http://www.coronerstories.com/2005/02/28/the-trouble-with-hollywood-part-iii/ The real-life world of death investigation. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:35:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://www.coronerstories.com/2005/02/28/the-trouble-with-hollywood-part-iii/#comment-52 MongaKim Sat, 05 Mar 2005 00:54:22 +0000 /?p=17#comment-52 Just curious.....do you watch Autopsy on HBO? I love that show... Just curious…..do you watch Autopsy on HBO? I love that show…

]]> http://www.coronerstories.com/2005/02/28/the-trouble-with-hollywood-part-iii/#comment-50 Lori Thu, 03 Mar 2005 15:28:46 +0000 /?p=17#comment-50 "It was Miss Scarlet - in the study with the rare,unique Persian rug" I love how tidy the shows wrap everything up - the logic just seems to flow towards the obvious guilty person although there is usually a twist - some emotionally guarded person with a secret to hide (that has nothing to do with the case) and the next thing you know - BAM! - the case is solved. Puh-lease - can we have a little more reality here? Unfortunately, many people believe the shows are what really happens inthe field and are clueless to the many different roles that forensics actually requires. Then again, I am probably the "odd" one of the population - growing up as the child of two police officers- I wasn't sheltered to the realities of crime scenes - and, as a chemist now, I know that instruments don't magically give you the answers when you put a vial in it. At least I feel as though I am the odd one - when we watch the shows and I start laughing during certain scenes while my family is intently watching and looking at me like I am strange. “It was Miss Scarlet - in the study with the rare,unique Persian rug” I love how tidy the shows wrap everything up - the logic just seems to flow towards the obvious guilty person although there is usually a twist - some emotionally guarded person with a secret to hide (that has nothing to do with the case) and the next thing you know - BAM! - the case is solved. Puh-lease - can we have a little more reality here? Unfortunately, many people believe the shows are what really happens inthe field and are clueless to the many different roles that forensics actually requires. Then again, I am probably the “odd” one of the population - growing up as the child of two police officers- I wasn’t sheltered to the realities of crime scenes - and, as a chemist now, I know that instruments don’t magically give you the answers when you put a vial in it. At least I feel as though I am the odd one - when we watch the shows and I start laughing during certain scenes while my family is intently watching and looking at me like I am strange.

]]> http://www.coronerstories.com/2005/02/28/the-trouble-with-hollywood-part-iii/#comment-48 Terri Poposky Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:46:17 +0000 /?p=17#comment-48 "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." Yes, I remember that. I think the prosecution should have allowed a person to put on his own glove with ease, and then again with a "struggle". I tried this myself and I think I did a pretty convincing job of making it look as though my own glove did not fit. As for the TV documentaries, I understand that they have time limitations that they have to work with, but perhaps it would be a good idea for them to reveal how long it took to solve the case, how many people were involved, how many pieces of evidence were admitted, etc. They could even make a chart to display this data at the end of every episode. At least it would be an attempt to give the viewers a more accurate impression of what really goes on. I watch these shows sometimes, and I read books by John Douglas and other profilers, but I am still aware that there can never be anything like actually DOING. Although I am not involved in crime scene analysis (I test drinking water), I am a chemist. Sometimes I chuckle while watching these shows because when they submit a sample to the laboratory for analysis, they make it look like they just pour something into a machine, and a perfectly accurate analysis of all the contents comes out of the printer 5 seconds later. Ha! “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Yes, I remember that. I think the prosecution should have allowed a person to put on his own glove with ease, and then again with a “struggle”. I tried this myself and I think I did a pretty convincing job of making it look as though my own glove did not fit. As for the TV documentaries, I understand that they have time limitations that they have to work with, but perhaps it would be a good idea for them to reveal how long it took to solve the case, how many people were involved, how many pieces of evidence were admitted, etc. They could even make a chart to display this data at the end of every episode. At least it would be an attempt to give the viewers a more accurate impression of what really goes on. I watch these shows sometimes, and I read books by John Douglas and other profilers, but I am still aware that there can never be anything like actually DOING. Although I am not involved in crime scene analysis (I test drinking water), I am a chemist. Sometimes I chuckle while watching these shows because when they submit a sample to the laboratory for analysis, they make it look like they just pour something into a machine, and a perfectly accurate analysis of all the contents comes out of the printer 5 seconds later. Ha!

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