Page 11 - Evidence Inspection & Documentation - AFI-LLC Newsletter August 2021

Evidence Inspection & Documentation - AFI-LLC Newsletter August 2021

News From Around Our Profession
We are dedicated to sharing important news from clients, colleagues and friends
about the news - good and bad - from and about our profession. Our thanks to all
who help contribute. Feel free to email us with any news you have about you, your
agency, your association, and others...

Is Your Agency or Association Offering Webinars or News to Share?
Our agency is available to help you with various topics, and marketing!
If you, or your association, is offering continuing education webinars or events –
we are glad to contribute our own, and also share yours our newsletters.

Ralph Blaine Smith – Free After 21 Years – Crime Never Happened
Ralph Blaine Smith wasn't weighed down by anger as he sat in an Ohio prison for 21 years for a Lancaster home-invasion
robbery that perhaps never occurred — even after learning that the prosecution withheld evidence suggesting that the
crime was staged.
-- continued at www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2021/07/04/evidence-withheld-fairfield-county-ohio-prosecutors-
leads-freedom-least-now/7841415002/

When this article first came across our news search feed, there was no PI credited to the article – except by the
defendant’s appellate attorney by reference. We did find this article, in which the PI was credited by name from the
attorney. Martin Yant of Ace Investigations in Columbus OH. The name is familiar to us, this is not Martin’s first freed
innocent case – going back to early 2012 he wrote an article for PI Magazine of another case, and we featured his blog
on that case in our March 2012 newsletter. When asked “Why are PIs important” – this is one of the many thousands of
innocent charged, convicted, and incarcerated reasons why. Thanks Martin – and to all who do this important work!

Martin first contacted us in early 2012 requesting to share Karen’s article on false confessions for Pursuit Magazine
(www.pursuitmag.com/dangers-false-confessions-and-accusations), which he included in his commentary about the use
of polygraphs to false confessions (www.wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2012/02/23/the-polygraph-and-false-
confessions/). We are honored to know Martin, and see his work for the wrongfully accused and convicted continue.

Limited Expert Testimony – Ballistics
This prosecution underscores the importance of consulting with a defense expert whenever the prosecution relies on a
forensic expert. Expert witnesses can provide vital testimony at trial to counter the prosecution expert’s opinions.
Defense experts can support a challenge to the admissibility of a prosecution expert’s testimony. Employing a defense
expert early in the case can assure that juries never hear harmful opinions that amount to improper speculation.
-- continued at https://blog.expertpages.com/expertwitness/california-court-limits-admissible-testimony-of-ballistics-
expert.htm

The Science Behind a Shell Casing
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) is a database that contains two-dimensional and three-
dimensional images of fired cartridge cases that have been gathered from crime scenes, as well as pictures of shell
casings submitted by law enforcement officials who test fire guns collected into evidence. As more local law
enforcement agencies participate in NIBIN, there are more images of shell casings submitted, increasing the chances of
finding a match for a certain crime.
-- continued at www.koaa.com/news/deep-dive/the-science-behind-a-shell-casing-how-the-fingerprint-of-a-gun-can-
solve-crimes

Firearm Identification in the Forensic Science Laboratory
The tool surfaces represented here involve one or more of the following: the interior of the barrel, the chamber, parts of
the action, and ammunition magazine components. These surfaces of the firearm can produce toolmarks on fired and
unfired ammunition components.
-- continued at www.crime-scene-investigator.net/firearm-Identification-in-the-forensic-laboratory.pdf

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