Innisfil student goes far with speech on Forensic Science

The following is a speech written and performed by Lauren Singh of Innisfil central Public School. She received 98% on her speech and is moving onto further competitions. Her speech is on Forensic Science.

On the night of December 7, 1982, Debbie Carter, a 21 year old cocktail waitress wa working at the Coachlight Bar in Ada, Oklahoma, serving drinks and watching the clock. It was a slow night...the Coachlight began closing at 12:30am.

Several people saw Debbie in the parking lot heading to her car. A young man approached her and she pushed him away, got into her car and drove away...alone!

As Debbie climbed the narrow staircase to her garage apartment, she felt uneasy. She fumbled for her keys, quickly opened her door, and safely locked it behind her.

What she needed was a long, quiet bath to wash away the smoke from her hair and the alcohol that seemed to permeate her skin. As she climbed into the inviting warm water, she smiled contentedly...

She never heard the breaking glass or the creaking sound of her apartment door being opened.

Mrs. hall and fellow students, no greater stride has been mad e in the field of crime investigation in the last 20 years than forensic science.

When no-one knows and the crime is hidden, let the evidence reveal the truth.

When Charlie Carter saw his daughter's body on the floor he called her name twice. he knelt beside her and gently lifted her shoulders so he could see her face. He was certain his daughter was dead, but he waited anyway, hoping for some sign of life. When there was none, he stood slowly.

How he wanted to stroke her face, hold her in his arms.

But Debbie was no longer his daughter...she was a body of evidence...and her little apartment had become a violent crime scene. He slowly backed out of the room...called 911 on his celphone.

At the landing of her staircase he fell to his knees, vomited and cried like he had never cried before.

Forensic Science covers the different techniques used to analyze a variety of crimes, sectioned in a logical order.

The Scene of the Crime: Perhaps it may seem as though forensics always revolves around the laboratory. This is true, but one should not underestimate the importance of what takes place at the crime scene itself.

The Autopsy: Examination of the body after death, the autopsy is performed by a coroner and reveals aspects as the cause of death, the type of weapon or weapons used, if any, and the time of death.

The identity: When there is a corpse, identifying the victim is easy...when the corpse has decayed, forensic science employs facial reconstruction, DNA matching, dental matching and blood analysis.

Tracing the evidence: Evidence constitutes the most important factor in determining a just verdict. The various analysis to deduce the truth from an item of evidence range from analysis of blood stains to that trace of evidence using various lights, chemicals and other substances found at the scene of a crime.

The weapon: Holds important evidence in terms of fingerprints, motive and the origin of the murder.

The suspect: Can be narrowed down by DNA, psychological profiling, fingerprinting, hand writing analysis, violence evidence and sub-conscious evidence, which includes poly-graph tests. body language and more.

The only thing worse than the regret of committing a murderous crime and being imprisoned for life because of it...is being wrongly convicted for a crime you did not vomit and being sentenced to death as a result of it.

The young man accused of assaulting and killing Debbie Carter...a true case...spent over 12 years on death row. In Oklahoma, you can be put to death by lethal injection for committing a murder... for a crime they did not commit.

Forensic evidence, unavailable at the time of their arrests, exonerated them. The evidence revealed it was not their DNA - blood, saliva, sweat and hair that was found on the victim. It was the same science used to convict her true killer some 17 years after the murder.

Forensic science impartially identifies a killer. It is a science that requires extensive education, field training, patience and a vast array of equipment. We should be very grateful to science, the judicial system and all its related departments that bring the true criminal to justice.

Forensic science - when no one knows, and the crime is hidden, let the evidence reveal the truth.