Homicide, Forensic Science and Criminal Justice System - Coursework Example

The perpetuation of crime continues to get more complex due to the advancement of technology and therefore a new method of uncovering homicides needs to be adopted. Since time immemorial, scientists have continued to uncover ways and means to unravel crimes and murders that have for ages gone unresolved. Forensic science is not a new technology because for years people relied on autopsy reports to exactly determine the exact cause of death (Urquhart, 2003).

The role of the police is to carry out investigations and ensure that they present to the court the exact and best evidence. Homicides are not usually predictable and the police only get involved with the investigations after the occurrence of the crime. Making sense of bits and pieces of scattered evidence and drawing up a mental picture of how the crime occurred as well as questioning witnesses. In a society where every person is keen on having their rights protected collecting samples from victims and following crucial leads is difficult. Forensic databases and DNA samples are collected from crime scenes each year in order to ensure that in any subsequent homicide, samples can be compared to determine whether the homicide was committed by the same perpetrator.

Forensic evidence is as good as any other evidence adduced in a court of law. Prior to forensic evidence being admissible, the courts relied on oral evidence and witness statements to link a person to homicide as well as seek to disprove the facts and occurrence of a case. In complex case scenarios experts would be called to determine the real likelihood of the occurrence of an offense (Petherick, et al., 2010). However, forensic evidence acts as corroborative evidence to the prosecution’s case by proving the witnesses' testimony and placing the accused at the murder scene. In investigations in the UK involving homicides, forensic evidence is considered to be the best evidence in homicide cases where the case involved the identification of the perpetrator of the crime

Homicide has always plagued humanity since the time of creation and it has been met with an unequally unquenched thirst for finding the perpetrators of this crime. There are different factors that drive a person to commit this crime including; the biological makeup of an individual trying to ascertain their criminal tendencies. Cesare Lombros (1835-1909) sought to find the difference that exists between physical appearance and criminal tendencies in trying to establish criminological tactics.

It is material to state that there are numerous issues that trigger an individual to commit homicide. One of the factors is neuropsychological problems, as presupposed by Moffit (1997) that individuals with an aggressive background and who engaged in anti-social behavior as children are highly likely to engage in violent behavior. Socioeconomic disadvantages also fuel a person to commit murders due to poverty and high economic standards of living (Thornberry, 2005).

Homicide is a word used intermittently with murder which is a crime that is committed by a person with malice aforethought. Murder is committed when a person has the intention to kill or malice aforethought and in the USA a person who commits murder is liable to a death sentence (Sampson and Laub, 1993).