Archive for November 2010
SIX DANGEROUS MYTHS ABOUT ARSON
For many years fire investigators believed that they could use certain “burn indicators” to show that a fire was purposely-set instead of accidental. As a result, many people were sent to jail for arsons they never committed. The field has been modernized in recent years: arson investigations are more scientific than ever before. Nonetheless, several…
Read MoreARSON INVESTIGATIONS UNDER FIRE
Several weeks ago I wrote that CSI labs are not at all like they’re portrayed on TV. Revelations about shoddy practices are causing hundreds of convictions to be re-examined or overturned. Unfortunately, the same is true of arson investigations. A string of exposés of wrongful arson convictions in Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas and elsewhere has revealed…
Read MoreGYPSIES, VAGABONDS AND THE CURSE OF THE “OTHER”
These are tough times to be an outsider. Amid the panic of collapsing economies, France and Italy are deporting their gypsies, Americans are persecuting illegal immigrants, and German Chancellor Merkel has made it clear that Turkish workers would never truly be part of their adopted country, no matter how many generations their families had lived…
Read More