Ethics of Identification & Missing Persons Investigations

Question 1

What is a cold case?

Answer 1

Unsolved investigation - remains open pending the discovery of new evidence

Question 2

What was the Stoney Creek cold case?

Answer 2

Great aunt died of natural causes
Buried in park, niece continued collecting pension cheques
Charged and served her time
Body never found

Question 3

What is a historical case?

Answer 3

Usually 75 + years, based on lack of prosecutable suspect

Question 4

Explain the Friedrich Berger case

Answer 4

Nazi concentration camp guard
found, convicted and deported in Feb 2021
Oldest criminal conduct ever proven against a defendant in court by prosecutors in US
75 years later at 96 years old

Question 5

What is an archaeological case?

Answer 5

Pre-era of written record
Never forensically significant

Question 6

How were the residential school graves found?

Answer 6

Ground penetrating radar

Question 7

How do you begin identifying subadults?

Answer 7

MNI and NISP
minimum number of individuals (4118)
Number of individual specimens present (4118+)
Very difficult with children

Question 8

How much information can be gleaned about subadults’ age? Stature? Ancestry? Sex? What further complicates things?

Answer 8

Age: Manageable
Stature: Manageable but misleading
Ancestry: Known
Sex: difficult
Plus:
lack of comperanda
lack of records
lack of kin

Question 9

What information can we get from the bones of residential school victims?

Answer 9

Chronic child abuse, including poor healing
Malnutrition (Harris lines)
Chronic illnesses (tuberculosis)

Question 10

Who should be prosecuted for the residential schools?

Answer 10

Staff, church admin, federal government

Question 11

How is the church impeding justice for residential school victims?

Answer 11

Withholding records, citing historical innacuracies
No apology or accountability from Catholic Church
Concern that records/documents are going to be destroyed before proper investigation

Question 12

Why are church records important in the prosecution of residential school perps?

Answer 12

Will show:
Who were Canadian school officials
Who is still alive to be prosecuted
Who have passed away
Who are still active church officials

Question 13

What is the apology act?

Answer 13

Apologies made by a person does not necessarily constitute an admission of guilt.
Humane, empathic impulses no longer can be used against you

Question 14

Why can legal apologies be referred to as “cunning strategies”

Answer 14

May seem genuine and honest but actually a combo of lawyering and acting.
After an expression of sympathy, a low-ball offer is made.
Victims think they’re getting heartfelt repentance - actually a negotiation disguised as an apology.

Question 15

What factors can influence experience and expression of remorse?

Answer 15

Psychiatric symptoms

Question 16

How can a defendant apologizing affect their courtroom experience?

Answer 16

Judged more favourably.
Perceived as less likely to recidivate.
More likely to receive lenient punishments.
Convincing remorse may affect sought damages.
Apology as an alternative to purely monetary reparations.