Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 48 | Issue 5 Article 14 1958 School of Police Administration and Public Safety, Michigan State University, The A. F. Brandstatter Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation A. F. Brandstatter, School of Police Administration and Public Safety, Michigan State University, The, 48 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 564 (1957-1958) This Criminology is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. ALICE IT. BRUES [Vol. 48 woman, become straight as a ruler in a studio pared shortly after the anthropologist receives the portrait; fortunately we had available also a skeleton) and will continue with other available snapshot, which though very poor for features in facts, including a description of facial features. general, told us what had happened to the nose Such a description is most accurately prepared by at the photographer's bench. Most snapshots do taking standard measurements of the facial skele- not rouse the anthropologist to much enthusiasm; ton and comparing them with averages available they are generally badly lighted, small in the orig- in published studies of various collections of inal, and grainy when enlarged. The only cure skulls, or of averages of measurements on the for their deficiencies is to obtain all possible, in living, with correction made for thickness of the the hope that features not apparent in one may soft parts. Such comparisons can be summarized be discernible in another. It should be noted also as "face longer than average, comparatively wide that in order to avoid bias, it is advisable, even in the forehead, narrow across the cheek bones, when indications are beginning to point rather especially narrow in the jaw". Add to this a certainly to one person, to present the anthropolo- comment on prominence (or lack of it) of nasal gist with photographs of more than one individual. bridge and of chin, and one or two other features This principle, well recognized in regard to face- that are distinctive, and you have presented a to-face identification, is sometimes forgotten by picture which will not only, in the passive sense, the investigator dealing with the less familiar screen out possibilities, but one which will actively problem of skeletal identification. The anthro- stimulate the memory of persons who have perti- pologist making an identification from such a nent information to report. line-up is relieved of the fear that he may be unduly influenced by suggestion and is able to CERTAINTY OF IDENTIFICATION make his judgement more comfortably and accu- A final and most difficult problem is to define rately. (Such a procedure will also sound a lot the certainty of an identification made from skele- better if related in court at a later date.) A pro- tal remains. The relative certainty of various cedure sometimes resorted to, when the necessity single factors, as age, sex, and height, has already arises of proving a skeleton-to-photograph identi- been considered. It should be remembered also fication to the skeptical, such as a jury, is to that correspondence in various different respects photograph the skull from an angle corresponding is cumulative in its significance. Diagnosis of sex to an available photograph, and then enlarge and eliminates half the human race from considera- superimpose the two pictures to show the corre- tion. Determination of height, even if allowance is spondence of skull and facial outlines. A classic made for maximum possible error, places an indi- of this method was published by Glaister and vidual as tall, medium, or short, thereby limiting Brash in 1937. This is an attractive technique of possibilities to one-third of the given sex or one- demonstration, but not generally used in prelimi- sixth of the population. Age determination, again nary study, since a person familiar with skulls can allowing a large leeway for inaccuracy, divides see the presence or absence of correspondence this group by five, leaving only one-thirtieth of without going through all the extra motions. the whole population as possibilities. Race, de- In cases where the identification is wide open pending on whether the diagnosis is of a majority with no likely candidates to be found from the or a minority group, again divides the remainder missing person files, it may become necessary to and eliminates a further percentage. Under opti- circulate some notice about the characteristics of mum conditions, therefore, (i.e., with no doubt of the individual for the attention of those who may sex, race, etc.) this process is extremely selective. have knowledge of missing persons not reported. In a case which goes through to the final stages: If no leads develop, a description may be put into i.e., actual matching of skull and skeleton with circulation through a news release, which will photographs and other records of a given individ- generally elicit several leads, (some of them con- ual, the positiveness of identification is a matter cerning individuals who are not very missing for the anthropoligist's own conscience. In most except insofar as they have eluded a spouse or cases a trained scientific worker will approach creditors). Such a description will include height, such a problem more cautiously and conserva- sex, age, and race (which have probably already tively than many persons called upon to make been publicized from the preliminary report pre- identifications for legal purposes. The nature of 19581 SKELETAL REMAINS personal identifications sometimes made and ac- cal jury. Yet the truest deterrent to any over- cepted as proof of death are appalling. Not un- confidence on the part of the anthropologist is commonly bodies which have been immersed in the thought that one of his "victims" may reap- water for long periods and nearly lost the sem- pear among the living. If one states that a man blance of humanity are "identified" by relatives; has robbed a bank, and he states that he has not, such identifications are really only on the basis of it can be dismissed as a difference of opinion; but clothing and other circumstantial evidence. If it is difficult t? controvert a man who states that any real doubt exists in such a case, it would be he is alive. I have not as yet been "haunted" in far better to reduce the body to a skeleton and this fashion. have it examined by the anthropologist. BIBLIOGRAPHY Many factors enter into the reliability of com- AsHLEY, G. T., The human sternum-influence of sex moner types of identification: whether the living and age on their measurements. JouR. FORENSIC person or the body is being identified; whether MEDiciNE, vol. 3, pp. 27-43, 1955. BRooxs, SHErLAGHr THOMPSON, Skeletal age at death: the person being identified has been recently seen the reliability of cranial and pubic age indicators. by the witness, and whether if time has elapsed, a AMER. JouR. Pnys. ANTH., vol. 13, pp. 567-598, 1955. change in weight has occurred also; and whether DREm, M. R. and KEEu, J. A., Identity: chapter the person was well known to the witness, known in MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE, by GORDON, TURNER, casually, or only seen once. Assuming that the and PRCsE, pp. 337-372. Edinburgh, 1953. GLAISTER, JOHN and BRAsH, J. C., MEDICO-LEGAL distinctiveness of features was average, I believe ASPECTS OF THE RUXTON CASE. Edinburgh, 1937. that my identification of a skeleton from good GLAISTER, JOHN, MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE AND ToxI- photographs would be at least as reliable as my COLOGY, Ninth edition, Baltimore, 1950. HUNT, EDWARD E. JR. and GLEISER, I., The estima- identification of a fresh body of a person seen tion of age and sex of preadolescent children from once recently, of one known casually at some time bones and teeth. AMER. JouR. PHys. A rTH., vol. 13, pp. 479-488, 1955. in the past, or of one known well in the past but HtRntE, V. 0., Standards of variation in the eruption who has suffered a change in weight during the of the first six permanent teeth. CwnLD DE-VMLOP- intervening time. In certain respects-i.e. that the mENT, vol. 19, pp. 213-231, 1948. KRAUS, BERTRAMt A., 1956. Personal communication. matching of skeleton with photographs is a com- KROGMAN, WILTON M., A guide to the identification parison of two things which can be objectively of human skeletal material. FBI LAw ENFoRCE- checked and rechecked against one another, rather MENT BULLErN, vol. 8, pp. 1-29, 1939. PONS, JOSE, The sexual diagnosis of isolated bones of than involving a memory or mental image which the skeleton. HUMAN BIOLOGY, vol. 27, pp. 12-21, can be affected by suggestion-the skeletal identi- 1955. fication is perhaps preferable. P IuNSLOo, I., The identification of skeletal remains. JouR. FORENSIC MEDICINE, vol. 1, pp. 11-17, 1953. In actuality the identification of a skeleton SINGER, RONALD, Estimation of age from cranial rarely becomes a crucial point in court. Stewart, suture closure. A report on its unreliability. JouR. FORENSIC MEDICINE, vol. 1, pp. 52-59, 1953. who for years has handled material referred to the SNow, CHARLES E., The identification of the unknown F.B.I., says that he has appeared in court only war dead. AMER. JOUR. PHys. AN'H., vol. 6, pp. three times, twice merely to state that frag- 323-326, 1948. STEwART, T. D., Medico-legal aspects of the skeleton.