Following are articles published by the National Institute of Justice
Child Trauma: Determining Accidental Injury From Intentional Abuse
NIJ has funded academic institutions and medical examiners’ offices to research the determination of intentional versus accidental trauma in infants and children.
The Daunting Task of Strengthening Medical Examiner and Coroner Investigations Across Hundreds of Jurisdictions
After a five-year fact-finding mission, a multi-agency working group has identified a host of problems in the U.S. medical examiner/coroner system, but solutions remain elusive.
The Effects of Temperature on Blowfly Colonization of Decomposing Human Bodies
Development of blowflies on a body is a standard forensic measure of time since death, but temperature variations can alter that development and mislead investigators.
Improving Bruise Detection with Alternate Light
The Value of Nonhuman Animal Models in Forensic Decomposition Research
Scientific inquiry into the process of decomposition has studied a wide range of mammals and developed a fundamental understanding of the stages of decomposition, but forensic scientists should use caution in applying nonhuman data to human bodies.
Quantifying Error Rates for the Measurement of Human Skeletal Remains
In response to the National Academy of Sciences’ call for scientific data to support forensic evidence, researchers revised forensic anthropology procedures to include an “error metric” for the measurement of human skeletal remains.
Understanding Blow Fly Genetic Variation May Reduce Error Rates in Time of Death Estimates
Applying Carbon-14 Dating to Recent Human Remains
Measuring carbon-14 levels in human tissue could help forensic scientists determine age and year of death in cases involving unidentified human remains.