The Cotton Case Timeline
The victim of the sexual assault who made a conscious decision during the attack to memorize the perpetrator’s face.
Who is Jennifer Thompson?
The core concept central to understanding the limitations and importance of forensic science, illustrated by this lesson.
What is the fallibility of human memory and perception?
The full aim of this lesson is "The Case of Ronald Cotton: When Eyewitness ___ Fails."
What is Testimony?
This discipline is defined as the application of scientific methods and techniques to crime and law
What is Forensic Science?
The word "forensic" derives from this Latin term, which refers to a public place for debate and legal concerns
What is forum?
Frieren and Jujutsu Kaisen
Mr. Query Favorite Anime
The year Jennifer Thompson was sexually assaulted in her apartment, making this case a landmark example in forensic science education.
What is 1984?
This percentage represents Jennifer Thompson's certainty that Ronald Cotton was the attacker during court proceedings.
What is 100% certain/unwavering?
The sentence Ronald Cotton received for the crime based primarily on confident eyewitness testimony.
What is a life sentence?
The required task listed on the agenda for this specific lesson day.
What is a Binder Check?
He is credited with pioneering forensic toxicology and chemical tests for poisons in the early 1800s
Who is Mathieu Orfila?
Kakashi
Which leaf ninja has a run on sight order?
The scientific technology used in 1995 that offered objective, scientific evidence to re-examine the case.
What is DNA analysis?
This cognitive phenomenon played a crucial role in Thompson's identification, causing her memory to solidify around Cotton after her initial choice.
What is confirmation bias?
This became the cornerstone of the prosecution's case against Ronald Cotton and was found compelling by the jury.
What is Thompson's confident testimony?
The suggested activity in the first slide prompting students to consider how accurately they could describe a character and events from this medium.
What is the last movie you watched?
A forensic scientist’s primary duties include analyzing physical evidence, providing expert testimony, and writing these types of evaluations.
What are impartial reports?
Saturo Gojo
Who is the best character ever written that everyone loved who's creator hated because it was too perfect.
The man identified by genetic evidence as the actual perpetrator, whose DNA was later matched to the crime scene evidence.
Who is Bobby Poole?
This describes memory's nature, suggesting our brains actively rebuild memories each time we recall them, allowing for distortion.
What is reconstructive?
Ronald Cotton's release highlighted the critical importance of this type of evidence in correcting injustice.
What is forensic evidence (or science)?
The reflection point focusing on the necessity of intellectual quality in police work: "Reflect on why scientific ___ is essential in criminal investigations."
What is rigor?
He introduced the first forensic DNA typing method in 1985, which revolutionized criminal investigations
Who is Sir Alec Jeffreys?
Trash!
The Seven Deadly Sins
The approximate duration Ronald Cotton served in prison before being exonerated and released in 1995.
What is over eleven years?
These police actions can unintentionally influence witness identification, causing them to select the person who looks "most similar to their memory."
What are suggestive police procedures?
Cotton's story would inspire these types of changes in the legal system regarding procedure and handling of evidence.
What are reforms in criminal justice procedures?
The individual mentioned in the "Story of the Week" (unrelated to the Cotton case) who was found hanging from a tree in the middle of his university campus.
Who is Trey Reed?
This phenomenon, largely resulting from inaccurate media depictions of forensics, describes jurors’ unrealistic reliance on "high-tech" scientific methods, even when unnecessary
What is the CSI Effect?
This is a psychological phenomenon where Jennifer Thompson's memory of the attacker solidified around Ronald Cotton after her initial identification, making her testimony more certain over time.
What is confirmation bias?
This type of evidence is characterized as a "very flawed system" that may contain altered or fabricated memories, leading it to be considered among the most unreliable forms of evidence in investigations.
What is eyewitness testimony?
This process, facilitated by DNA typing methods invented by Sir Alec Jeffreys in 1985, uses definitive biological evidence to reverse convictions, notably overcoming the unreliability of eyewitness identification.
What is exoneration?
The name of the closing assignment listed in the lesson reflections that prompts students to review how the case changed their understanding of eyewitness testimony.
What is the Exit Ticket?
This core concept states that when two objects come into contact, a transfer of material occurs, meaning a criminal leaves something behind and takes something away
What is Locard's Exchange Principle?