Elizabeth A. Murray
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Imagine being convicted of a crime you didn't commit and spending years behind bars. Since 1989 more than 1,400 Americans who experienced this injustice have been exonerated. Some of the people who have won their freedom include Ronald Cotton, who was falsely convicted of raping a college student; Nicole Harris, who was unjustly imprisoned for the death of her son; and intellectually disabled Earl Washington Jr., who was unfairly sentenced to death...
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About 4,000 unidentified deceased persons are discovered in the United States every year. But forensic experts are successful in identifying about 3,000 of those bodies within a year. In Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death, forensic anthropologist Dr. Elizabeth A. Murray takes readers into the morgues and forensic labs where experts use advanced technology to determine the identities of dead bodies whose names are not known because...
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Some true crimes reveal themselves in bits and pieces over time. One such case is the Florida School for Boys, a.k.a. the Dozier School, a place where-rather than reforming the children in their care-school officials tortured, raped, and killed them. Opened in 1900, the school closed in 2011 after a Department of Justice investigation substantiated allegations of routine beatings and killings made by about 100 survivors. Thus far, forensic anthropologist...
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Everyone dies... but what happens inside the human body when death occurs? What body systems are key for holding on to life? And what value does studying death have for those of us still living? Explore all of the answers with a forensic scientist who takes a look at the body's interconnected cellular systems and the links between life and death.
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Great Courses volume 29
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Dealing with human behavior is at the root of the legal system. Delve into forensic psychology and forensic psychiatry by studying the disturbing case of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Then look at how the criminal justice system evaluates insanity pleas, separating frauds from the genuinely mentally ill.
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Great Courses volume 20
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Focus on forensic evidence found at the Nazis' Buchenwald concentration camp, and how it was used at trial. Professor Murray discusses medical experimentation involving prisoners; introduces you to the allegations against the "Witch of Buchenwald"; and investigates claims of Nazi objects made of human tissue.
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Great Courses volume 14
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Learn how forensic investigators extract evidence from computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. Discover the importance of slack space on a hard drive, and review how GPS tracking solved one murder that ultimately led officials to link that killer to another murder over a decade earlier.
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Great Courses volume 10
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Learn how DNA profiling became the gold standard in both victim and perpetrator identification, even though humans have more than 99% of their DNA in common. Professor Murray discusses the landmark case in the United Kingdom that was the first to use DNA to convict a killer.
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Great Courses volume 23
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Study the science behind skeletons, learning how investigators read the clues in bones for signs of age, sex, ancestry, and trauma. Human skeletons vary widely, even in the number of bones in an individual. The standard textbook figure - 206 - is only an average.
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Great Courses volume 24
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The motives behind crimes haven't changed, but the methods and technologies used to solve them have. Conclude the course with a look at the history of three essential tools of forensic science that have revolutionized our ability to analyze and compare evidence and help bring criminals to well-deserved justice.
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Modern history is filled with terrible crimes, baffling hoaxes, and seedy scandals. The infamous Jack the Ripper slayings. The alleged survival of Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of the murdered Tsar. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's public fall from grace. The Chicago Tylenol poisonings and the copycat crimes that followed. Step into the world of forensic science and study the most fascinating crimes and mysteries from...
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Great Courses volume 12
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What does it take to successfully pull off a bank burglary, such as the 1972 United California Bank heist that, in its day, was the largest in U.S. history? How do law enforcement officials go about following the clues left behind to bring the robbers to justice? Professor Murray provides the (sometimes startling) answers right here.
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Great Courses volume 5
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Continue your study of the crime scene by looking at the importance of forensic photography and the marks made by shoes, tires, and textiles. Professor Murray describes a case in which crucial clothing impressions on a body showed a death was accidental.
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Great Courses volume 36
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One of the most emotionally satisfying aspects of Professor Murray's work is identifying deceased unknown persons, helping to bring answers to a victim's family. Finish your study of forensic science with examples of her work in this area, including a nearly 40-year-old cold case that she helped solve.
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Great Courses volume 24
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Forensic odonatologists are dentists trained to use their knowledge of teeth in two ways: to identify unknown persons and to interpret bite mark evidence on victims. Learn how dental patterns can be compelling evidence and led to the murder conviction of serial killer Ted Bundy in 1979.
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Great Courses volume 7
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In this lecture, plunge into the world of copycats, hoaxes, and false claims. As you learn how forensic analysts approach these issues, you'll relive some terrifying (and bizarre) true-life cases, including copycat Tylenol poisonings, syringes hidden in soda bottles, and the discovery of a confounding "missing link" between humans and apes.
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Great Courses volume 21
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Step into the morgue to understand why and how a forensic autopsy is performed. The purpose is to determine the cause and manner of death, and often to identify the victim. Much like exploratory surgery, no two autopsies are the same.
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Great Courses volume 21
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Meet some of the last century's infamous spies and learn how they were eventually uncovered. Fascinating cases here include those of William Sebold, a German spy for America during World War II; Mata Hari, one of history's most notorious female spies; and the recent case of Robert Hanssen, an FBI mole working for the KGB.
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Great Courses volume 22
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How do police use motive to track down kidnappers? What happens when kidnappings go wrong? Get the answers with historical examples including the Black September kidnapping of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and recent cases that illustrate how today's technology is helping thwart infant abductions.
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Great Courses volume 17
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Professor Murray reveals how forensics has shed light on the ways political assassins try to get away with murder. Along with the ricin poisoning of anti-Communist Georgi Markov and the shooting of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, consider the lingering forensic mystery of PLO leader Yasser Arafat's death in 2004.




