spondents in the relevant condition (6.25%) was
in favor of a shooting response with the male. We
caution in the strongest terms against drawing any
(800) 592-1399
conclusions from these results with regard to gen-
der, however; the percentages are sufficiently low
that we might very well expect idiosyncratic re-
sponding to have influenced these results, and the
percentages with reference to gender are presented
solely for completeness and as a potential basis for
future studies.
Discussion
The results of this experiment indicate that approxi-
mately 9 out of 10 people, within the experimental
framework employed, were of the opinion that an
officer should not fire in this situation, although
all of the senior police officers consulted stated that
the situation depicted absolutely required a shoot-
ing response. This result may have important im-
plications for situations in which 12-person juries
must evaluate a given police shooting.
The reasons given by respondents for their views
on this issue were varied and should be the subject
of future studies. Some respondents felt that the
daylight, public conditions of the situation would
preclude the perpetrator’s firing. Others concocted
elaborate sets of rules of engagement, or conditions,
under which the officer might fire (for example, if
the suspect fired first [in which case, of course, the
victim would probably already have been shot], or
if the suspect had already committed murder, or
if the officer had first attempted to “convince” the
suspect to drop his or her weapon). Others liter-
ally invoked the need for clairvoyance on the part
of the police, saying that an officer should not fire
in this situation because the suspect “did not look
like she wanted to kill.” Several qualified their re-
sponses with the idea that if the police had to fire,
they should shoot the perpetrator’s leg or arm, be-
cause, in the case of one response, “a shot to the
leg is relatively harmless, if he is trying to escape,
which means he is most likely guilty.” It is sug-
gested that many of these unrealistic responses may
have derived from confusion of media depictions
of police work with the real thing on the part of
the public. It is further suggested, however, that if
these ideas and attitudes are as widespread as the
results of this initial research effort suggest, there
is substantial need for better education in the reali-
ties of crime and police work for the public from
which, of course, all jurors are selected.
In this experiment, only 11.36% of individuals
saw a shooting response as appropriate in a situa-
tion absolutely requiring one. This result may be
of special interest for courtroom proceedings. In
any given, randomly selected jury of 12 citizens,
these results suggest that on average, one or at most
two jurors out of 12 would be likely see an officer
on trial in an officer-involved-shooting situation as
justified in shooting a perpetrator, even under the
clearest and most appropriate of circumstances. This
extreme discrepancy between public perception and
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 63
actual police policy and operations warrants
further attention, both in future research and
in the modern criminal justice system.
Summary and Conclusions
The results of these studies, taken together,
reveal several crucial points:
1. Contrary to much popular opinion, av-
erage people exhibited extreme difficulty in
distinguishing a handgun from an innocuous
object such as a power tool.
2. This difficulty was observed even under ideal
viewing conditions, far superior to those in ac-
tual crime situations.
3. Average people indicated an overwhelm-
ingly strong tendency to shoot, or at least to
decide to shoot, an armed perpetrator them-
selves if given the opportunity, and did so at
the same levels even if the perpetrator was
“armed” only with a power tool which was
evidently readily mistaken for a weapon.
4. However, even though the vast majority
of the civilian respondents indicated a readi-
ness to shoot the perpetrator themselves, only
about 1 person in 10 felt it would be appro-
priate for the police to do so under the same
circumstances.
These results reveal a substantial disparity
between the actions, attitudes, and beliefs
of typical adults and the practical realities of
police work in violent situations. It is sug-
gested, as a matter for further research, that
much of this disparity may lie in public per-
ceptions garnered from popular media depic-
tions of crime and police work, and probably
from unrealistic expectations concerning the
workings and capabilities of the human ner-
vous system in terms of such processing tasks
as distinguishing actual firearms from, for ex-
ample, screwdrivers. A substantial body of
future research will be needed to address the
underlying mechanisms and the ramifications
of the findings obtained in these initial stud-
ies. For the present, however, it is clear that
these effects assume special significance for
the real-world courtroom circumstances un-
der which actual witnesses, jurors, and public
constituencies consider and testify as to the
actions of law enforcement personnel in ap-
plication to real-world violent crime.
References
Ahlberg, S.W., & Sharps, M.J. (2002). Bartlett revis-
ited: Reconfiguration of long-term memory in young and
older adults. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163, 211-218.
Associated Press. (2007, February 13). Police: Man
pointed cordless drill at officer. Retrieved February 15,
2007, from http://www.kirotv.com/news/11004849/
detail.html
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Bartlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering: A study in ex- eyewitness identifications. In S.L. Sporer, R.S. Malpass,
perimental and social psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cam- & G. Koehnken (Eds.), Psychological issues in eyewitness
bridge University Press. identification (pp. 23-52). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bergman, E.T., & Roediger, H.L. (1999). Can Bar- Sharps, M.J. (2003). Aging, representation, and thought:
tlett’s repeated reproduction experiments be replicated? Gestalt and feature-intensive processing. Piscataway, NJ:
Memory and Cognition, 27, 937-947. Transaction.
Blades, H.B. (2005). The Washington, D.C., sniper Sharps, M.J., Hess, A.B., Ranes, B., Jones, J., & Cas-
case: A case study in how eyewitness identification of ner, H. (2006, October). Memory for elements of com-
vehicles can go wrong. Forensic Examiner, 14, 26. plex crime scenes. Paper presented at the annual meet-
Clifford, B.R., & Scott, J. (1978). Individual and ing of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology,
situational factors in eyewitness testimony. Journal of Washington, DC.
Applied Psychology, 63, 352-359. Sharps, M.J., Hess, A.B., Casner, H., Ranes, B., &
Gelles, M. (2006, October). Behavioral threat as- Jones, J. (2007) Eyewitness memory in context: Toward
sessment: Law enforcement considerations. Society for a systematic understanding of eyewitness evidence. In
Police and Criminal Psychology, Washington, D.C. press, Forensic Examiner, 16, 20-27.
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. New York: Little, Sharps, M.J., & Nunes, M.A. (2002). Gestalt and
Brown, & Co. feature-intensive processing: Toward a unified model of
Grossman, D. (1996). On killing. Boston: Little, human information processing. Current Psychology, 21,
Brown. 68-84.
Lee, C. (2005, March 15). A list with bullets: NYPD Sharps, M.J., Barber, T.L., Stahl, H., & Villegas, A.B.
shooting deaths of civilians, starting with Diallo and not (2003). Eyewitness memory for weapons. Forensic Ex-
ending. Village Voice. Retrieved January 19, 2007, from aminer,12, 34-37.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0511,lee,62083,5. Spoehr, K.T., & Lehmkule, S.W. (1982). Visual in-
html formation processing. San Francisco: Freeman.
Morgan, C.A., Hazlett, G., Doran, A., Gattett, S., Tietjen, T. (2004, November). Fresno Police De-
Hoyt, G., Thomas, P., Baranoski, M, & Southwick, S.M. partment Conference on stress in police work. Fresno,
(2004). Accuracy of eyewitness memory for persons en- California.
countered during exposure to highly intense stress. In- Villegas, A.B., Sharps, M.J., Satterthwaite, B., & Ch-
ternational Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 27, 265-279. isholm, S. (2005). Eyewitness memory for vehicles.
Moore, L. (2006, November). Conference on the Forensic Examiner, 14, 24-28. n
use of force in law enforcement. Office of the United
States Marshal, Fresno, California.
Montejano, D. (2004, November). Fresno Police De-
partment Conference on stress in police work. Fresno, Earn CE Credit
To earn CE credit, complete the exam for this
California.
article on page 53 or complete the exam on-
Narby, D.J., Cutler, B.L., & Penrod, S.D. (1996). line at www.acfei.com (select “Online CE”).
The effects of witness, target, and situational factors on
About the Author
Matthew J. Sharps, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at
California State University, Fresno and adjunct faculty member
at Alliant International University. He received his MA (clinical
psychology) from UCLA, and MA and PhD (psychology) from
the University of Colorado, and is a Diplomate of the American
Board of Psychological Specialties with the American College
of Forensic Examiners. He is the author of numerous articles
and papers on visual cognition and related topics, as well as
the book Aging, Representation, and Thought: Gestalt and
Feature-Intensive Processing (2003, Transaction Publishers).
He has consulted on issues of eyewitness identification in over
one hundred and sixty criminal cases.
Adam Hess is lecturer in Criminology at California State
University, Fresno, and a Fellow of the American College of
Forensic Examiners Institute.
www.acfei.com
 CE ARTICLE 3: Can Suggestion Be Minimized in the Investigative Interview? (pages 66–75)

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES KEY WORDS: Suggestion, Demand Characteristics, Forensic Hypnosis

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:
TARGET AUDIENCE: Law officers, investigators, attorneys, legal officials
1. Identify specific ways often subtle and pervasive influence of suggestion affects everyday human interac-
tions. PROGRAM LEVEL: update
2. Name the primary ways in which uncorroborated testimony provided by a previously hypnotized witness
can unwittingly subvert justice.
3. Describe ways that reliance on techniques that encourage imagination and visualization by the witness can DISCLOSURE: The author has nothing to disclose.
seriously undermine the reliability of witness reports obtained during an investigation, including those elic-
ited with the cognitive interview.
PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT
This article examines multiple sources of suggestive bias that may taint evidence obtained from forensic interviews with eyewitnesses and victims of crime. We present several research paradigms used to
identify what constitutes undue suggestion, as well as the manner in which suggestive cues can be communicated and accepted by the witness as fact. Procedures that have been adopted as potential law
enforcement tools to enhance eyewitness recall, such as forensic hypnosis and the cognitive interview, are submitted to special scrutiny and relevant cautions are raised. Finally, we provide specific recom-
mendations to minimize suggestion in the investigative interview that are intended to expand upon current “good practice” guidelines.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS (Answer the following questions after reading the article)
1. The term, “demand characteristics”: 4. According to the article, the current version of the cognitive interview:
a. refers to fundamental biological motives (e.g., hunger, thirst, threat, etc.) a. remains vulnerable to sources of suggestive bias in its use of imaginative and
b. refers to one of the mnemonic components of the cognitive interview visualization strategies
c. refers to social cues that may be used to infer another person’s intentions b. has little in common with the forensic use hypnosis
d. refers to the ritual used by a hypnotist to induce the condition of hypnosis c. has been adopted and utilized faithfully, according to protocol, by law
enforcement agencies worldwide
2. Which of the following would probably operate least as a demand d. None of the above
characteristic in a law enforcement investigative situation?
a. a polygraph instrument 5. Among the recommendations for minimizing suggestive bias during
b. a detective’s badge investigative interviews, the authors endorse:
c. videotaping equipment a. developing a positive rapport and establishing a collaborative, rather than a
d. a conference room table confrontative or antagonistic, relationship with the witness.
b. encouraging straightforward repeated attempts by the witness to try hard to
3. The notion that hypnosis can be used to aid the retrieval of accurate memories: remember.
a. was suggested by the early clinical work of Breuer and Freud. c. avoidance of any instructions to imagine or visualize events relevant to the
b. was generally discredited by researchers specializing in hypnosis and memory during the crime or the witness’s personal experiences.
latter decades of the 20th century. d. electronic recording (preferably audiovisual) of the full proceedings of the
c. remains the basis of controversy concerning the reliability of hypnotically elicited testimony investigative interview.
in U.S. courts and their counterparts in other countries. e. All of the above
d. All of the above

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(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 65

 CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

Can Suggestion be Minimized in the

Investigative Interview?

66 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

By Wayne G. Whitehouse, PhD, DABPS, Emily Carota Orne, BA, and David F. Dinges, PhD

his article examines multiple sources of suggestive bias that may taint evidence obtained
from forensic interviews with eyewitnesses and victims of crime. We present several re-
search paradigms used to identify what constitutes undue suggestion, as well as the manner
in which suggestive cues can be communicated and accepted by the witness as fact. Procedures
that have been adopted as potential law enforcement tools to enhance eyewitness recall, such as
forensic hypnosis and the cognitive interview, are submitted to special scrutiny and relevant cau-
tions are raised. Finally, we provide specific recommendations to minimize suggestion in the in-
vestigative interview that are intended to expand upon current “good practice” guidelines.

One cornerstone of our justice system is the eye-
witness report. Unfortunately, the substance and
reliability of the report, conveyed in interviews
and later in court, may be a direct function of
the amount of undue suggestion that arises dur-
ing the investigative interview process. Therefore,
any scientific data that might establish a base for
more careful investigative in-
terviewing in order to avoid
undue bias is of considerable
relevance to law enforcement
and the legal community.
Throughout this article we
attempt to provide evidence
of the pervasive nature of sug-
gestion in everyday experience.
Even in medical science, sug-
gestion is taken into account
when evaluating the effective-
ness of new treatments. The
classic “double-blind, place-
bo-controlled study” was de-
veloped to isolate the specific
benefits of the treatment itself
from those benefits that accrue
from a hopeful patient’s confi-
dence in his or her doctor as
well as from the doctor’s belief
in the efficacy of the prescribed treatment. A simple,
elegant research strategy emerged: The treatment,
say a medication in the form of a pink pill, would
be administered to a random half of the patients
enrolled in the study, while the remaining patients
received an identically appearing pink pill that was
actually inert (i.e., placebo). Not even the prescrib-
ing doctor knows whether the patient is receiving
the actual medication or placebo. Therefore, the
expectations of patients and their doctors for im-
provement of symptoms would be roughly equiva-
lent regardless of whether the patients were receiving
the actual treatment or the placebo. This essentially
nullifies the influence of optimism, hope, and sug-
gestion on the outcome, thereby permitting a clearer
picture of the intrinsic efficacy of the medication.
Unfortunately, the complications of suggestive bias
on the products of human memory are not so neatly
resolved.
The theoretical perspective advanced in this article
developed from several decades of our laboratory’s
research into a variety of investigative techniques.
One of these, hypnosis, receives special attention
because its hallmark feature is
an increase in responsiveness
to suggestion on the part of the
hypnotized individual. Such
situationally enhanced suggest-
ibility, coupled with one’s native
capacity to respond to hypno-
sis, allows hypnotized persons
to modify their subjective ex-
periences in accordance with
the hypnotist’s instructions.
This can lead to often remark-
able positive outcomes, such as
the suppression of pain during
childbirth or dental procedures,
but it is also responsible for in-
stances of memory contamina-
tion and belief in false recollec-
tions, which can pose a serious
threat to the very foundation of
the justice system.
In order to identify what is unique about hyp-
nosis, scientists long ago recognized the need to
understand the role of suggestion in normal, ev-
eryday human interactions. Among the impor-
tant lessons learned from this effort is that sug-
gestion is ubiquitous in the social environment
and that it doesn’t need to be intentional to have
an impact. Even in the absence of explicit cues
provided by the parties, people attempt intuitive-
ly to infer the motives behind another’s words or
behavior. Martin Orne, who founded our labo-
ratory in the 1960s, coined the term “demand
characteristics” to describe the aggregate of ele-
ments in a social situation that provide informa-
tion a person can use to draw inferences about
someone else’s intentions.

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 67

 Demand Characteristics: How do volunteers or
witnesses bring their personal theories to bear on their
reports? To illustrate the operation of demand char-
acteristics, Orne and Whitehouse (2000) described
an investigation in which research participants who
volunteered for a “scientific study” were quite will-
ing to engage in ostensibly meaningless activities
for several hours—such as working rapidly and ac-
curately to solve successive sheets of 224 addition
problems, only to follow instructions to tear up
each sheet into miniscule pieces before proceeding
to the next!
When questioned later by a different researcher
about their perceptions of the purpose of the study,
participants invariably assigned great importance to
their endeavors, viewing the experimental task as a
test of endurance or something similar. Thus, the
explicit communications consisted of instructions
(a) to work quickly and accurately on a large num-
ber of arithmetic calculations (participant’s infer-
ence: “A test of my math ability”), and (b) to tear
up your work and begin again (participant’s infer-
ence: “They don’t really care how many problems
I got right—what a waste of time and effort!” and
possibly, “But I’m supposed to continue, maybe
this next one is the one that counts. Yeah, maybe
they are trying to see what happens after I get dis-
couraged.”). The participant continually develops,
tests, and modifies hypotheses about the purpose
of the study, which are intermittently or scarcely
confirmed. When, after several hours repeating
this pointless task, participants are queried about
their impression of the study’s purpose, they still
manage to rescue a meaningful hypothesis: “It
was an endurance test.” On what evidence is this
conclusion based? Among the demand character-
istics operating here are subtle cues from the social
context that enable critical assessments by the par-
ticipant: “I volunteered to take part in a scientific
investigation—it must be something important.
These scientists are serious professionals. They
know I have a busy schedule—they wouldn’t take
up my time for frivolous purposes. They even of-
fered to pay me at the end of the experiment.” In
other words, the participants were responding to
the implicit suggestion, communicated by a host of
subtle demand characteristics, that their purpose
was to make a contribution to advance scientific
understanding and interpreted the importance of
the research, as well as their roles, accordingly.
An altogether different scenario was depicted in
a recent episode of a popular TV crime drama, but
is still rife with suggestion created by demand char-
acteristics. Here, one of the investigators, having
just returned from collecting evidence at the crime
scene, was consoling a female witness. After help-
ing her to gain composure, he pulled out his digital
camera and displayed the photograph of a male per-
son-of-interest and asked essentially, “Was it him?”

68 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

The witness affirmed that the person in the photo
was the perpetrator. Notwithstanding whether the
witness would have been able to identify the same
person under different circumstances, the method
used to obtain this identification was tainted by
suggestion. Consider the demand characteristics
that may have influenced the witness’s response:
“I have just witnessed my friend’s murder. I am
vulnerable and afraid for my own life. The police
are the only ones who can protect me and I must
help them. The investigator just came back from
the crime scene and he has important evidence.
He suspects a particular person was responsible;
he has a photo in his camera’s memory; he hasn’t
even printed it out yet; he needs me to identify this
suspect.” The victim’s emotional state, her view of
the police as authorities and the ultimate source of
her protection, and the urgency with which the in-
vestigator sought identification of the suspect may
have coalesced as a suggestive cue that led her to
identify a particular individual. The level of sug-
gestion could have been reduced had the investi-
gator taken time to present the suspect’s photo in
a less-biased photo identification array. Yet, even
this might not sufficiently diminish the influence
of suggestion, as witnesses may well infer that law
enforcement agencies do not routinely maintain
photo galleries of completely innocent citizens to
use as foils in the identification process (Witness’s
inference: “They are probably all guilty of some-
thing.”).
If this analysis leads the reader to the conclusion
that suggestion is unavoidable in social interactions,
then our point has been made. Nevertheless, it is
unacceptable for investigators to be indifferent to
this premise, because to do so is to diminish the
standards of forensic evidence. Instead, the legal
community needs to be aware of relevant research
findings in the social sciences and be willing to re-
vise best practice guidelines to remedy shortcom-
ings in current investigative procedures. In the re-
mainder of this article, we attempt to draw upon
contemporary research that highlights problems and
offers potential solutions to mitigate the effects of
suggestive influence in forensic interviews.
Laboratory Research on the
Vulnerability to Suggestion
of Eyewitness Memory
A review of the literature reveals three distinct ap-
proaches to investigating the vulnerability to sug-
gestion of eyewitness memory reports. One of
these represents the field of applied memory research
and relies upon the subtle introduction of leading
or misleading post-event information by an inves-
tigative interviewer (Loftus, 1992). A typical ex-
periment involves presenting a short film depicting
some incident, such as a traffic accident. When
subjects are later interviewed about what they had
(800) 592-1399
witnessed, the experimenter asks a question that
includes a bit of explicit misinformation (e.g., sub-
stituting “yield sign” for “stop sign”) or a nuanced
phraseology (e.g., “smashed into” for “bumped
into”). While the theoretical basis for the effect re-
mains controversial (e.g., McCloskey & Zaragoza,
1985), the evidence is clear that post-event misin-
formation conveyed, intentionally or inadvertently,
by an interviewer stands a very good chance of be-
ing assimilated into the eyewitness’s account.
A second approach was developed in the con-
text of basic memory research on the circumstances
that lead to the production and acceptance of false
memories (Roediger & McDermott, 1995). The
standard paradigm involves the presentation of a
number of conceptually related and nonrelated
words, followed by testing for recognition of those
same words when embedded in a list of nonpre-
sented words, including one that is conceptually
related, but nonetheless not previously presented
(i.e., the critical lure). For example, a subject might
see the words yawn, pillow, dream, pajamas, and bed
interspersed among a list of nonrelated words like
saxophone, computer, car, ocean, and leaf. The sub-
sequent recognition test would include all of the
previously presented words in addition to an equal
number of nonpresented words, among which is the
word sleep. The typical finding in this research is
that subjects often mistakenly identify the concep-
tually related, nonpresented word (in this example,
sleep) as having been presented in the earlier list—
a case of false memory. Such research serves as a
warning that eyewitness recollections can include
schematically consistent details that were never per-
ceptually experienced.
The third avenue of investigation into the impact
of suggestion on eyewitness memory derives from
the individual differences perspective and is best ex-
emplified by the model of Gudjonsson and Clark
(1986). These researchers endorse the objective as-
sessment of witnesses’ “interrogative suggestibility”
with respect to their “yield” and “shift” predispo-
sitions, corresponding, respectively, to their likeli-
hood of succumbing to (mis)leading questioning
(“yield”) or changing their testimony under pres-
sure (“shift”). Their overall model takes into ac-
count the individual’s interrogative suggestibility, as
measured by the Gudjonnson Suggestibility Scale
(Gudjonnson, 1984)—which differs from hypno-
tizability (Register & Kihlstrom, 1988)—in addi-
tion to features of the interview context, such as
the closed dyadic social interaction between inter-
viewer and interviewee, procedural aspects of the
interview, as well as the presentation, acceptance
of, and behavioral response to, any “suggestive
stimuli.” Much like contemporary hypnosis re-
search, the Gudjonnson and Clark (1986) model
considers the person-situation interaction as a fun-
damental determinant of the individual’s response.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 69
 If the circumstances are stressful (as is typically the
case), and the witness is uncertain about particu-
lar details, and is someone who is characteristically
prone to “yield” or to “shift” his or her testimony,
the situation is fertile for suggestion to contaminate
the evidentiary record.
The scope of laboratory studies of eyewitness
memory extends beyond the examples cited above.
Drawing upon the same core paradigms—applied,
basic, and individual differences approaches—re-
searchers have been active in evaluating the pros
and cons of various interview techniques adopted
by law enforcement. Here we consider two such
techniques, designed to enhance witness recall, that
have emerged in forensic investigations over the past
40 years.
The Forensic Use of Hypnosis. Hypnosis gained a
reputation as a useful agent of memory retrieval in
the late nineteenth century with the publication of
reports by Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud, which
cited its ability to access lost memories in psycho-
analytic therapy—a claim that Freud later retract-
ed. Nevertheless, it was not until the late 1960s
(Harding v. State, 1968) that hypnotically elicited
testimony was permitted as evidence in courts of
law in the United States. This occasioned a prolif-
eration of laboratory research aimed at identifying
the mechanisms by which hypnosis might facilitate
memory retrieval. Whereas some early studies re-
ported positive or mixed findings, the more meth-
odologically sophisticated research of the 1980s
and 1990s revealed troublesome characteristics
of hypnotically derived recollections (see Orne,
Whitehouse, Dinges, & Orne, 1988). Among these
were observations that (a) hypnosis influenced re-
call in an indiscriminate manner—posthypnotic
testimony contained virtually equivalent amounts
of new correct and incorrect information; (b) hyp-
nosis increased the witness’s confidence that the
newly accessed “memories” were accurate, thereby
bolstering resistance to cross-examination; and (c)
the expressed confidence of the previously hypno-
tized witness translated into greater perceived cred-
ibility of the testimony by jurors.
As this research unfolded, the judicial system re-
sponded with the imposition of various restrictions
on hypnotically elicited testimony, ranging from
full-blown “per se inadmissibility” (adopted by the
majority of state Supreme Courts) to stipulating
procedural safeguards, such as those recommended
by Martin Orne in State v. Hurd (1981), to consid-
erations of admissibility based on the “totality of
circumstances” surrounding the hypnosis session
as well as scientifically valid precedents (Daubert
v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 1993). The
United States Supreme Court, in Rock v. Arkansas
(1987), ruled that per se inadmissibility of hypnoti-
cally derived testimony could not be extended to
the case of a previously hypnotized defendant in a

70 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

criminal trial because it infringed upon the consti-
tutionally guaranteed right to self-defense. Overall,
scaling the legal hurdles established for the foren-
sic use of hypnosis was becoming an impractical
strategy for law enforcement, yielding to a search
for viable alternative interview methods.
The Cognitive Interview. An apparently prom-
ising solution to the problem was embodied by
the cognitive interview proposed by Geiselman,
Fisher, Firstenberg, Hutton, Sullivan, Avetissian,
and Prosk (1984), which consisted of a set of in-
terview mnemonics derived from well-established
basic research in human memory. The objectives
are (a) to maximize the overlap of cues in the re-
trieval context with the memory trace of the target
event, and (b) to encourage the witness to adopt
multiple memory search strategies. Accordingly,
witnesses are instructed to mentally reconstruct
environmental circumstances associated with the
incident, including their own thoughts, physiologi-
cal, and emotional experiences; to report every de-
tail that comes to mind, regardless of perceived im-
portance; to recall events in a different order from
the way in which they transpired; and to adopt
the perspective of another witness in order to de-
scribe the events from that person’s point of view.
A strong emphasis is placed on permitting the in-
terviewee to engage in a comprehensive narrative
with minimal interruption. Subsequently, and as
appropriate, more specific prompts may be given
to encourage the witness to elaborate on particular
details. In recent years, the cognitive interview has
been modified to include rapport-building strate-
gies, visualization, and attention to the witness’s
emotional circumstances and communication skills
(Fisher & Geiselman, 1992; Geiselman & Fisher,
1997).
The cognitive interview has been widely ad-
opted by law enforcement agencies and continues
to be studied by researchers, throughout North
America, Europe, and Australia. Its superiority to
standard police interviews (in terms of eliciting a
greater quantity of correct information) has been
confirmed, but so has its tendency to moderately
increase incorrect information. Its overall rate of
accuracy (85%) was only slightly better than con-
trol interviews (82%) across the studies reviewed in
a recent meta-analysis (Köhnken, Milne, Memon,
& Bull, 1999).
For our purposes, the critical question is whether
the cognitive interview can provide a law enforce-
ment tool that escapes the problems associated with
forensic hypnosis. The most straightforward way
to address this issue is to compare the results of
interviews involving hypnosis with those that em-
ploy the cognitive interview. Geiselman, Fisher,
MacKinnon, & Holland (1985) reported such
a comparison using films of simulated crimes as
stimuli and experienced law enforcement person-
(800) 592-1399
nel as interviewers. Here the original version of
the cognitive interview was evaluated against a
hypnosis interview and a standard police interview.
Hypnosis and the cognitive interview produced
comparable results, and both procedures yielded
a greater amount of correct information than did
the standard interview. Curiously, however, neither
procedure resulted in more incorrect information
than the standard interview. The latter finding is
inconsistent with a large body of hypnosis research,
which indicates that, typically, hypnosis produces
increases in both correct and incorrect recall (for a
review, see Orne et al., 1988).
In our attempt (Whitehouse et al., 2005) to rep-
licate their findings, we recognized that Geiselman
et al. (1985) used a measure of hypnotic ability that
correlates very poorly with standardized instru-
ments assessing hypnotizability (Orne et al., 1979).
This makes it difficult to know how responsive their
witnesses actually were to the hypnotic interview
condition. Also, Geiselman and colleagues per-
mitted their law enforcement interviewers to use
hypnotic procedures with which they were famil-
iar, rather than prescribing a standardized protocol.
Our replication study also used a brief, filmed crime
scenario, but all participants were screened for hyp-
notizability with a well-validated, tape-recorded
assessment instrument, the Harvard Group Scale
of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A;
Shor & E. Orne, 1962). Standardized protocols
were also adhered to in conducting our hypnosis,
cognitive interview, and motivated repeated-recall
control interviews.
Our findings differed from those of Geiselman
and colleagues in several respects, the most impor-
tant being that participants’ hypnotic ability, as
measured by the HGSHS:A, was positively associ-
ated with the recall of erroneous and confabulatory
(i.e., information that was never presented) details
for subjects interviewed with hypnosis and the
cognitive interview, but not for those interviewed
in the motivated repeated-recall condition. This
suggests that some components of the cognitive
interview may tap hypnotic-like processes among
hypnotizable individuals.
Let’s examine those features that hypnosis and
the cognitive interview appear to have in common.
Hypnosis relies on an ability to set aside current
reality and to vividly imagine being in other times
and places. Thus, hypnotized individuals can
mitigate noxious events by engaging in imagery of
pleasant experiences; they can strategically navigate
the temporal realm by imagining themselves in the
past or future. Hypnosis provides both license and
a legitimate context for persons with the requisite
cognitive ability to deploy fantasy to alter their in-
the-moment circumstances.
Whitehouse et al. (2005) employed a hypnotic
interview technique, popularized by Martin Reiser
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 71
 of the Los Angeles Police Department (Reiser,
1980), in which hypnotized witnesses are instruct-
ed to imagine they are watching the events of the
crime unfold in a television documentary. They are
told to use their imaginary remote control device
to “zoom in,” “fast forward,” “reverse,” and “freeze
frame” the TV footage in their “mind’s eye.” The
metaphor provides a mechanism and rationale to
review their recollections in different orders and
amplify details in response to the investigator’s
questions. Highly hypnotizable persons are quite
able to do this; it is generally not as effective among
comparatively less hypnotizable individuals. The
cognitive interview uses similar instructions to
guide memory retrieval, such as recalling events in
different temporal sequences or recounting them
from someone else’s point-of-view. Again, although
less explicitly, witnesses are encouraged temporarily
to discount their reality orientation and engage in
fantasy. The ostensible difference between hypnosis
and the cognitive interview is that typically the for-
mer employs a familiar, ritualized induction proce-
dure to facilitate the transition from a normal wak-
ing state to the hypnotic condition. However, it is
important to bear in mind that formal induction is
not a necessary precondition for hypnosis to occur
(Banyai & Hilgard, 1976; Estabrooks, 1948); hence
this procedural distinction does little to undermine
the proposition that the two interview procedures
may involve similar cognitive processes.
An additional source of concern with the cog-
nitive interview is the instruction to “report ev-
erything, regardless of its perceived importance
to the investigation.” The stated intention of this
instruction is to communicate to witnesses that
they should not censor their reports with regard
to confident recollections that they might feel are
not relevant to the case. The danger, however, is
that this may be misinterpreted to mean that they
should include all information, even that about which
they have little certainty (i.e., lower their subjective
report threshold), which would engender the sort
of problem that hypnosis creates—the potential
inability of the witness to discriminate between
factual and inaccurate recall. In response to this
concern, Fisher and Geiselman (1992) now urge
investigators to warn witnesses “not to guess or
fabricate” (p. 41). Unfortunately, several survey
studies of law enforcement personnel (Clifford &
George, 1996; Kebbell, Milne, & Wagstaff, 1999)
have determined that the cognitive interview is of-
ten modified in actual field use due, primarily, to
time constraints, such that the prescribed version
is not always the same as that which is ultimately
adopted by forensic investigators.
In view of the difficulties associated with hyp-
nosis and the cognitive interview, it is worth em-
phasizing that the motivated repeated-recall inter-
view procedure used by Whitehouse et al. (2005)

72 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

as a control condition in their study was found to
be substantially less vulnerable to memory errors.
It was based on extensive evidence that repeated
efforts to recall previously presented information
produced by corresponding incremental gains in
memory output, referred to as hypermnesia (Erdelyi
& Becker, 1974; Payne, 1987). No special inter-
vention (e.g., hypnosis, guided imagery, cognitive
interview) was necessary, only the willingness of
the witness to really try several times to remem-
ber the same material. Our sole modification to
this formula was to introduce intervening “distrac-
tor” tasks (see Whitehouse et al., 2005) designed
to temporarily change the participant’s cognitive
set, reduce fatigue, and to sustain repeated effort,
which might not be as important (but should not
be dismissed) in an actual forensic interview situa-
tion. The goal simply was to implement a control
condition in which subjects were engaged in an
equal number of recall attempts as participants in
the hypnosis and cognitive interview conditions,
with an equivalent motivation to expend recall ef-
fort.
Our experience with these interview procedures
leads us to recommend (a) wholesale rejection of
hypnosis due to its essential reliance on suggestion
and fantasy; (b) further development and specific
modification of the cognitive interview to mini-
mize or replace the use of suggestive elements that
can be activated by instructions to engage in vi-
sualization; and (c) emphasizing straightforward
repeated entreaties to “try again” or “tell me ev-
erything you can remember,” as embodied by the
motivated repeated-recall procedure. In a similar
vein, Fisher, Brennan, and McCauley (2002) ar-
gue that additional refinements to the cognitive
interview should now include explicit warnings to
witnesses not to guess about details of which they
are uncertain, and to avoid the “change perspec-
tive” technique when interviewing young children.
Evidence from a recent study (Davis, McMahon,
& Greenwood, 2005) suggests that certain mne-
monic components of the cognitive interview (i.e.,
“change perspectives” and “change order”) can be
replaced by additional free-recall opportunities—
similar to the motivated repeated-recall procedure
—without any significant reduction in its efficacy.
Along with minimizing suggestive, fantasy-based
aspects, these modifications to the cognitive inter-
view by Davis et al. (2005) make it more feasible
when time constraints are a concern.
Collectively, these developments contribute to
a general procedural outline for investigative in-
terviewing that can be used to minimize or, at the
very least, identify instances of suggestive bias. The
points described below are intended as a supple-
ment to the comprehensive guide for law enforce-
ment interviews published in 1999 by the National
Institute of Justice (NIJ). The interested reader
(800) 592-1399
will, no doubt, recognize that elements of the cog-
nitive interview, in its current state of development,
are incorporated in the NIJ document. Rather
than reiterate their recommended guidelines, our
purpose is, instead, to highlight a few issues that
sometimes create excursions from best practice
standards, which, in turn, might open the door to
suggestive bias.
Toward Minimizing Suggestion
in Investigative Interviews
Of course, situational factors will always prevail
and our recommendations here are intended to
be generic. Implementation should be considered
judiciously on the basis of such eyewitness factors
as age, language skills, psychological disability, and
relationship to any suspects in the case.
The scenarios described at the beginning of this
article indicate that an important consideration
should be the demand characteristics or contex-
tual cues present in the interview setting. Law en-
forcement officials are perceived to embody vastly
different personae, ranging from protective civil
servants to fearsome bullies, with the power to in-
carcerate. Which role the interviewer adopts can
have a considerable impact on the outcome of the
investigation.
Most successful forensic interviews begin by de-
veloping rapport and ensuring the interviewee’s
comfort. Part of this initial process involves con-
veying to witnesses that they, alone, possess defini-
tive, critical information about the incident under
investigation. The interviewer thereby establishes
his or her role as a collaborator, rather than as an
antagonistic authority figure. This cooperative re-
lationship is then reinforced by encouraging wit-
nesses to tell everything they can remember at their
own pace and in as much detail as possible, while
the interviewer refrains from interruption.
Prior to obtaining the witness’s narrative report of
investigationally relevant aspects of the crime, how-
ever, it is often recommended (see National Institute
of Justice, 1999) that the witness be encouraged to
mentally reconstruct various environmental circum-
stances surrounding the event in question. These
might include details such as the time of day, day of
the week, weather conditions, prior activities of the
witness, emotional state (e.g., upbeat, neutral, angry,
or upset), physical state (e.g., activated, fatigued, or
hungry), and how the witness happened upon the
scene. The goal of this exercise is to mentally rein-
state peripheral details that might serve as potential
retrieval cues for other, more critically important,
information to emerge during the witness’s free nar-
rative. It is based upon a set of well-documented re-
search findings, articulated by the encoding specific-
ity principle (Tulving & Thompson, 1973), which
imply that memory for an event is optimal when
the conditions present at remembering match those
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 73
present when the event was originally experi-
enced. However, an important caveat that is
often overlooked is that, in order to be maxi-
mally effective, the mentally reproduced con-
textual details must, in fact, include the critical
retrieval cues pertinent to the incident under
investigation. Thus, rather than running the
risk that the effort to mentally reconstruct
circumstances associated with the event of in-
terest might lead to mismatched or irrelevant
retrieval cues, in major forensic cases where
the witness’s report may be critical, physically
transporting the witness to the scene of the in-
cident whenever possible is likely to prompt
the most viable retrieval cues to aid the wit-
ness’s recollections of the event.
By far the most serious concern regard-
ing the influence of suggestion on eyewitness
memory arises when interview techniques that
rely on fantasy and imagination are introduced
in a situation in which the witness perceives
salient demand characteristics to provide evi-
dence consistent with a particular investiga-
tive theory. Recall from the examples at the
beginning of this article that demand charac-
teristics are often subtle and, unless anticipated
and strategically managed by the investigator,
they are apt to surface during the interview.
This is a source of influence that appears to
be ubiquitous in human social interactions.
Ordinarily, honest, well-intentioned witness-
es with relevant information to provide might
stave off such pressure and, indeed, exert a
countermanding influence (e.g., confidence)
to accept their accounts as truthful. But the
introduction of techniques such as hypnosis,
visualization, and guided imagery can easily
undermine the veridicality of testimony by
rendering witnesses more compliant with de-
mand cues from the investigator, while at the
same time permitting them to abrogate per-
sonal responsibility for the accuracy of their
statements. There is a well-documented sci-
entific literature that demonstrates memory
modification and confidence augmentation
with hypnosis and suggestive imagery (e.g.,
Orne et al., 1988).
Recently it has been shown that instruc-
tions to close one’s eyes and merely imagine
events that never happened increases confi-
dence that such events really did transpire—
a phenomenon known as imagination infla-
tion (Garry, Manning, Loftus, & Sherman,
1996; Thomas, Bulevich, & Loftus, 2003).
Research on this topic is noteworthy for
several reasons. First, the imagination infla-
tion effect has been observed in the general
population and thus does not appear to be
limited to witnesses who are extremely sug-
74 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
gestible. Second, it is brought about by sim-
ple instruction, without any attempt to alter
the witness’s state of consciousness as, for ex-
ample, through a formal hypnotic induction
procedure. Third, these findings have direct
relevance to the development of the cogni-
tive interview, where a similar strategy was
recently incorporated in which witnesses are
instructed to focus their attention on vari-
ous sensory aspects of an incident by closing
their eyes and visualizing the event (Fisher et
al., 2002). Accordingly, the phenomenon of
imagination inflation has serious implications
for practices by law enforcement investigators
and psychotherapists because it sheds light on
the alarming ease with which events, once
adamantly denied by the interviewee, might
come to be confidently adopted as part of
the individual’s autobiographical history in
response to implicit or explicit suggestions
to imagine they actually took place.
Thus it is clear that visualization and im-
agery based strategies to enhance recollec-
tion are fraught with the same problems that
plague the forensic use of hypnosis, despite
the absence of a specific induction ritual that
is typical of hypnosis. This is why we strong-
ly urge that specific modifications of the cog-
nitive interview include the abandonment
of such strategies as “visualization of sensory
details,” “change perspectives,” and “recall
events in a different temporal sequence.” If
the witness did not actually experience events
from someone else’s point-of-view or in re-
verse order, then to ask him or her to recount
events from that perspective is literally asking
the witness to engage in fantasy, i.e., to use
imaginative skills to elaborate aspects of the
event that could not otherwise be known. If
it were the case that such an exercise had a
benign impact on the witness’s memory and
produced additional investigationally relevant
details, then it certainly should be adopted.
But the evidence strongly suggests that such
techniques can sensitize witnesses to confi-
dently report information about which they
have little direct knowledge.
Finally, the need to authenticate the pro-
ceedings of investigative interviews cannot be
overemphasized. As we have tried to demon-
strate, suggestive bias emanates from a variety
of sources—some ubiquitous, some unique,
some inadvertent, and some even perhaps in-
tentional. Regrettably, there is no known an-
alog to the double-blind, placebo-controlled
study—used by scientists to isolate the influ-
ence of suggestion from true treatment ef-
fects—available to investigative interviewers in
their efforts to extract truthful evidence from
eyewitnesses and victims of crimes. Instead,
the reliability of evidence obtained from foren-
sic interviews ultimately must be evaluated by
jurors. Sworn testimony is often inadequate,
particularly if there is any chance the witness
has become convinced of the veracity of his or
her account as a result of suggestive question-
ing by law enforcement officials. In such cases,
the availability of some form of memorialized
record of the interview session can be critical.
At minimum the documentation could be in
the form of a stenographic transcript provided
by a disinterested third party, or, even more
acceptable would be a well-labeled and well-
archived audiotape recording. Ideally, in criti-
cal forensic cases, videotape that features the
witness, a clock, and the investigator should
be considered as it permits a full evaluation of
the extent of duress, the demeanor of the in-
vestigator and the witness, as well as any ver-
bal and nonverbal cues that might have been
communicated with the potential to influence
the witness’s report. Although every precau-
tion needs to be taken to avoid the possible
influence of suggestion on eyewitness memo-
ry in the first place, for justice to be served it
is equally important that a reliable record of
the means and methods used to acquire such
evidence be made available to the courts.
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tion Profile and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility
Scales, Forms A and C. International Journal of Clini-
cal and Experimental Hypnosis, 27, 85-102.
Orne, M.T., & Whitehouse, W.G. (2000). Demand
characteristics. In A.E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of
psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association and Oxford University Press.
Orne, M.T., Whitehouse, W.G., Dinges, D.F., &
Orne, E.C. (1988). Reconstructing memory through
hypnosis: Forensic and clinical implications. In H.M.
Pettinati (Ed.), Hypnosis and memory (pp. 21-63). New
York: Guilford Press.
Payne, D.G. (1987). Hypermnesia and reminiscence
in recall: A historical and empirical review. Psychologi-
cal Bulletin, 101, 5-28.
(800) 592-1399
Register, P.A., & Kihlstrom, J.F. (1988). Hypnosis nation inflation effect. Memory & Cognition, 31, 630-640.
and interrogative suggestibility. Personality and Indi- Tulving, E., & Thomson, D.M. (1973). Encoding
vidual Differences, 9, 549-558. specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory.
Reiser, M. (1980). Handbook of investigative hypno- Psychological Review, 80, 352-373.
sis. Los Angeles, CA: LEHI Publishing Co. Whitehouse, W.G., Orne, E.C., Dinges, D.F., Bates, B.L.,
Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44. (1987). Nadon, R., & Orne, M.T. (2005). The cognitive interview:
Roediger, H. L., III, & McDermott, K.B. (1995). Does it successfully avoid the dangers of forensic hypnosis?
Creating false memories: Remembering words not pre- American Journal of Psychology, 118, 215-234. n
sented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learn-
ing, Memory, and Cognition, 24, 803-814.
Shor, R.E., & Orne, E.C. (1962). The Harvard Group
Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. Palo Alto, CA: Acknowledgment
Consulting Psychologists Press. Preparation of this article was support-
State v. Hurd, 432 A.2d 86 (N.J.). (1981). ed in part by a grant from the Institute
Thomas, A.K., Bulevich, J.B., & Loftus, E.F. (2003). Explor- for Experimental Psychiatry Research
ing the role of repetition and sensory elaboration in the imagi- Foundation.
About the Author
Wayne G. Whitehouse, PhD, DABPS is a Research Psychologist with academic ap-
pointments in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Department of Psychology
at Temple University, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has
been Principal Investigator or Project Director of federal grants from
the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Justice,
as well as research grants from private foundations. He holds mem-
berships in the American Psychological Association, the Association
for Psychological Science, the Psychonomic Society, the Eastern
Psychological Association, Sigma Xi, and the American College of
Forensic Examiners International. His research interests include forensic evidence, cog-
nitive science, hypnosis, psychopathology, and behavioral medicine.
Emily Carota Orne, BA is a Research Psychologist and Co-Director of the Unit for
Experimental Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She has a distin-
guished research career in the areas of hypnosis, demand charac-
teristics, interview dynamics, and behavioral medicine. She co-
developed, with Ronald E. Shor, PhD, the Harvard Group Scale of
Hypnotic Susceptibility, which enjoys worldwide recognition as the
premier group assessment instrument for hypnotizability screening
in the context of hypnosis research. She is on the Board of the False
Memory Syndrome Foundation.
David F. Dinges, PhD is Professor and Director of the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry
in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine. In addition to his work evaluating memory
enhancement techniques for law enforcement, Dr. Dinges is an in-
ternationally recognized expert in the biological limits of human
performance relative to sleep need and circadian biology. During
the past 30 years his research has been continuously supported
by grants from many Federal agencies, including the National
Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. He is a mem-
ber of the NIH Council, and he currently serves as Team Lead for the Neurobehavioral
and Psychosocial Factors area of the national Space Biomedical Research Institute. He
has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2004 Decade of Behavior
Research Award from the American Psychological Association, and the 2007 NASA
Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 75
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 CE ARTICLE 4: Corrupted DVDs: An Emerging Forensics Problem ... (pages 78–83)

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TO RECEIVE CE CREDIT FOR THIS ARTICLE CE ACCREDITATIONS FOR THIS ARTICLE

In order to receive one CE credit, each participant is required to This article is approved by the following for continuing education credit:
1. Read the continuing education article.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES KEY WORDS: defective, DVD, CD, editing, format

After studying this article, participants should be better able to do the following:
TARGET AUDIENCE: forensic consultants, law officers, attor-
neys, computer forensics consultants, court officials
1. Identify the formats of DVDs and list their differences.
2. Name the characteristics of a defective DVD.
3. Explain how corrupted DVDs may be excluded as reliable digital evidence. PROGRAM LEVEL: update

DISCLOSURE: The author operates a polygraph business.

PREREQUISITES: none

ABSTRACT
With technology increasing, so is the number of formats of a DVD, which when produced on a home computer results in defective DVDs. DVDs are normally derived from some form of digital tape
media and the tape media are sometimes not totally devoid of any defects. One problem in particular is the lag of audio and video synchronization, which could be corrupted on DV tape and may be con-
taminated during playback. Forensically, DVDs and their different formats must be analyzed with more effective data recovery software to remain admissible as reliable tape evidence.

POST CE TEST QUESTIONS (Answer the following questions after reading the article)
4. What is the primary audio coding for DVDs?
1. What is the most popular format of DVD today? a. WAV
a. DVD-RW b. CDA
b. DVD-R c. MP3
c. DVD-RAM d. QuickTime
d. DVD+R
5. What are the primary codecs employed in DVD production?
2. What are characteristics of a bad DVD? a. Real Audio
a. Lip sync problems b. Real Video
b. Missing frames c. Sorenson
c. Continuous video d. MPEG-2
d. Correct timing and sync

3. What are the contributing factors of poor audio/video sync problems? 6. The best cable to use when transferring audio and video data to a DVD:
a. Damaged or defective DVD disks a. Composite
b. Use of internal capture card b. Component
c. Use of external capture card c. IEEE 1394-Firewire
d. Optimized hard drive d. S-Video

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(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 77

 CE Article: (ACFEI) 1 CE credit for this article

CORRUPTED

DVDs:
An Emerging Forensic Problem That May Constitute Untrustworthy Evidence

By Steve Cain, MFS,

FACFEI, DABRE, ith technology increasing, so is the number of formats of a DVD, which when
DABLEE produced on a home computer results in defective DVDs. DVDs are normally
derived from some form of digital tape media, and the tape media are some-
times not totally devoid of any defects. One problem in particular is the lag of audio and
video synchronization, which could be corrupted on DV tape and may be contaminated
during playback. Forensically, DVDs and their different formats must be analyzed with
more effective data recovery software to remain admissible as reliable tape evidence.

There has been an increasingly larger amount of
submitted DVDs as evidence both to litigation
firms and ultimately to forensic labs. Quite often
the submitter from the law firm provides a DVD
that is obviously corrupted and contains visible
artifacts such as color banding, blockiness, blur-
riness, missing detail, and other suspicious visual
events that are not consistent with a normal DVD.
As individuals are increasingly creating their own
DVDs (using their home computer and inappro-
priate DVD software and burner hardware), there
is increasing corruption and degradation on sub-
mitted DVDs. Corrupted CDs made on defective
hardware and software can result in unreliable evi-
dence (audio or video). This was documented in
an earlier published paper (Cain, 2004).
This paper will attempt to document the more
fundamental causes and factors for poor DVD
production and what forensic artifacts are nor-
mally associated with defective DVD manufac-
turing. Attention will also be focused on poor-
ly made DVD-Videos and the disadvantages of
DVD, especially concerning different manufac-
turer recording and playback units, regional or
country codes that preclude nationwide playback
capability, copy protection issues, and out-of-sync
audio and video components of a DVD. There
also are incompatible DVD disks that cannot be
played back on different DVD recorders and im-
proper usage of DVD authoring systems that to-
gether result in corrupted DVDs’ features, which
would add to their untrustworthiness as forensic
evidence.
Modern day DVDs hold about two hours of
high-quality video, but in early 2002, Japanese
DVD manufacturers adjusted the nature of their
playback laser beam, which had a narrower focus,
and expanded the DVD capacity from 4.7 GB to
27 GB. Double-sided disks will hold about 50 GBs
of storage capability. Unfortunately, the blue laser
drives are not automatically backward-compatible
with DVD drives, and manufacturers will have to
develop a new type of playback system for these
larger DVDs.
DVD is data-compressed technology that essen-
tially matches broadcast quality, but normally plays
back at a standard DVD rate of MPEG-2 Video
(Motion Expert Group No. 2).

78 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

 E
BLE
DA
,
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,
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,
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, M
CAIN
BY STEVE

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 79

 Unfortunately, DVDs have become more com-
plex as the authoring tools improve, so there are
more engineering flaws within the DVD player
mechanism to include firmware upgrades in both
the software and hardware. Problems can also exist
during playback because of damaged or defective
disks, and defective players—more than 100 dif-
ferent DVD players—that are unable to play back
certain types of DVDs. (Taylor, 2004)

Different DVD Formats

As of 2005, there were 144 possible variations of
the DVD format, which produced 24 different
physical format variations. The first standard DVD
format was DVD-R which stands for DVD record-
able. The DVD-R can hold 4.7 GB on each side
of the disk for a total of 9.4 GB of data on a dou-
ble-sided disk. DVD-R subsequently became one
of the most popular formats because you could re-
cord a disk that had been used in a standard DVD
player. On the rewritable side, the standard is called
DVD-RW. These disks can also store 4.7 GB, but
unfortunately not all DVD players can read DVD-
RWs. Two more recent DVD standards including
DVDR and DVDRW have become available and
are cheaper to manufacture and may or may not be
playable on stand alone DVD players or computer
drives. There are also approximately a dozen new
DVD hybrids that combine features on one or more
of the earlier formats. Despite the many differences
between writable DVD formats, they do have simi-
lar capabilities and perform a similar job recording
data. One of the primary physical incompatibilities
between the DVD recording formats is that some
are designed for video, one for audio data, and one
for “streaming” such as from a camcorder or a digi-
tal video receiver. None of these recording file for-
mats are readable by standard DVD video or audio
players. Synchronization problems are also found
where a “lip sync” breakdown occurs as the audio
lags somewhat behind the video.
These problems are often caused during film
production or editing or involve the improper
matching of audio and video tracks and the DVD
encoding-authoring process (Taylor, 2006).
Today it is estimated that there are more than
100 million DVD players or recorders within the
United States. To permit different DVD recorders
to copy DVD disks without copyright protection
violations, different hardware and software devices
were developed in the late 1990s. The foremost
piece of hardware is the IEEE1394/Firewire con-
nector, which transfers audio and video data be-
tween a multitude of DVD products including
computers and digital cameras (Taylor, 2006).
Much of the submitted DVD disks’ evidence
involves audio and video data that has not been
manufactured on an optimized computer or a DVD
s Author, Steve Cain
burner to include poor authoring software. A lack

80 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

of DVD calibration tests exist that would ver-
ify there are no defects on either the physical
layer of the disk or within the content itself.
The majority of evidence disks involve the
capture of analog or digital videotape infor-
mation, which may or may not be transferred
to a computer before the DVD is ultimately
manufactured.
Whether the capture device is an analog
or digital camcorder or a large scale CCTV
surveillance system, it is essential the cap-
tured analog and digital involves optimum
data rates, resolution, frame rate, audio for-
mat rate, and efficient capture cards for A/D
conversion purposes. Dropped or missing
frames can occur when the capture computer
is incapable of storing the video to disk data
fast enough. The capture software often re-
peats the last successfully captured frame on
a multitude of occasions, which can cause in-
terruptions in the video stream. Another im-
portant consideration for effective hard drive
capture is to defragment the computer hard
drive through an appropriate Windows tool
such as disk defragmenter or disk optimizer
(Ozer, 2003).
Artifacts and Other
Editing Annoyances
DVDs are normally derived from some form
of digital tape media including DV consumer
digital mini DV tape or broadcast digital tape
format such as DV PRO or DV CAM, D1,
D2, D3, D4, etc. These digital tape formats
are sometimes not totally devoid of any de-
fects. There are a number
of artifacts and other pic-
ture defects that are part of
the digital recording world
and usually come in three
varieties, “mosquito noise,”
“quilting,” and “mo-
tion blocking.”
Other pic-
(800) 592-1399
ture defects include “drop outs” or “band-
ing” (a sign of tape damage or head clog-
ging). The most noticeable spatial artifacts
are “feathering” or “mosquito noise,” which
involve diagonally fine detail corruption.
These are compression-induced errors usu-
ally seen around sharp-edged text, and they
show up as pixel noise within eight pixels of
the edge detail. Spatial quilting artifacts can
also be observed on certain diagonal lines,
typically long straight edges about 20 degrees
off of the horizontal axis.
Sometimes it’s possible to notice the quilt-
ing artifacts while panning slowly across a
particular scene. Motion blocking occurs
when the two fields in a frame are too dif-
ferent for the DV codec to compress them
together. Motion blocking is best observed
in a static scene shot through which objects
are moving or in the immediate vicinity of
the moving object. Dropouts may appear as
small signal block errors or as multiple blocks
depending upon the nature of the degrada-
tion (Puhovski, 2000).
Unlocked Audio or Poorly
Synced Video with Audio
There have been numerous reports of “lip
sync” problems where the audio lags behind
the video or sometimes precedes the video.
There have been numerous problems report-
ed in the past with a variety of Pioneer and
Sony models to include some PC decoder
cards. The contributing factors to the sync
problems include:
1. Improper sync in audio/video encoding
or DVD-video formatting.
2. Poor sync during film production or ed-
iting.
3. Loose sync tolerance in the player.
4. Delay in the external decoder receiver.
Unfortunately, because DV was designed
as a consumer format, unlocked audio was
allowed to exist as a cost-saving measure
where the internal audio clock is somewhat
imprecise and up to plus or minus 25 audio
samples can be written to tape in an impre-
cise manner. Normally the unlocked audio
should not drift for too long a period of time
before it does sync up with the video signal.
The way the audio is recorded depends upon
the type of DVD burner employed in pro-
ducing the sound. The standard sampling
rates are 32 KHz or two channels of 16 bit
each of 48 KHz quality. The audio is inter-
leaved with the video and both are recorded
by the two rotating video heads. Along with
the audio/video and other sub-code data,
there exists small guard bands in DV tape
production, which includes “header” infor-
mation—basically a data packet and further
includes SYMPTE time code, user bits, scene
markers, camera location, etc. DV tape also
contains sufficient “header” data that would
result in possible corruption during playback
if the sub-code data is improperly encoded on
the tape (Puhovski, 2000). MLP is an auto
coding scheme using proprietary technology
developed by Meridian Audio and Associates.
This lossy data reduction coding method op-
erates by discarding information that is less
important to the listener. In effect, MLP
coding distributes the audio data more effi-
ciently into small data rates for transmission
and carries it in a protected environment
along with its associated data. Previously
the highest quality sound came from
Linear PCM coding. As this for-
mat does not require master-
ing or playback to be en-
tirely lossless, the MLP
system was developed
as a true lossless sys-
tem. The original
data is delivered
bit-for-bit at
playback. The
sound data is
therefore trans-
mitted in exactly
the same format as
the producer intend-
ed. No elaborate lis-
tening tests are required
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 81

to qualify this coding system, which guarantees de-
livery of the original recording over a number of dif-
ferent carriers and computing platforms.
Displaying DVD Video
Video clips are normally displayed in two differ-
ent methods: interlaced scan or progressive scan.
Progressive scan is normally seen in computer mon-
itors and digital TVs. They display all horizontal
lines of the picture at one time. Interlaced scan
normally uses standard television formats and dis-
plays only half of the horizontal lines at a time. It
relies on earlier TV technology to blend the two
different video fields together to create what appears
to be a single picture. DVDs are designed to be
interlace-scan displays, but if the original video for-
mat consists of a movie, it is highly recommended
that a progressive scan DVD player be purchased
that will play back the movie at the appropriate
frame rate and resolution.
DVD Production Basics
Essentially all DVD production involves three steps:
Content Creation, Menu Creation, and Linking
Menus to the appropriate content data.
After previewing the audio, video, and other con-
tent materials to ensure they are being played back
as planned, it is necessary to compress the video files
to MPEG-2 format in rendering the final DVD.
Computers do have the potential to produce
better video than desktop video players by using
progressive display and higher scan rates, but many
PC systems fail to reproduce the picture quality as
a home player connected to a quality TV, where
the PC decoder cards or the VGA cards must have
a TV output. The quality of the video provided
by a PC depends in large part on the decoder’s ca-
pabilities, the graphics card, the TV encoder chip,
and other factors. In most cases a PC-based DVD
burner connected to a progressive-scan monitor or
video projector instead of a standard TV will usu-
ally produce better quality video.
There can be serious compatibility problems
with recordable DVD formats. For example, many
82 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
of the writable formats are fully compatible with
each other or even with existing drives and players.
Some later DVD versions that have a multi-logo are
guaranteed to read additional DVD formats while
a DVD multi-recorder can record using all three
formats. Those individuals experiencing problems
playing DVDs on their computer should get up-
dated software. Incompatible drivers are the biggest
cause of playback problems ranging from freeze-
up to error messages to region code problems. It is
recommended that you obtain tech support from
the Web site of your equipment manufacturer and
obtain the latest drivers for your graphics adaptor,
audio card, and DVD decoder.
Technical Aspects of DVD Production
Digital video is comprised of a series of dots called
pixels—each holding a different color value. For
DVD, each grid of 720 squares by 578 squares
represents a still image called a frame. It takes
30 frames to convey motion. For DVD audio,
the resulting sound is comprised of both inten-
sity and frequency information. For DVD, these
numbers are “sampled” over 48,000 times a sec-
ond, which is far superior than its analog counter-
part. With digital signal processing, about 13%
of the digital information before modulation is
extra information, which is used for error correc-
tion. As the data is read from the disk, the error
correction data is separated and checked against
the remaining information. If it doesn’t match,
the error correction codecs are used to correct
the situation.
A codec is an abbreviation for compressor/de-com-
pressor, or encode/decode, depending upon its purpose.
Essentially all video compression technology involves
the encoding of the initial compressed file and then
subsequent decoding for remote viewing. Familiar
codecs include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP-3, MPEG-
4, Real audio, Real video, Sorenson, and Microsoft
Windows Media video and audio. Most codecs involve
two different types of compression to achieve their tar-
get data rates including intra-frame compression and
inter-frame compression, which are techniques used
to remove redundancies between frames.
Digital Audio Coding
DVD uses three different types of audio coding
including MPEG-1, which has three compression
techniques. MPEG-2 digital audio compression
adds multiple channels and is backward compat-
ible with MPEG-1 decoders. The primary audio
coding for DVD manufacturer is Dolby digital,
which provides up to 5.1 channels of discrete audio
data. Dolby digital uses a frequency transform and
groups the resulting values into frequency bands of
varying widths to match the critical bands of hu-
man hearing. More than 50 million Dolby digital
decoders are now situated throughout the United
www.acfei.com
States compared to almost no MPEG-2 au-
dio decoders.
DVD Internet Resource Sites
Top DVD info sites include:
1. Robert’s DVD (www.robertsdvd.com)
2. DVD PHD (www.dvdphd.com)
3.The Digital Bits (www.thedigitalbits.
com)
4. DVD File (www.dvdfile.com)
5. DVD Review (www.dvdreview.com)
6. Chad Fogg’s DVD Technical Notes (www.
tapeexpert.com/pdf/corrupteddvd.pdf )
7. DVD White papers from Sonic Solutions
(www.tapeexpert.com/pdf/corrupteddvd.pdf )
8. Tristan’s MPEG Pointers and Resources.
(www.mpeg.org)
DVD Testing/Verification Services
Testing/Verification Services include:
1. CD Associates (714-733-8580)
2. Intellikey Labs in Burbank, CA (818-
953-9116)
3. Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com), which
provides diagnostic tools for Windows
4. Testronic Labs in Burbank, CA (818-
845-3223)
5. WAMO, URL of www.ivyhill-wms.
com.
EnCase Forensic gives you additional
software to conduct thorough and conclu-
sive computer examinations. This system
provides information on the investiga-
tion and documentation of many in-house
crimes, including child pornography, do-
mestic violence, harassment, narcotics, etc.
without omitting valuable computer evi-
dence or waiting on back-logged labs. This
system was developed by criminal forensic
experts and is accepted by courts through-
out the world. EnCase allows investigators
to manage large volumes of computer evi-
dence by viewing all relevant files, and in-
cluding “deleted files,” file slack, and unal-
located space. Once in, the files are created
and the examiner can search and analyze
multiple drives or other media simultane-
ously, using keyword searches, hash analy-
sis, file specific filters, and multiple filters.
(EnCase Forensics, 2006)
Suggested Forensic
Examination Techniques
A duplicate either on hard drive or on a suit-
able DVD should be made as soon as the
original evidence DVD has arrived. If play-
back or compatibility problems arise during
the playback, it may be necessary to obtain,
if not the original DVD burner, then at least
(800) 592-1399
a similar make and model instrument for
playback of the questioned DVD recording.
As many of the corrupt or edited DVD play-
back anomalies are readily discernible dur-
ing a visual and aural review of the DVD,
suspicious record events may be identifiable
through appropriate CD-DVD diagnostic
software. For example, CD-DVD Diagnostic
is a useful program that recovers data from
unreadable, scratched, corrupt, or defective
CDs and DVDs. This particular program
provides sector examinations, checks disk
memory, and checks point issues. It also lo-
cates files that have been dropped from the
directory structure, and the examination pro-
cess is done automatically when errors are de-
tected in the directory structure.
A device manufactured by Data
Duplication Ltd. called FDA-100 is an au-
tomatic forensic disk reader/analyzer, which References
provides hardware solutions to corrupted Cain, S. (2004). CD copies of taped audio recording:
DVDs. This device also analyzes disk and A poor forensic alternative for attorneys. The Forensic
data information and allows for multiple ex- Examiner, 13(2), 38-42.
aminations without rescanning. It also dis- Cain, S. (2005). Forensic examination of CCTV digi-
plays sectors and searches the disk surface tal VTR surveillance recording equipment. The Forensic
for corrupted data. It is able to recover the Examiner, 14(4), 47-49.
original time stamp information when the EnCase Forensic, (2006). EnCase Forensic. Retrieved
disk was mastered. October 14, 2008, from Guidance Software Web site:
An additional software program is provided http://www.guidancesoftware.com/products/ef_index.
by InfinaDyne in the Chicago area and in- asp
cludes a thorough examination of the DVD, Ozer, J. (2004). Guide to digital video. Indianapolis,
which may take anywhere from a few seconds IN: Wiley Publishing Inc.
to hours depending on how the disk was re- Puhovski, N. (2000). Standing committee for new
corded or if there were any errors returned technology. Retrieved from http://www.161.58.124.223/
while reading it. As errors are detected, a dia- archives/DV-Report
log is made to identify each suspicious sector. Taylor, J. (2004). Everything you ever wanted to
Analysis results are presented in three of the know about DVDs. Columbus, OH: Magraw-Hill-Tab
more common formats for writing a DVD, Electronics.
ISO-9660, Joliet, and UDF disks. InfinaDyne Taylor, J., Johnson, M., & Crawford, C. (2006). DVD
also provides periodic classes and is tailored for demystified. Columbus, OH: Magraw-Hill. n
professionals in data recovery, forensics, and
law enforcement.
The need for more effective DVD data re- Earn CE Credit
covery and forensic analysis will continue and To earn CE credit, complete the exam for this
article on page 77 or complete the exam on-
may affect the admissibility and reliability of line at www.acfei.com (select “Online CE”).
DVD evidence disks (Cain, 2005).
About the Author
Steve Cain, MFS, MFSQD, DABFE, FACFEI, DABLEE,
DABRE, served 22 years as both a Special Agent and fo-
rensic specialist with U.S. Secret Service and IRS National
Crime Laboratories before founding Forensic Tape Analysis
(FTA) in Burlington, Wisconsin. A majority of his business
concerns the identification of questioned voice recording or
issues relating to audio or videotape recording authenticity
or corrupted CDs and DVDs. He is a Fellow of the ACFEI.
Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 83
 “What a sincere honor and privilege it
is to be a part of this professional
organization. I appreciate the quality
of the ACFEI Conferences and love
renewing friendships. Thank you for
the opportunity to present, and I look
forward to submitting an abstract for
2009.”
—Dianne T. Ditmer, MS, RN, DABFN, CFN

84 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008 www.acfei.com

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and I’ve attended 2 conferences. I find the
conferences most complete, very comprehensive,
and very informative. I enjoyed every minute of
this year’s conference, and I look forward to
the one in Las Vegas next year!”
—James Wilson, Jr.

(800) 592-1399 Winter 2008 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER 85

Falsely Accused
Falsely Accused: The Case of Ronald Gene Taylor
s Barry Scheck, founder of the Innocence Project, played a key role in winning the exoneration of Ronald Gene Taylor.
KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY HILDA M. PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL
It is now believed that on May 28, 1993,
Roosevelt Carroll—a man with a history of
violent sex crimes—raped a Houston woman
in her home. Carroll is currently in a Texas
prison, serving a 15-year sentence for failing
to register as a sex offender. He hasn’t been
tried for the rape and won’t be tried, because
he didn’t become a suspect until after the
statute of limitations had passed. The police
stopped looking for him after they falsely ac-
cused an innocent man for the crime Carroll
is suspected of committing (Associated Press,
2008a).
This man—Ronald Gene Taylor—was
tried for the rape, found guilty, and served
12 of the 60-year sentence before DNA evi-
dence found that he was innocent. Taylor
was exonerated in January of this year, and
his pardon was signed on June 13. He has
become yet another victim of a criminal jus-
tice system, that, when it errs, both punishes
the innocent and rewards the guilty.
The location of Taylor’s residence, less than
a mile from the crime scene, put him under
suspicion for the rape, and he was brought in
to participate in a police line-up. The line-up
was videotaped and shown to the victim at
her home. There were no attorneys or rep-
resentatives for Taylor present at her viewing
(“Ronald Gene,” 2008).
The victim identified Taylor as the rapist,
although she reported that it had been dark
86 THE FORENSIC EXAMINER Winter 2008
in her room during the rape, so she couldn’t
see her attacker. She said that she did feel the
shape of his facial features, neck, and body
during the attack. Ten days later, she altered
her statement, adding details including the
fact that the perpetrator was about 6 feet tall
and that his ears “stuck out a little,” and while
watching the line-up, she suddenly remem-
bered that her attacker was missing a front
tooth—as was Taylor (“Ronald Gene”).
Although the victim remembered the rapist
ejaculating, the serologist reported that there
was no semen on the victim’s clothing or bed
sheets—believing there was no biological
material to test. DNA testing was not con-
ducted, despite the requests of Taylor’s law-
yers (“Ronald Gene”). Taylor was convicted
and sentenced to 60 years—no one listened
when he insisted on his innocence.
The Innocence Project began investigat-
ing the case in 1998 after a request from
Taylor’s stepfather. During this same time,
the Houston Police Department came into
the limelight as a forensics scandal led to
questions about thousands of convictions.
Taylor’s case was among them, and, in 2006,
DNA testing was ordered on the evidence
from his case (Tolson & Khanna, 2007). The
new tests found biological material to sam-
ple, proved Taylor’s innocence, and pointed
to the guilt of Roosevelt Carroll, who would
never be tried (Tolson & Khanna).
After his release, Taylor relocated to
Atlanta, Georgia, where his mother, Dorothy
Henderson, waited for him. “He always said
that he was innocent, and I kept the faith that
one day it would come through that it was
not him,” she said “… We have suffered so
much, but soon, now, when I can hug him
and know that he is free, we will have peace”
(Tolson & Khanna, 2007).
Taylor later married and started his own
lawn care business. In a phone interview
with an Associated Press reporter, Taylor
shared, “It’s been hard to get restarted. …
Little things, like filling out a job application
or renting an apartment are hard when you
have to say you are a convicted felon. Now,
I am officially a free man. I am so relieved”
(Associated Press, 2008a).
After 12 years in prison for the wrongful
conviction, Taylor may collect up to $50,000
for each year he spent in prison—more than
$600,000, should he decide not to sue the
Houston Police Department (Associated
Press, 2008b).
A founder of the Innocence Project, Barry
Scheck, is aware of the bigger implications
of Taylor’s case: “The Ronald Taylor case
ought to be a galvanizing example of what
has to be done to correct the historical in-
justices that have occurred because of the
Houston crime lab. … There has got to be
an expeditious way to go through these cases
and determine whether more testing is pos-
sible and appropriate. That sort of vetting
requires expertise, competence and an in-
frastructure to do that” (Tolson & Khanna,
2007).
References
Associated Press. (2008a, June 20). Ex-Texas inmate
cleared in rape case officially pardoned. USA Today. Re-
trieved September 16, 2008, from http://www.usatoday.
com/news/nation/2008-06-20-texas-inmate_N.htm
Associated Press. (2008b, June 20). Governor par-
dons Houston man convicted of rape. ABC 7 News.
Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://www.kvia.
com/Global/story .asp?S=8532369&nav=
Ronald Gene Taylor. (2008, September 16). Innocence
Project. Retrieved September 16, 2008 from http://www.
innocenceproject.org/Content/1124.php
Tolson, M., & Khanna, R. (2007, October 4). Man
exonerated 14 years after rape conviction: Mix-up on
DNA deals HPD lab another blow. Houston Chronicle.
Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://truthinjus-
tice.org/ronald-taylor.htm n
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