Criminology Unit 3 - 3.1 - Examine information for validity
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Course
Unit 3
Institution
WJEC
Criminology Unit 3 - 3.1 - Examine information for validity
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U3 3.1 Examine information for validity
(At end, link to validity of the brief)
(preference- forensic,judgement ted, expert witness, media, law report, transcript)
Evidence- Forensic- Amanda Knox
While in criminal cases, evidence is usually reliable, there are occasions when
evidence has not been valid.
In the case of Amanda Knox, forensic evidence was used against her which
ultimately led to her conviction, however, she was later acquitted for the murder of
Meredith Kercher. Evidence such as eye-witness accounts, DNA evidence and
expert testimonies were used by both the prosecution and defence teams to aid
their argument.
The CPS requires evidence to be admissible, reliable and credible to be considered
valid. The validity of evidence as a source of information in the Amanda Knox case
can be questioned due to circumstance, as Knox lived with the victim, so her DNA
would be found at the crime scene, and should not have been used as evidence
for guilt. Therefore, it can be suggested the evidence is circumstantial, as DNA in her
own apartment is guaranteed to be found.
Furthermore, other forensic DNA was found on the victim’s bra clasp six weeks after
the murder. The defence argued it was too long after the crime for that to be used
as a reliable piece of evidence, and this means the currency of evidence can
deem it to be invalid. If the evidence is not collected within the golden hour, there is
always a risk of contamination, hence making the forensic evidence to lack
currency.
Lastly, a false eyewitness testimony was presented by Knox, to say she had returned
to her apartment the night of the murder to find Patrick Lumumba stabbing Kercher.
This form of evidence can be considered to be invalid in this case due to bias, as
Knox had lied to the court to try and frame Lumumba to make her seem innocent.
In contrast, the forensic evidence used in the case of Ted Bundy can be considered
valid. A forensic odontologist analysed the teeth marks on the sorority victim and
compared it to a mould of Bundy’s teeth. This form of evidence has currency, as it
was up to date and the mould was taken at the time of the trial. Similarly, the
evidence can be argued to be accurate as it was collected by a specialist in the
field of forensic odontology. Therefore, although forensic evidence, expert witness
, and eyewitness testimonies are viewed as accurate forms of evidence, they may be
invalid due to circumstance, currency and bias.
Evidence- Expert Witness - Roy Meadows
Expert testimony is a key influence in a criminal case and as a result can lead to the
jury basing their verdict purely on this testimony. Expert witnesses are generally
regarded as having high validity as they should be objective and draw on evidence
from years of experience. However, this isn’t guaranteed. A real life example of this is
in the case of Sally Clark.
Sir Roy Meadows testified in multiple court cases of infant cot death using his
specialist knowledge to mislead the court. Sir Meadow suggested that the accused
were guilty of murder, rather than their children passing away due to natural
circumstances.
Bias-
Dr Roy Meadows was biased as he proposed that “one cot death is tragic, two is
suspicious and three is murder”. It appears that Roy Meadows had already made up
his mind on Sally Clarks’ guilt when he began investigating the case. Furthermore,
Roy Meadows wrote a paper for the ‘British Medical Journal’ - A Case of Murder - in
which he criticised the time being ‘wasted’ on the appeal process, again his bias in
this case was clear.
Opinion-
Meadows had formed an opinion despite his fellow paediatricians disagreeing,
saying that the children could have died of natural causes. However, in the Court of
Appeal, the conviction was overturned.
Circumstances-
Roy Meadows failed to consider the circumstances in which the alleged crimes
occurred. A study published in December 2004, in a respected medical journal,
found that 2nd cot deaths in the same family were far more likely to result from
natural causes than abuse. Dr Meadow’s evidence showed a lack of knowledge of
up to date research.
Currency-
Meadows had considerable currency as he was a senior paediatrician Professor and
world expert renowned expert in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDs). Due to his
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