Term Paper on "Forensic Procedure for Digging Up Mass Graves"

Term Paper 4 pages (1395 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

forensic procedure for digging up mass graves, such as the ones in Rwanda following the genocide there. The well-known forensic doctor William Haglund has worked in Rwanda unearthing mass graves that resulted from the genocide that took place there in the 1990s. The paper will also review the work of forensic anthropologists Karen Ramey Burns and Bill Blass.

In Rwanda, much nasty forensic work needed to be done after the killing of tens of thousands of people had ended. One of the forensic scientists whose task it was to locate and exhume bodies and bones from mass graves was Dr. William Haglund. He wrote a scholarly piece in the quarterly journal Historical Archaeology (excerpted in the journal Foreign Policy) in which he explained that first, a mass grave must be discovered. "...A trained archaeological eye can determine difference in vegetation, soil, and microtopography that indicate a ground disturbance," Haglund writes.

And a simple ice pick, or a screwdriver, can be used to check to see how "compacted the soil is; other times they may use an odor-detecting probe, sonar, or radar," Haglund continues. And once a suspected grave site is located, backhoes get involved; a cross-shaped trench is dug to determine the size of the grave; about five centimeters (deep) of soil should be scraped away at a time, all the while the scientists are looking for bones or clothing. Once a bone or any part of human remains is found, the backhoe operator is asked to dig a "deep trench around the perimeter of the grave," and the forensic archaeologists work from the outside of a site to the center, "rather than from the surface down," Haglund explains.

Brushes are used to locate bones so they can be dragged out of the pile by hand. Corpses are counted by "cranium, photographed, numbered, and transported in bags to an on-site morgue," the article continues. The evidence is labeled, secured in bags, and logged "...according to U.S. rules of evidence and U.N. guidelines." The work of forensic archaeologists - in terms of excavation skills at mass gravesites - is often more sophisticated than the skill level of forensic anthropologists, Haglund believes.

Dr. Karen Ramey Burns has been all over the world applying her skills in forensic anthropology. She has worked in "all areas of osteological analysis and human identification," she explains in her bio on the University of Georgia Web site. Her work has included identifying bodies in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

She has worked documenting war crimes in Iraq following the first Gulf War, she trained Guatemalan teams to correctly identify civil war victims during the 1990s, and has done forensic work in Haiti and in Colombia. In Colombia Burns is presently working with forensic anthropology teams coordinated with the group Equitas. This work is funded by human rights organizations, and involves using forensic anthropology as "the fundamental tool in the search for the disappeared and the clarification of their deaths."

Family members of missing persons are able to bring some degree of closure to their grieving when they are able to learn exactly where their loved one was killed and be able to provide respectful burial services to that person; in that sense, Burns is an active person in the world of humanitarian work.

Once an Equitas (with Burns on board) team locates a body, it is transported to a laboratory and a proper forensic analysis is conducted, "fully respecting the chain of custody," Burns writes in her biography.

Meanwhile, there are probably not very many better examples of how forensic anthropology has been successful in the United States than through the work of Dr. Bill Bass, the forensic anthropologist from the "Body Farm" in Tennessee. Bass has helped take forensic anthropology to a higher level, and help law enforcement apply it to the identification of bodies, how they died, how long they have been dead, and possibly why they died.

In fact, the memoir, Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales, is not for the person who is a little squeamish or sensitive to descriptive… READ MORE

How to Reference "Forensic Procedure for Digging Up Mass Graves" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Forensic Science Term Paper

This accuracy can be related to professionalism illustrated in forensic science, in the fields of dentistry or anthropology. Forensic science helps ensure there is accurate measurement undertaken as well as… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1394 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Forensic Accounting in Practice Research Paper

Forensic accountant must possess accounting skills, auditing skills, business skills, know investigative techniques, and have a clear understanding of human behavior. Each skill is applied to business operations and is… read more

Research Paper 5 pages (1557 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Accounting / Auditing

---

Forensic Anthropology Term Paper

Forensic Anthropology

In a general perception, forensic anthropology can be described as "the purpose of the theory and approaches of anthropology to forensic difficulties" (James and Nordby, 2006). More specifically,… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2469 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Anthropology / Culture

---

Forensic Accounting in Practice Research Paper

Forensic Accounting in Practice

Over the last several years, forensic accounting has been playing an important part in helping to detect and prevent fraud. This was in response to a… read more

Research Paper 3 pages (876 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA Topic: Accounting / Auditing

---

Forensic Evidence in Criminal Investigations Research Paper

Forensic Evidence in Criminal Investigations

This is a template and guideline only. Please do not use as a final turn-in paper.

The term forensic means, "relating to or dealing with… read more

Research Paper 5 pages (1843 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>