oday, the word "forensics" has become synonymous with crime and crime scene investigation. Immediately conjuring images of crime labs, ultra violet lights and high-tech computers, popular crimes shows like CSI have brought increased attention to the field of forensic science. They've also generated newfound interest in forensics careers.

The term "forensic" comes from the Latin and means, simply, having to do with the law. Hence, any discipline that has any ties to the legal system is, in fact, forensic. This is why so many job titles within criminology, such as forensic psychologist, are preceded by the term.

With regard to forensic science, the term is now commonly understood to refer to the application of scientific principles to questions …show more content…
This is widely regarded as the first recorded autopsy.

The First Innocence Project Case?

Since the Roman model is the basis for our court and legal system today, it is fitting that it also provides the precedence for our interest in applying scientific principles in the examination of evidence. In the first century A.D., the Roman orator and jurist Qunitilian was able to show that bloody handprints left at the scene of a murder were meant to frame the defendant, an innocent blind man, for his own mother's murder.

As the Roman Empire declined in the west, forensic science remained fairly stagnant for the next millennium, did the applications of criminology and criminal justice.

The Beginning of Pathology

In thirteenth century China, the book Hsi Duan Yu (The Washing Away of Wrongs) was published and is considered to be the first known guide to pathology. The work describes, among other things, how to determine whether a victim drowned or was strangled as a cause of death. It also detailed how the criminal investigator identified the type of blade used in a murder by examining the corpse and how to determine whether a death was accidental or