Recommendations to Bring the Reality Closer to the Rhetoric

AuthorBibi Sangha/Kent Roach/Robert Moles
Pages403-413
CHAPTER
12
Recommendations
to
Bring
the
Reality
Closer
to
the
Rhetoric
We
hope
that
the
previous
chapters
have
established
that
there
is
a
large
gap
between
the
rhetoric
of
impartial
forensic
science
and
prosecutions
that
seek
the
truth
and
the
realities
of
flawed
forensic
science
and
prosecutions
that
have
been
marred
by
established
miscarriages
of
justice.
In
this
final
chapter,
we
propose
some
specific
reforms
that
are
designed
to
reduce
the
troubling
gap
that
has
emerged
between
the
aspirations
and
practice
of
forensic
science
and
the
criminal
justice
system.
As
suggested
in
Chapters
io
and
n,
reforms
must
be
pursued
both
at
the
front
end
by
the
forensic
science
community
and
at
the
back
end
by
the
legal
community.
Indeed,
each
of
these
communities
needs
to
better
understand
the
values,
methodologies,
and
limits
of
the
other.
We
do
not
pretend
that
the
recommendations
offered
below
are
the
only
possible
ones
or
that
they
are
a
panacea.
Nevertheless,
they
are
a
start.
A.
RESEARCH
AND
REVIEW
DEVELOPMENTS
IN
FORENSIC
SCIENCE
The
NAS
Report
and
other
reports
identify
certain
problem
areas
that
need
further
research.
One
area
that
has
caused
particular
concern
in
all
the
jurisdic
tions
examined
is
that
of
sudden
infant
deaths
and,
in
particular,
shaken
baby
i
National
Research
Council,
Committee
on
Identifying
the
Needs
of
the
Forensic
Sci
ences
Community,
Strengthening
Forensic
Science
in
the
United
States:
A
Path
Forward
(Washington,
DC:
National
Academies
Press,
2009)
[NAS
Report],
The
report
can
be
found
online:
.
www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228o91.pdf
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