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mariacallous · 3 months ago

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There are more than 114,000 missing persons in Mexico, and that number is continuing to rise. Criminal violence in the country is at a record level, largely driven by gangs and drug cartels. Many of those missing are buried in clandestine graves all across the country.

To contribute to the solution of this complex problem, a group of scientists from the Center for Research in Geospatial Information Sciences (CentroGeo) put technology and data analysis at the service of the searches.

"I never thought I would have to work on this, but if this knowledge is of any use, now is the time to show it," says José Luis Silván, a geographer at CentroGeo. Years ago, as part of his doctoral work, he specialized in measuring forest biomass and human populations through satellite information. At that time, he was far from imagining the scientific work he is doing today: investigating the potential of drones, hyperspectral images, and protocols to detect clandestine graves.

In a recent article published in the International Journal of Forensic Research and Criminology, Jorge Silván and researcher Ana Alegre insist that studying the geographical environment is very important to understand in depth a crime such as disappearance. Thus, “due to its context and diversity of climates, the case of Mexico may represent an opportunity for the development of investigations.”

Finding burials requires hard work. All available information and resources must be optimized. Therefore, scientists have evaluated the use of remote sensing tools and have systematized information from previous findings. They seek to discover patterns in the behavior of the perpetrators and, with this, to find burials.

According to Red Lupa, 88% of the 114,000 cases of disappearances in Mexico occurred between 2000 and May 2024. 10,315 were registered in 2023, the most on record. This represents an average of 29 people per day. Jalisco, Tamaulipas, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon are the entities with the highest incidences.

Justice is almost non-existent, with 99% impunity for this crime. For this reason, since 2007 alone, civil society has formed more than 300 search groups, mostly made up of family members who scour the land guided by witness statements or organized in general brigades. These groups have detected most of the 5,696 clandestine graves reported on Mexican soil.

The association United for Our Disappeared searches in the north of the country, in Baja California. One of its members, who preferred to remain anonymous, has been searching for his son for 18 years. He says they have been using pointed rods to detect graves for more than 10 years. This is one of the most widely used tools in Mexico for this purpose. "We fit the rod in where we suspect the earth was removed, insert it, pull it out and smell it. If there are bone remains or tissue, you can tell by the smell. It is a strong odor, easy to detect. It smells like organic matter in the process of decomposition."

Before, he says, they used a georadar—a device similar to a pruning shear that detects inconsistencies in the ground—but they abandoned this practice because it was not very useful. The radar responds to almost any kind of object, from chips to boats. The last time they used it, it returned 40 suspicious spots, but none were positive. In Mexicali, another group uses a drone to fly over areas and detect changes in the terrain. Others have used machines to dig holes instead of shovels. Some innovations are abandoned over time, but the use of rods remains.

In 2014, after the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa normalistas in Mexico, Silván and other CentroGeo professionals joined the scientific advisory board on the case. During the search for the students, different civilian groups and government brigades detected dozens of illegal graves. In less than 10 months, the Mexican Attorney General's Office counted 60 sites and 129 bodies in the state of Guerrero. As a result of the raids, 300 illegal graves were revealed. Since then, the number of clandestine graves has only grown.

No one anticipated the size of this horror. The report "Searching between pain and hope: Findings of clandestine graves in Mexico 2020 - 2022", exposes with hemerographic data that in those two years, 1,134 clandestine graves were registered, with 2,314 bodies and 2,242 remains. In proportional terms, Colima reported the highest rate of illegal graves, with 10 per 100,000 inhabitants. It was followed by Sonora, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Sinaloa and Zacatecas.

By number of cases, Guanajuato, Sonora and Guerrero stand out. These three entities account for 42% of the records. By April 2023, a journalistic investigation by Quinto Elemento Lab reported that the number of illegal burials reached 5,696 clandestine graves, and that more than half of them were detected during the current federal administration.

Employing his field of study, remote sensing, José Luis Silván uses images captured with satellites, drones or airplanes, from which he extracts geospatial information using knowledge of the physics of light, mathematics and programming. Multispectral and hyperspectral images capture subsurface information using sensors that record wavelengths of light imperceptible to the human eye, making them useful for searching.

In 2016, during a first study by CentroGeo researchers, they simulated burials with pig carcasses to evaluate the potential of using hyperspectral cameras in searches and learn what information from the sensors was useful to them. The Mexican researchers knew from research in other countries that successful detection with these techniques depends, in part, on being able to recognize how carcasses (and their spectral images) change in different soils and climates.

The experiment was carried out on rented land in the state of Morelos. There they buried seven animals and evaluated the light reflected by the soil at different wavelengths for six months. They concluded that a hyperspectral camera, which provides more than a hundred layers of data, has the potential to detect clandestine burials, although the technique is only effective three months after burial. They tried to arrange for the acquisition of a camera and drone (valued at 5 million pesos) through the National Search Commission, but were unsuccessful.

Faced with this, they began to evaluate more affordable alternatives, such as multispectral devices. Today, despite the fact that spaces such as the Commission for the Search for Disappeared Persons of the State of Jalisco (COBUPEJ—-with which they have a partnership—has acquired this equipment, no national strategy exists to deploy these technologies systematically.

Some time later, the scientists took on a bigger challenge. When they briefed the National Search Commission on the usefulness of remote sensing for locating burials, officials told them that in some regions of the Northwest, the greatest need was to locate substances used to conceal crimes. "They dispose of them in caustic soda or with chemicals, char them and incinerate them in the open air or in crematoria; they throw the remains away or bury them," the researcher says.

So, in 2021, Silván's group did another experiment, this time in Hidalgo and with a spectroradiometer, which measures how different substances reflect light. For that study, they tested the trace of substances used in crimes. They found that diesel, muriatic acid and blood treated with anticoagulants require more precise imaging to be located, but that most substances, such as caustic soda, lime, blood and those resulting from open burning could be detected with multispectral sensors, which are less expensive.

CentroGeo has also participated in the development of complementary strategies to identify areas with a high probability of harboring clandestine graves. One example is the training of mathematical models with the coordinates of previous findings and the characteristics of the sites preferred by criminals, which they call clandestine spaces and which define as those which are easy to access for perpetrators and of low visibility to the population.

In addition, they have been using the signs that decomposing bodies leave on the vegetation for years. As a corpse decomposes, it releases nutrients into the soil, in particular increasing the concentration of nitrogen. In plants, this element is linked to chlorophyll, which gives them their greenness. In experiments with buried pigs, they have observed that a chlorophyll indicator can be quantified through satellite images. They measure how fast this index grows to detect sites with anomalies. This tool is available on the "Clandestine Space" platform.

Silván says that to interpret the nitrogen signal, they must consider that the gas signal can also vary due to the use of fertilizers or rains that carry nutrients. The presence of nitrogen, then, is not definitive proof of the existence of trenches, but it provides indications that justify paying attention in certain regions. The National Search Commission has been trained to use this indicator.

In Baja California, a northern state with 17,306 missing persons cases, these strategies have already been used. They first analyzed 52 locations of known graves and deduced that, because of the way they were distributed, there was a high probability of finding more graves at a distance of between 18 and 28 kilometers from those already known. They also looked for possible "clandestine spaces" and identified that 32% of the territory of Baja California had the potential to be used for that purpose. Finally, they reviewed the concentration of chlorophyll in satellite images. The result was a useful accompaniment for some family brigades.

Recently, Ana Alegre and José Silván analyzed geospatial models that could explain the distribution of graves in 10 states. They found that the travel time it would take an offender to get from urban streets to the grave is the factor that most influences the location of graves. "The secrecy sought by perpetrators seemed less important than reducing the effort they invest in creating the grave," their article says.

In addition to collaborating with the government, CentroGeo researchers work with civil associations such as Regresando a casa Morelos and Fuerzas unidas por nuestros desaparecidos en Nuevo León (FUNDENL). Some time ago, the former asked them to survey a site. "We collected thermal images and three-dimensional models to provide information," says Silván. In addition, they gave a workshop for visual interpretation. Silván describes the members of "Returning Home Morelos" as dedicated people. "They want to find their loved ones, they are willing to learn anything, to analyze an image or fly a drone. To everything."

With information from the FUNDENL collective and support from the American Jewish World Service, CentroGeo created "Huellas de vida", a platform that crosses the information of unfound persons and unidentified bodies with data from objects found in clandestine burial sites in Nuevo León. The intention is to detect coincidences that will help solve cases.

The geographer points out that the investigation is advancing, while the forms and numbers of disappearances are multiplying. Other countries, he says, are installing ground penetration radars on drones, or are planning to use electronic noses as indicators of methane, an element that corpses release at a certain stage of decomposition. To search for missing persons from the Spanish Civil War, for example, patterns in geographic data were tracked to narrow down search sites.

The big pending issue is to evaluate the real contribution that geographic information has had in uncovering crime scenes. "It is complicated to have feedback, even with the National Commission, because they are not obliged to tell us where they have findings." It will be until they have the new reports when they will be able to collate the results and measure the impact of their contributions. For now, "it is complicated to attribute the findings to our tools and information".

For his part, the member of United for our Disappeared assures that the search groups are the ones who have found most of the clandestine graves currently located. The usual thing, he says, is that the governments do not have departments for this work and only search when they have declarations that oblige them to do so. With the collectives it is different, because "we receive anonymous information, and even if we have no information, we still schedule searches and go out".

Finding graves is the beginning of another loss. When they have reason to excavate, they use picks and shovels and, if they find human remains, the authorities (who usually accompany them) cordon off the area and proceed with their work. If they are not present, they call them. "From there, many times we don't know what's going on, we don't get feedback from the authorities. We say that the person we found is lost again." The problem is general, "the collectives complain that people get lost in the bureaucratic process". In few cases, they say, the Prosecutor's Office restores the identity of the disappeared.

While technology is integrated into the systematic searches, collectives such as United for our Disappeared ask society to share the information they have on missing persons. "We only want to find them, all the information that reaches the collectives is anonymous," says the interviewee whose identity we reserve. The authorities have accepted this, he assures.

For his part, José Silván comments that, as a result of the collaboration with COBUPEJ and other institutions, they are about to publish a book to disseminate techniques for the detection of graves that they tested during their work.n de fosas que probaron durante un año en dos sitios de inhumación controlados en Jalisco, así como otras experiencias recogidas a nivel nacional a través de la ciencia ciudadana que hacen las madres buscadoras. The book is entitled Interpreting Nature to Find Them and is coordinated by Tunuari Chavez, head of the COBUPEJ context unit, and Jose Silvan under the direction of commissioner Victor Avila.

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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The Bezzle excerpt (Part IV)

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT in SALT LAKE CITY (Feb 21, Weller Book Works) and TOMORROW in SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix and more!

This week marks the publication of my latest novel, The Bezzle, and to celebrate, I'm serializing an excerpt from Chapter 14 in six parts:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

The Bezzle is a revenge story, a crime novel, and a technothriller. It stars Martin Hench, a hard-fighting forensic accountant who specializes in unwinding high-tech scams. Hench made his debt in last year's Red Team Blues (now in paperback!); The Bezzle is a standalone followup:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865854/redteamblues

The serial tells the tale of Stefon Magner, AKA Steve Soul, a once-famous R&B frontman whose disintegrating career turned to tragedy when his crooked manager forged his signature on a rights assignment contract that let him steal all of Stefon's royalties, which ballooned after modern hiphop artists discovered his grooves and started buying licenses to sample them. The first three installments related the sad circumstances of Stefon's life, and the real-world analogues (like Leonard Cohen and George Clinton, both of whom were pauperized by sticky-fingered managers) as well as one real-world countermeasure, copyright termination, a thing that more artists should know about and use:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/26/take-it-back/

Today's installment weaves in a major subplot for the first time in the serial: Los Angeles's notorious, murderous Sheriff's Deputy gangs. These are another unbelievable true tale: for decades, the LASD's deputies have formed themselves into criminal gangs, some of which require that initiates murder someone to be inducted:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LASD_deputy_gangs

They sport gang tattoos, have secret signs, and run vast criminal enterprises. This has been the subject of numerous investigative press reports, and one extensive official report that called the gangs "a cancer":

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deputy-gangs-cancer-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department-scathing-re-rcna73367

The sordid tales of the LASD gangs beggar belief. For example, deputies in charge of LA County jails forced inmates to pit-fight and took bets on the outcomes:

https://www.aclu.org/publications/report-cruel-and-usual-punishment-how-savage-gang-deputies-controls-la-county-jails

The taxpayers of LA have shelled out tens of millions of dollars to settle claims against LA's criminals with badges:

https://news.yahoo.com/deputies-accused-being-secret-societies-230851807.html

Periodically, LA judges and officials will insist that they are tackling the problem:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-17/dozens-of-lasd-deputies-ordered-to-show-suspected-gang-tattoos-reveal-others-who-have-them

But at every turn, the LA police "unions" manage to crush these investigations:

https://abc7.com/los-angeles-county-lasd-deputy-gangs-cliques/13492081/

And top cops are right there with them, insisting that these aren't "gangs" – they're just "subgroups":

https://lapublicpress.org/2024/01/former-la-sheriff-villanueva-sheriffs-gangs-are-just-subgroups/

It's very weird being an Angeleno and knowing that one of the largest, most militarized, best funded police departments in the world has been openly captured by a hyperviolent crime syndicate. When I was in the Skyboat Media studios last December with Wil Wheaton recording the audiobook for The Bezzle, Wil broke off from reading to say, "You know, someone's going to read this and google it and have their mind blown when they discover that it's real":

https://sowl.co/8nyGh

That's one of my favorite ways to turn literature into something more than entertainment. It's why I filled the Little Brother books with real-world surveillance, cryptography and security tech, giving enough detail to advance the plot and give readers an idea of what search terms would let them understand and use the concepts in the novel. That's something I'm happy to keep up with the Hench novels, unpicking the inner workings of scams and corruption. The more of us who are wise to this, the sooner we'll be able to get rid of it.

Here's part one of the serial:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease

Part two:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination

Part three:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/20/fore/#lawyer-up

And now, onto part four!

The last of the boxes had been shelved.

Benedetto rose from his chair. “Thank you, gentlemen,” he said to the movers, and dug a roll of twenties out of his pocket and handed each of them two of their own. He turned to me as they filed out. “You wanna get sushi? The place next door is great.”

The empty storefront was in a down-at-heels strip mall in Eagle Rock. On one side, there was a Brazilian jujitsu studio that never seemed to have any students training in it. On the other side was Sushi Jiro, name on a faded sign with half its lightbulbs gone. Beyond that was a vaping store.

“The place next door is good?”

He laughed. “You San Francisco motherfuckers got terrible LA restaurant radar. Put Sushi Jiro in the Mission and it’d have a Michelin star and a six-month waiting list. Here it’s in a strip mall and only the locals know how good it is. Bet you never had a decent meal in this town, am I right?”

“I’ve had a few,” I said, “but I admit my track record isn’t great.”

“Let’s improve it.”

The sushi was amazing.

Inglewood Jams had the kind of books that were performatively bad, designed to foil any attempt at human comprehension.

But whoever cooked them was an amateur, someone who mistook complexity for obfuscation. Like cross-referencing was a species of transcendentally esoteric sorcery. I don’t mind cross-referencing. It’s meditative, like playing solitaire. I had Benedetto send over some colored post-it tabs and a big photocopier with an automatic feeder and I started making piles.

One night, I worked later than I planned. Sushi Jiro was becoming a serious hazard to my waistline and my sleep-debt, because when your dinner break is ten yards and two doors away from your desk, it’s just too damned easy to get back to work after dinner.

That night, I’d fallen into a cross-referencing reverie, and before I knew it, it was 2 a.m., my lower back was groaning, and my eyes were stinging.

I straightened, groaned, and slid my laptop into my bag. I found my keys and unlocked the door. The storefront was covered with brown butcher’s paper, but it didn’t go all the way to the edge. I had just a moment to sleepily note that there was some movement visible through the crack in the paper over the glass door when it came flying back toward me, bouncing off my toe, mostly, and my nose, a little. I put my one hand to my face as I instinctively threw myself into the door to close it again.

I was too late and too tired. A strong shoulder on the other side of the doorframe pushed it open and I stumbled back, and then the guy was on me, the door sighing shut behind him on its gas lift as he bore me to the ground and straddled my chest, a move he undertook with the ease of much practice. He pinned my arms under his knees and then gave me a couple of hard hits, one to the jaw, one to the nose.

My lip and nose were bleeding freely and my head was ringing from the hits and from getting smacked into the carpet tiles over concrete when I went down backward. I struggled—to free my arms, to buck off my attacker, to focus on him.

He was a beefy white guy in his late fifties, with watery dark eyes and a patchy shave that showed gray mixed in with his dark stubble. As he raised his fist for another blow, I saw that he was wearing a big class ring. A minute later, that ring opened my cheek, just under the orbit of my eye.

Apart from some involuntary animal grunts, I hadn’t made a sound. Now I did. “Ow!” I shouted. “Shit!” I shouted. “Stop!” I shouted.

He split my lip again. I bucked hard but I couldn’t budge him. He had a double chin, a gut, and he was strong, and used that bulk to back up his strength. It was like trying to free myself from under a boulder. That kept punching me in the face.

The strip mall would be deserted. Everything was closed, even the vaping store.

Shouting wouldn’t help. I did it anyway. He shut my mouth for me with a left. I gagged on blood.

He took a break from punching me in the face, then. I think he was tired. His chest heaved, and he wiped sweat off his lip with the back of his hand, leaving behind a streaky mustache of my blood.

He contemplated me, weighing me up. I thought maybe he was trying to decide if I had any fight left in me, or perhaps whether I had any valuables he could help himself to.

He cleared his throat and looked at me again. “Goddammit, I messed your face up so bad I can’t tell for sure. I hope to fuck that you’re Martin Hench, though.”

Even with my addled wits, this was an important piece of intelligence: he came here for me. This wasn’t a random act of senseless Los Angeles street violence. This was aimed at me.

I was briefly angry at Benedetto for not warning me that Chuy Flores was such a tough son of a bitch. Then I had the presence of mind to lie.

“I don’t know who the fuck this Mark Hendricks is.” My voice was thick with gargled blood, but I was proud of Mark Hendricks. Pretty fast thinking for a guy with a probable concussion. The guy slapped me open-handed across the face, and as I lay dazed for a moment, he shifted, reached into my back pocket for my wallet, and yanked it—and the seat of my pants—free. Before I could react, his knees were back on my biceps, pinning my arms and shoulders. It was a very neat move, and fast for an old guy like him.

He flipped my wallet open and squinted at it, then held it at arm’s length, then smiled broadly. He had bleach-white teeth, a row of perfectly uniform caps. Los fucking Angeles, where even the thugs have a million-dollar smile.

“Shoulda sprung for botox,” I slurred.

His grin got wider. “Maybe someday I will. Got these in trade from a cosmetic dentist I did some work for.” He dropped my wallet. “Listen, Martin Hench, you stay the fuck away from Thames Estuary and Lawrence Coleman.”

“It’s Lionel Coleman,” I said.

“What the fuck ever,” he said. He labored to his feet. I stayed still. He looked at me from a great height, and I stared up his nostrils. Without warning, he kicked my ribs hard enough that I heard one of them crack.

“You’ve been told,” he said to my writhing body, and let himself out.

ETA: Here's part five!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#poacher-turned-keeper

#pluralistic #the bezzle #martin hench #marty hench #red team blues #fiction #crime fiction #crime thrillers #thrillers #technothrillers #novels #books #royalties #wage theft #creative labor

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welcome-to-green-hills · 11 months ago

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What’s the difference between an anthropologist and an archaeologist? 😃 And what do archaeologists do when they’re not digging at excavation sites?

Oooh! Okay!❤️🤩❤️

An anthropologist is a scientist who studies human beings. The ask questions like, “what makes us human?” And “How can we define ourselves as human?”

We ask these questions through four (or five if you want to get technical) categories:

Linguistics

Cultural and Social Development

Biology

Archaeology (ME!)

and Applied Anthropology

Linguistics pretty much answers how languages not only changed through time, but how they’ve influenced culture and changes in society. It’s pretty common to have Linguistic Anthropologists work in a language lab where they play with words all day. They also make it a point to connect language with reading. If you ever talk to a linguistic anthropologist, ask them about cranial cap ripples.

Biological anthropologists help with the biological and organic portion of humans and nonhumans. You get primatologists (primates), forensic experts, retired doctors, paleontologists (human evolution), molecular scientists, and those that practice alternative methods of medicine. If you ever meet a biological anthropologist, as them how many ways to Sunday you can study teeth.

Cultural Anthropologists is very open in interpretation. I say that because it’s always advancing in its field with new discoveries every day. Cultural anthropologists study social groups. They immerse themselves in artwork, written/spoken literature, music, humanities, material goods, women’s rights, gender and sexuality. and social engagement. Kinda like how it’s a Tumblr norm to say, “I like your shoelaces. Thanks, I got them from the president.” They learn behaviors and manners, physical and non-physical telling of what makes that society function. If you ever meet a cultural anthropologist, ask them what their favorite cultural greeting.

Archaeology is a field in anthropology that’s commonly classified as a “historical science.” We use the scientific method to answer questions about the past and continuously ask “why?” We’re not Indiana Jones, many of us frown upon the comparison. We’re environmentally conscious of what we do when looking through historical records and digging at different sites. You need an understanding of history, linguistics, biology, and cultural practices for what site you work at. When archaeologists aren’t digging, they’re considered “shovel bums.” They travel around from one agency to the next (if they’re freelance) and dig year-round. We practically live out of a suitcase. I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m not a shovel bum. I’ve made my archaeological work through museums and conservation labs.

Applied Anthropology is a newer branch in anthropology. They ask the question, “now what!?” They look for practical solutions. They question a bit more and ask, “now what do we do? How can we make this more efficient for humans?” If you ever meet someone in this field, ask them their stance on Cyber-Anthropology (I.E., video games, AI, robots). You’ll get a mixed bag, but you might come out wiser.

SAPIENS.ORG is an anthropological magazine that’s designed for anthropologists, as well as those who are learning/interested in the field. Free subscription. Scope them out if you’re interested! And know that I’m always up for chatting about it here. I know that I’ve gotten some DMs from y’all wanting to know more about it. Know that my inbox is open.

#I hope this helped you my dear #mystery anon #off topic #I am an anthropologist #I am an archaeologist

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paramoira · 4 months ago

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@myersbprd

variables.

her parents and uncle kadir had always taught her to look at context clues to unravel the truth of the past, the truth of a people, the truth of society (at least when her parents had been around). one couldn’t ascertain what had befallen a lost city in the jungle from a single piece of broken pottery or bone or understand the social dynamics that resulted in finding two distinctly different artifacts from two warring tribes within the same ruined household buried under a mountain of dirt. you had to investigate, you had to look at the ruins as a whole, the uncovered weaponry, the uncovered art, and chemical residue from the clay pots unearthed that held traces of foods from the other side of the country (even if it hadn’t been that country at all back then). you had to look into what’d happened on that side of the land too, consult geologists that helped support, through their own independent research, the theory that a geologic event caused an ancient migration that forced two societies to merge into one.

it was much the same thing investigating how the dead became that way. one in her field didn’t just look at the body, though the primary and secondary causes of death were always important in the work of a forensic pathologist. but one had to examine a victim’s life, their medical records, speak to family at times. one had to understand how this person met their fate and what factors predisposed them to such. one sometimes had to understand the suspects too, the fact one favored one arm over the other and how that matched with the angle of a wound. it aided the investigation of detectives as they went about their side of the grind. though, dr. kalkan could readily admit her role these days has been drastically blurred. she’d seen things and learned since that fateful day with her mother that she'd have been hard pressed to understand prior-- even if she held a propensity as a child to come up with fantastic stories-- yet now, after having begun to aid the bprd from time to time she’d seen more than she ever had those few times she'd encountered her godfather's 'friends'. ariadne had ended up in the field too, something she’d never quite been officially trained for but when the body was going to dissolve into a pile of goop in an hour or the deceased in question had gotten up and moved to another location, you learned quickly to go with it.

given how nomadic her life had been at times, adaptability was certainly something she was used to.

so it’s variables which she takes into consideration as she works at the post mortem in the smaller theater of the medical examiners office in new jersey, leaving the larger one to her collages who weren’t privy to the work she did for the "fbi" . the local news had been discussing crude grave robberies for the past three weeks which rivaled what one would hear centuries before when medical students paid for cadavers in secret - no questions asked. (how many of those had been undead? she wonders morbidly.) there’d also been a rash of murders the press had dubbed with a sanguine moniker due to the lack of blood and viciousness of the attacks. most of them had come through this office, some had found themselves a jurisdiction over, and a few even crossing state lines into new york.

she imagines that’s what’d alerted the bprd once it flagged the fbi.

of course the bprd would get involved from there. once the independent pieces had started to come together and the last body she’d examined had decided to get up and grab her. john and a team had… dealt with it. that’d been yesterday, another body already fresh on her table– an escalation. the issue had become the fact that the actual or the normal part of the fbi had become involved in the case too and some kind of jurisdictional confusion had transpired despite the bprd's fbi cover until director manning had become involved. why she’d even been present when manning was having it out on the phone she wasn’t sure, it wasn't as if he really spoke to her anyway.

her mind drifts for a moment when she glances at the clock, wondering what devin might be thinking somewhere else in the building. so much was influx on that front even if the larger truths seemed to be aired out now (there had only been so much a person could take at once and ariadne figured throwing the supernatural into the mix of the whys of him leaving and her having her own ties to criminal figures wasn't the best idea in one night) and yet, here there were more secrets being thrown into the waters they were attempting to navigate because part of the office had been taken over by agents in suits blocking employees from the exam theater she'd been lead into with no explanation other than dr. kalkan was conducting classified work for them. not all agents had myers natural ability with people and words either.

regardless, dr. kalkan continues noting her findings to the blinking light of a camera feed, stating how the marks and her findings were consistent with the other bodies that had been found drained or nearly drained with blood. she queries aloud (the speaker in the gallery actively on) that if a strigoi (also known as a vampire) like the press was stirring the pot with allusions to had been responsible it seemed strange for any victims to still have blood if the goal had been to kill for sustenance. perhaps such a wild theory is just her unserious commentary given the newspaper reports, though it’s said with a seriousness. it wasn’t as if her co-workers would see this video.

only the bprd would.

she goes on to state that such findings were also consistent with the few bodies that had been stolen from the graveyard that pre-dated the more recent bodies. the ones that all evidence indicated, as she states, the same killer had caused those deaths and it had failed to be realized until their bodies had been reexamined. further, the brutality of the crimes appeared to be getting more extreme and frenzied.

“you can come down here now, agent myers. i’m about to put him on ice.” perhaps agent myers had some thoughts on what the true culprit was after listening to her findings. she was intelligent and knew a fair amount of about the paranormal, but she was still learning.

#thread; the grave killer #myersbprd #v; del toro timeline

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 9 months ago

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By: Matt Naham

Published: May 21, 2024

20-year-old woman completely made up story that ‘creepy’ man tried to rape her outside of supermarket, leading him to be wrongly jailed for a month: DA

A man spent a month in jail after being accused of attempting to rape and kidnap a woman in a Pennsylvania supermarket parking lot in April, but there’s just one problem, according to the district attorney: the accuser’s story was completely made up, and she admitted as much when cops confronted her.

The startling turn of events in Bucks County was announced Monday, as 20-year-old Anjela Borisova Urumova, identified as a Bristol Township resident, was charged for lying about the attack.

[ Anjela Borisova Urumova in a mug shot (Bucks County DA); the Redner’s supermarket parking lot (WPVI/screengrab) ]

DA Jennifer Schorn’s office said that Urumova falsely accused Daniel Pierson, 41, of pulling her pants down and striking her outside of a Redner’s supermarket in Middleton Township on April 16.

Pierson went on to face felony charges and spent exactly 31 days behind bars before charges were dropped last Friday and he walked free, the DA said, noting that neither surveillance footage nor Urumova’s iPhone corroborated her claims.

“As part of the investigation, Middletown Township Police collected and reviewed available surveillance video from multiple retailers in the area of the reported attack, and a detective with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office conducted a forensic review of Urumova’s cellphone data,” the DA’s office said. “The review led to the discovery of multiple inconsistencies and contradictory information with Urumova’s account of the attack at the Redner’s parking lot.”

Prosecutors said that police detectives as recently as Friday “confronted” Urumova and got her to admit that she fabricated the allegations.

“This investigation concluded that Urumova falsely reported an attack to police on April 16, and specifically targeted, and later identified, Pierson as her attacker,” the DA’s office added. “Urumova said she gave a description of his truck and identified him because she had seen him and the truck in the past[.]”

Local ABC affiliate WPVI reported that Urumova admitted she falsely accused Pierson because she’d seen him before and believed him to be “creepy.” The defendant further said that her claimed injuries stemmed from an incident with her grandmother, the report said. The complaint obtained by Law&Crime revealed even more about that.

“Her grandmother, who Urumova claimed suffered from dementia, did not recognize her as she entered the house and threw a plastic object at her, striking her in the lip. This incident allegedly caused the laceration to her lip that she later blamed on Pierson,” court documents said.

Authorities said that the defendant specifically described the nonexistent attacker’s truck as having a “Thin Blue Line” sticker on it.

After investigators tracked Pierson down and put him in a photo lineup the following day, Urumova said she was “60% sure” he was the suspect, documents said.

Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Urumova was arraigned Monday on charges for making false reports (two counts), causing false alarm to an agency of public safety, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and for “unsworn falsification to authorities” (three counts).

[ Anjela Urumova charges ]

Bail was set at $30,000, records also show. It’s unclear if Urumova has an attorney yet. She turned 20 years old on May 9.

Read the criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime here.

So, a guy's going about his day, minding his own business and this woman just randomly takes a dislike to him and decides he needs to be disappeared from society.

That's all it took.

Now imagine how much more motivated a spiteful ex or a regretful one-night stand would be. Don't tell me false accusations are rare when they're this easy to make.

Here's the ironic part: studies suggest she's far more likely to be sexually assaulted by another woman in prison than by a man in the free world.

[ Source: "The Sexual Victimization of Men in America: New Data Challenge Old Assumptions", Lara Stemple, JD, and Ilan H. Meyer, PhD ]

#false accusations #false rape accusations #believe women #religion is a mental illness

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angelofsmalldeath-codeine · 1 year ago

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Hear me out… But please, please, please let’s use our text comprehension and critical thinking skills before dog piling on me. Thanking yous.

Note: this is NOT a pearl clutching post.

Rant below the cut.

TW: kink; kink in public; consent

We don’t kink shame in dis haus. The lawd knows we enjoy kinky stuff.

However, I gotta say that kink requires consent from everyone participating in it, either actively or as a voyeur. There are hard limits to be negotiated, boundaries to be respected, agreed safety systems for when things become uncomfortable/unsafe.

Hence kinky activities taking place in dedicated spaces (their home, pride, clubs, dungeons, whatever is your flavour) and with consenting adults. Now, when you take your kink into the public space, you are forcing everyone around you to take part in it. And children exist in the public space regardless of many people wanting them to never leave the house until they are 18 or something. Children cannot consent to be part of someone else’s kink scene. And no, this is not a “But think of the children” stances that fundamental evangelicals use to tear apart people’s rights.

The demonisation of sexuality and sex declined over time although it still bores influence on society’s thinking on what is ‘the norm’ and ‘acceptable sexual expressions’. This often led to criminalisation of sexuality and sexual practices which deviated from the established norm (heterosexual PIV for procreation purposes). Sodomy or masturbation were labelled sinful, which required an exorcism or other religious interventions (Tosh, 2014; 2017). Heterosexual sodomy was a crime in the UK until 1994 when the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act decriminalised it for adults. Check Buggery Act 1533 and the famous trials it’s brought us if you are curious. The Mental Health Act in the UK uses the same language to describe sadists in a consensual community and in the forensic setting of convicted serial killers. Thus, making it possible that a diagnosis of sexual deviance can be used to commit a person to a mental institution (Tosh, 2017). The DSM-5 conflates both and casts the assumption that everyone with a sadist or sexual deviant label is dangerous or a risk to commit extreme violence.

We cannot get on a high horse and scream that we are heavy on consent and respect when we take our kink to a fucking Ikea! Has anyone in that store consented to watch their Pup Play? Were there children around? My guess would be yes because it was a Saturday and they were in the restaurant. Children cannot consent to sexual activities. Even if it’s “just” light Pup Play with no sexual acts (I’m referring to touching, penetration, and such, don’t get smart on me now) happening in front of them.

We can be our own worst enemies. We cannot advocate to not being stigmatised, prejudiced against, judged for our preferences, yell from the mountain tops that we do consent better and turn around and force everyone around us to take part in our scenes. We can still be imprisoned and have our lives destroyed because of our preferences.

————————————-

I know the Daily Record is a steaming pile of shite of a newspaper. Don’t come for me on that one but this is where the footage came from.

Source:

Another example

#hemmy’s rant

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aromanticasexualandppop · 2 years ago

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Life in the Future

Accepting aromanticism and asexuality was very easy. It took very little time to accept these as part of my identity, and there were no reluctance or hesitation when I arrived at this point. It was because these words really resonated with me, embodied my unconscious that I did not even notice when I was a child.

But what comes after acceptance? What comes after the euphoria and relief and liberation and satisfaction? What will life become now, when it cannot follow the linear path society suggests - dating, marriage, sex, children, and a lifelong companionship?

I think what led me to accept my aromanticism and asexuality faster was that deep down, I felt that life without marriage and children and other things was what has always felt comfortable.

So when I started to think about what my life will be like in the future now that I know I do not like forming romantic or sexual relationships, I started to look forward to that day. I just planned what I wanted to do.

When I go to college, I'll find a boarding house to live in. I don't like heavy, sweet, and greasy foods in the morning so I'll eat bread with cheese fillings for the most part. I'll buy a good notebook with black designs and a friction pen to write notes in Psychology with. If that's too laborious for me, I'd type on my laptop or write on my tablet with a stylus. Maybe I'd have friends or maybe I won't, but I'll hang out in the library or at a cafe with danmei music blasting in my earphones to do my work, while eating cake or drinking milk tea.

I'll read some good novels and webtoons on my freetime. Finally buy their merch. Finally learn Chinese and Korean to read time (lmao can I??). Make some online friends to geek out about these masterpieces.

Download MMORPG and RPG games again. Create a strong and OP character. Maybe experience the pay2win life. Finally try out Mobile Legends, COD, etc.

At night, I'd like to cook for myself: adobong kangkong, fried tofu with pork and eggplant or any egg dish. Maybe try noodles, and some Korean or Chinese cuisine that I can search up some recipes on TikTok. I'd try baking cake and making pizza.

With the time I have left, I'll learn so many things I have always wanted to learn. Kickboxing, knitting, crochet, violin, harp, dancing, singing. Maybe join an organization to learn about people from different professions: former spies, forensic science, marine biology, astrophysics, artificial intelligence, radiation biology, professional hugging, activists, etc.

I'll volunteer in an orphanage and help the community there. Visit every two weeks. Also join a queer support group. Visit my parent once every month and spoil the heck out of them with gifts.

Maybe I'll get a qpp or a close friend who lives next door that I'll hang out with or maybe I don't. I'll get a cat or a dog if they ever choose me and spoil the heck out of them as well. Cuddle them to naps. Take them for walks or travel around the neighborhood with them on a bike. Record videos of them that will be saved on a cloud.

The house will be full of pet supplies but it will be clean. Dreamcatchers and suncatchers will be put next to the windows. For added effect, the windows will have film on them. The portraits on the wall and next to the writing desks will be merchandise or role models. And then, I'll write to my hearts content.

The food I eat, the clothes I'll wear, the games I'd play, the literature I'll read, the house I'd decorate, the profession I'd have, the things I'd learn, the cause I'd fight for, the things I'll hate and like, and the things that I'll cherish. This is the best life.

Either that or I'll just return to the void xx ☠️

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bhaalschosen · 1 year ago

Note

15, 19, 21 for sloane please!

starting to realize i love this question meme because for this character all the answers are going to read like, wildly unhinged

15. what mundane human job would they have in modern society to pay the bills and do they like it

she's a medical examiner. she went to med school and she has a medical degree, works in forensics.

but also in the background she'd own a weird hole in the wall shop where she sells both crystals and strange taxidermy and other weird curiosities that caters to like four regular clients. this is what her doctor money pays for. she has an etsy shop

19. their top 3 songs on repeat

she doesn't really listen to music except in rare cases and never on repeat. when she wants to put on noise to work to she opens up youtube on her phone browser (not the app) and puts on youtube playlists of like, whale sounds or the nasa recordings of planets in space. this is also what she puts on if you give her the aux cord.

21. do they use duolingo and what's their longest streak

she took languages in school for fun so she's very multilingual (primarily english and french but also a few others) but not because of an app. her phone has no apps on it it's the default background with the default homepage and and you open up her camera roll and it's all photos of roadkill and human bones

#sloane blackthorn

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rhetoricandlogic · 2 years ago

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Tear Tracks

Tear Tracks - Malka Older

Illustrated by Richie Pope

Edited by Carl Engle-Laird

Wed Oct 21, 2015 9:00ams

Flur traveled across the stars to make first contact with the Cyclopes, hoping to forge a peace treaty between humanity and the first sentient aliens they’ve discovered. She’s undergone careful training and study to prepare for this moment. But what if her approach is too human?

Nobody expected them to look human. If anyone still harbored that kind of anthropocentric bias, they kept it bottled up with their other irrational fantasies (or nightmares) of successful contact. The biophysicists had theorized alternative forms that could support higher intelligence: spiraling cephalopods, liquid consciousness, evenly-distributed sentience. The Mission Director, who was known for being broad-minded, even invited some science fiction writers to work with the scientists in imagining what intelligent alien life might look like. The collaboration didn’t generate many usable ideas for the Mission (although it did lead to half a dozen best sellers and a couple of ugly lawsuits). And after all that thought and effort and retraining of assumptions, the first intelligent extraterrestrial life-forms they found were humanoid.

Not completely human, not like actors in silver face paint, but bilaterally symmetrical, bipedal, with most of the sensory organs concentrated in a central upper appendage that it was difficult not to call the head.

“We need a new word, a whole new vocabulary,” Tsongwa said, as he and Flur reviewed hours and hours of long-distance surveillance video. “A term to remind us that they’re not human, but still give them equal importance and intelligence.”

Because not only were they humanoid (the word did not satisfy Tsongwa, but it caught on and stuck), they were clearly intelligent, with societies and civilizations. They lived not in the caves or intelligent-organic complexes or mind-alterable environments hypothesized by the scientists, but in identifiable buildings, in cities. (The Mission Director promptly brought in architects, urbanists, psychologists, forensic archeologists, urban psychologists, forensic architects). They were “advanced” (Tsongwa insisted on putting the word in quotes) enough that first contact with them could be via radio, and then video. Many of the linguistic problems, not to mention the initial shock of alien existence, could be worked out long before Flur and Tsongwa got anywhere near the planet.

The Mission Director insisted on the importance of a protocol for contact, flexible enough to use in as many different contexts as they could imagine (an optimist, he was still hoping to discover intelligent spiraling cephalopods), yet structured enough to allow for some degree of standardization. Two ambassadors, one male, one female (the Mission Director did not point out that they were also of different “races,” another word Tsongwa used only in quotes). They would go armed, but imperceptibly so. They would go with scientific objectives—as much observation and recording as possible—but also with diplomatic goals that were more important: they were to bring back, if not a treaty, at least an agreement. “A framework,” the Mission Director explained, “for future relations.” He made a template for them, but encouraged them to modify it as necessary. The next day he came back with a few more templates, to give them a sense of the range of options.

Flur, the brilliant young star of what they call the Very Foreign Service, smiles and nods, but he’s overselling it. She’s pretty sure she can figure out the acceptable options, maybe even some the Mission Director hasn’t come up with, just as she’s pretty sure she can charm these aliens by respecting and listening to them, by empathizing, by improvising. Maybe more than Tsongwa. She likes Tsongwa, but he’s so serious, and places too much importance on semantics. She knows he’s supposed to be the experienced balance to her youth and genius, but nobody’s experienced anything like this before. And he’s not actually that much older; it’s just the deep lines on his face and the slow pace of his consideration that make him seem so.

Flur is aware of another probable advantage: as far as they have been able to tell, most of the alien leadership is female. Or the equivalent of female, what looks like female to the humans, which means human females will look like leaders to the aliens. Even Flur’s skin color is closer to the rosy purple of alien flesh. Though no one has mentioned either of these cultural elements, Flur prepares herself for the possibility that she will need to act as the head of the expedition, even if she remains technically subordinate to Tsongwa.

Her confidence, or overconfidence, does not pass unnoticed. But it doesn’t worry the Mission Director or Tsongwa much. Flur is never disrespectful, and she works hard, studying the video and audio recordings, diagramming and re-diagramming what they understand about political structures, writing short treatises about cultural practices.

The time and place of the landing are set, and there is a flashy ceremony for the departure from the base station, full of flags and symbols and fine music, scripted and simulcast. Flur has an odd longing to wave to her mother, but manages to quell it. Fortunately, the Mission Director has managed to fend off requests to simulcast the mission itself (largely by reminding politicians and media executives about the unlikely but real possibility of a grisly end to the adventure). The closing air lock leaves Flur and Tsongwa alone, except for the eighty-two mission staff looped into their communications and recording network. They beam down, a slang phrase for what is in practice a long, bumpy, and dangerous trip into the planet’s atmosphere on a shuttle known as the Beamer. This is Tsongwa’s expertise, and Flur is appropriately grateful for it as she copilots. He ably navigates them to the designated landing site, an extensive field outside of the alien city.

Flur takes a deep breath once they are settled. Through the small window she can make out tall, curving shapes: the aliens, the natives of this planet, have gathered as planned. From the screen on the dash the Mission Director looks back at her, almost bathetic in the way emotion and overwhelming awareness of the significance of this moment play openly on his face. Flur checks her comms and stands up. For a moment she and Tsongwa are face-to-face in the narrow aisle between the seats, and though his chin is level with her forehead Flur feels for the first time that they are looking straight at each other. This moment, though it is being recorded and transmitted in a dozen different sensory and technological combinations, is still theirs alone. There is a mutual nod—Flur doesn’t know which of them initiates it—and then Tsongwa leads the way to the hatch.

Stepping out of the Beamer, Flur finds that the aliens look less human at this close range. Their extended bodies curve gracefully into hooks and curlicues, partially obscured by flowing robes that give the impression of square-sailed ships luffing to the wind. When two of them step forward with extended hands, Flur can see that their three fingers are flexible as snakes. They cover the lower part of their faces with more cloth, but above that their noses have only a single nostril, flat on the face, opening and closing like a whale’s. Unsettlingly, it is the eyes that are most human: none of the giant pupils or extended slits of old science fiction movies, but (what appear to be) irises and robin’s-egg sclera within the familiar pointed oval shape, although they each have only one. In the popular press they are already known as the Cyclopes, but Flur finds each eye startlingly (perhaps deceptively?) expressive.

The two aliens have paused, hovering at a safe distance. Maybe that’s their idea of personal space? Flur glances at Tsongwa, a sideways slant of the eyes obscured by her goggles, but he is already stepping forward, arms up and out, mimicking the circular alien gesture that they have identified as significant and positive. Through her speakers, Flur can just make out the sound of him clearing his throat.

“Greetings,” he says, in an accented Cyclopan that they hope is comprehensible . He pauses. In what is surely the best moment of either of their lives, the aliens say the same word back to him.

The two designated humanoids approach, and curve more so that their singular eyes are nearly on a level with their visitors’. The skin of their faces looks parchment-like, worn and creased, like oak leaves pasted together, with striking lines trailing down from both corners of their eyes. They pronounce elaborate welcomes which Flur only partially understands. Their names are Slanks and Irnv, and they are happy to welcome their most esteemed visitors from another planet and take them in this honorable procession to the capital city of their island, where they will meet their leader. Flur almost lets out a reflexive giggle at the irony of it all, but she squelches it, and accepts instead the folds of material that Irnv hands her. “A costume more suited to our climate,” Slanks says, as he hands the same to Tsongwa.

Flur, cozily padded in a latest-model spacesuit, had not noticed any issues with the climate, but at least the local dress resolves one concern. There had been some worry at Mission Control that, having transmitted visuals of humans in their native habitat to the aliens, they would find the sight of them in their tubed breathing apparatuses disconcerting, but the alien clothes include fabric to cover the lower face, so that should help.

It is a moderately long walk to the city, and Flur keeps an eye on the visit clock ascending without pause in the corner of her view, and the bars representing her life support resources shrinking ceaselessly. A milky fog obscures much of the landscape, but Flur stares at the fragments of organic material at her feet, twigs and leaves in strange shapes, or maybe shells or corals, or something they have no word for yet. She longs to scoop up a sample, but is embarrassed to do so in front of their attentive entourage.

At the edge of the city they are guided to a canal or river where they board an almost flat barge, its slightly curved sides dressed with the same fabric that the Cyclopes wear. As they detach and float slowly along, Flur begins to feel disoriented, although she can’t figure out what is dizzying her. Finally, looking down at the canal, she decides it is the water, or the liquid, which is sluggish and thick. Grateful for the flowing native costume, she detaches a specimen vial from her space suit and within the compass of the billowing sleeves manages to scoop up some of the canal liquid, seal, and pocket it. She doesn’t think anyone has noticed, not even Tsongwa, who is deep in limited conversation with Slanks.

The gray-blue buildings are sinuous and low. Flur wonders if they continue underground. They cross a few other canals, but there are also pedestrian paths where tall humanoid shapes in expansive robes move, pause, interact. As they stream inexorably by, Flur catches a glimpse of two flowing dresses, one bold purple, one carnelian red, pressed against each other, fluttering suggestively. She looks away quickly, then looks back, but they have drifted out of sight before she can be sure what she saw.

The canal empties into a wide circular plaza, like a collection basin, or possibly the source of the waters. Avenues dotted with pedestrians surround the central circle of mixing waters, which has been waterscaped into a flat sculpture, tilted slightly upward, with streams of blue and lavender liquid running down it in carefully designed flows. Flur can make no sense of it, but she’s sure it’s important.

“It’s beautiful,” she says to Irnv, and although the alien replies “Thank you,” Flur has the feeling that the crinkles around her eye express politeness rather than real pleasure. Beautiful was not the right word.

They disembark and enter the palace through a gateway draped with more cloth, the bright colors this time woven through with a black thread that gives the whole a muted sheen. The corridors are high and narrow, and slope (downward, so she must have been right about going underground) more steeply than a human architect would allow. Despite her oxygen regulator, Flur is out of breath by the time they come to a stop in a cavernous chamber, and she thinks uneasily about their tanks. As a precaution, during the visit planning they halved their life-support time frame and gave only that conservative number to the aliens. Still, Flur can’t help being aware that everything was an estimate, that if for any reason they can’t use the barge it will take them longer to get back, that they are therefore dependent on the aliens. She calms her breathing, catches Tsongwa’s eye on her and nods to tell him she’s okay. Then she looks around. Mission Control sees what she sees.

The room, like the corridors, has no right angles; its shape suggests the word “organic” to Flur, although she guesses Tsongwa would be able to find some semantic problem with that. The impression is intensified by a shallow pool of slightly lilac-tinted liquid in the middle of the room, roughly where the conference table would have been on Earth. The Cyclopes are reclining in flexible harnesses, suspended from a frame that hangs from the rounded ceiling and ending in constructions almost like hammocks. It takes quite a bit of adjusting for these to be feasible for Flur and Tsongwa (more wasted time, Flur can’t help thinking), but once she’s cradled in one she finds it surprisingly comfortable, her weight evenly distributed, her feet just resting on the ground.

While they are finishing with Tsongwa’s harness she examines the row of decorations along the curving wall, gradually realizing that they are not abstract moldings, but sculpted likenesses. There are no gilded frames, no contrasting background to firm, smiling faces, but once she sees it Flur can’t believe she missed it. There are so many analogs in her own world: the row of ancient principals on the moldy wall of her high school; the faces of presidents in her history book and hanging in pomp in the Palais National; the old, unsuccessful directors hanging outside the Mission Director’s office. Conscious of the video feed, she looks at each face in turn for a few seconds, trying to learn what she can.

They do appear to be mostly female, although Flur counts three faces of the thirty-eight that scan to her as male. There are no confident smiles; a few are actually looking away, their faces turned almost to profile, and most of the eyes are angled downward. They look almost sorrowful; then, as she keeps staring, they look too sorrowful, the way the politicians at home look too distinguished. The vertical lines on the cheeks, trailing down from the corners of each august eye, begin to look stylized. In fact, much as the sequences at home evolve from paintings to photographs to three-dimensional photographs to hyperphotos, the moldings also show the passage of time. The first few are exact and detailed, like living aliens frozen into the wall, and as she follows the series back they become vague and imperfect. The face that Flur places as the oldest is painted in a combination of blues and lavenders, as though faded from the more usual dark purples, and the two-tone palette is unique. Staring at it, Flur starts to feel that it looks familiar. She remembers the fountain in the huge plaza, and suddenly that flowing pattern of water makes sense. It was a face—this face.

She leans toward Irnv to ask her, but at that moment everyone starts swinging back and forth in their hammocks, and more aliens start filing into the room. The last face to enter is also familiar: it is the most recent in the sequence of portraits. “It’s the president,” Irnv whispers. “She lost her three children and husband to sudden illness over the period of a year!”

Flur has no idea how to respond to that, and her half-hearted “I’m so sorry” is lost in the flurry of introductions, swinging of hammock-seats, and a brief interlude of atonal song. After that it is the president who, arranging herself with some ceremony in her hammock-chair, begins to speak. Flur gets most of it. Irnv, who has also apparently been studying, whispers the occasional English word in her ear, but these are so out of pace with Flur’s internal translation that they are more disruptive than helpful. She is grateful that she will have the recording to listen to. She will translate it word by word, slowly, in her office at Mission Control (a thought that fills her with momentary, inconvenient homesickness) but the general point is clear enough. Honored to receive this first interplanetary delegation; already the communications between them have set the foundations for a strong and close friendship, the type of friendship (if Flur understands correctly) which can withstand any tragedy; this personal visit, however, will truly interlace (or something like that) their peoples in mutual regard. Blah, blah, blah, basically.

Then it is Flur’s turn. She had expected to stand up to give her presentation, and it feels odd to speak from the balanced suspension of the hammock, without much preamble except the turning of expectant, one-eyed faces towards her. She takes out the small projector they brought, and aims a three-dimensional frame of the rotating Earth into the middle of the room, slightly closer to the president’s seat. Her presentation is brief and colorful: a short introduction to the history and cultures of Earth, glossing over war, poverty, and environmental degradation and focusing on the beauty and hope integral to human and other biodiversity, with subtle nods to technological and, even more subtly, military power. The aliens seem impressed by the projection, although there is too much light in the room for it to come through at its full sparkling vividness. Flur wonders if they hear her spiel at all.

She nods at Tsongwa, and he takes over, describing their proposed agreement, or framework. Leaning back in her hammock as he steps through the template, explaining why each section is important and the degrees of flexibility on each point, Flur has to admit he’s quite good: understated, yes, but that seems to fit the mood better than she had expected. Before they left she had, privately, suggested to the Mission Director that they switch roles, so that she could take on the key task of persuasion, but although he seemed to consider it, he had not made the change. Flur knows she would have been good, and her Cyclopean is slightly better than Tsongwa’s, but he has learned his piece down to the last inflection. He even seems to have taken on the president’s mannerisms, looking down and to the side and only occasionally, at key points, making eye contact.

There is a pause after he finishes, then the president sways, signaling her intention to speak. “For such a momentous occasion,” she croons, “we will need to discuss with the high council.”

During the pause while the council is called, Flur cannot help fretting about their deadline. Why wasn’t the council there from the beginning, if they are needed? Will she and Tsongwa need to make their presentations again? At least her political diagrams have been partially validated, although she is still not clear on the relationship between the president and the high council, or either of them and what Mission Control has been calling the Senate. Apparently the president does not have as much direct decision-making power as they thought.

There is further singing to cover, or emphasize, the entrance of the high council, and under it Irnv points out some of the more important council members. She seems to have a tragic tale about each of them. There is a woman who lost most of her family in a storm, another whose parents abandoned her as a child. The leader of the council, surprisingly, is male; his wife drowned two days after their wedding. Unable to continue murmuring about how sorry she is, Flur is reduced to nodding along and trying not to wince. She wonders if Tsongwa, a few feet away, is getting the same liner notes from Slanks. Looking at them she guesses he is, but between the oxygen mask and the face covering, it is impossible to read his expression.

Extensive discussion follows. Flur loses concentration in the middle of hour two, and can no longer follow the foreign syllables except for occasional words: “haste,” “formality,” “foreign,” “caution.” Dazed and unable to recapture the thread, Flur shifts her attention to body language instead, trying to figure out who is on their side. The president doesn’t seem engaged, putting a few words in now and then but otherwise looking at the pool in the floor or at the walls. Then again, no one else is showing fire or passion either. The discussion takes place in a muted, gentle tone, councillors lounging in their hammocks, occasionally dismounting to dip their lower extremities in the shallow lavender pool. She wonders if they are showing respect for the president’s tragedy. It is when she catches the president actually wiping a tear away from the corner of her large eye that she leans over to Irnv.

“Maybe the president is, um, a little distracted?” she asks.

Irnv looks back at her but says nothing, and Flur hesitates to interpret her facial expression.

“She seems quite . . .” Flur notices another tear slip down the furrows in the president’s faded-leaf face. Thinking of her lost family, she is wrung by an unexpected vibration of sympathy. “Maybe she could use a break?” What Flur could use now is a moment to talk to Tsongwa in private, to strategize some way of moving this along.

She wasn’t expecting her comment to have any immediate effect, but Irnv leans forward and says something to someone, who says something to someone else, and a moment later everyone is getting up from their swings. Flur cringes, but maybe it’s for the best; they certainly weren’t getting anywhere as it was.

“We will take a short refreshment break,” Irnv tells her. “Come, I will show you the place.”

They file into a corridor beside Tsongwa and Slanks. Flur tries to exchange glances with Tsongwa, hoping that however the refreshment is served, it will allow them some tiny degree of privacy to talk, even if only in their limited sign language. Food would be nice too, but since the breathing apparatuses they are wearing make eating impractical, their suits are fitted with intravenous nutrition systems. They won’t get hungry until they’re long dead of oxygen deprivation. Flur is wondering how to explain this to Irnv in some way that will make their refusal of refreshments less impolite when Tsongwa and Slanks turn off the corridor through a small opening draped in purple. Flur starts to follow but Irnv catches her arm with her three serpentine fingers.

“Not in there,” she whispers. “That’s the men’s side.”

They take a few more steps forward and then slide through an opening with crimson curtains on the opposite side of the corridor. The space is smaller than Flur expected, and there is no one else there, but in the far wall is a row of curtained, circular passages, like portholes. Irnv gestures Flur toward one, then wriggles into the cubbyhole beside it. After a moment of hesitation, Flur pokes her head into the hole. Inside is a low space, a small nest with cloth and cushions everywhere and a shelf with several small jars holding different items: violet straw, green powder, ivory slivers the size of a thumbnail. Flur pulls her head out, but the drape has already fallen in front of the Irnv’s opening. Flur crawls into her own nook, lets the curtain down behind her, and leans her head back against the unsettlingly soft wall.

It is so obvious she doesn’t even want to whisper it into her comms (although Tsongwa is probably doing just that at this same moment, on the men’s side), because surely they’ve figured it out by now: Eating is a social taboo. That’s why they cover their mouths all the time. Of course they hadn’t mentioned this during the previous discussions, any more than earthlings would have said, “By the way, we don’t discuss defecation.” Fortunately, because of the intravenous nutrition and the assumption that they wouldn’t be able to eat alien food, no one at Mission Control brought the matter up during protocol discussions for the trip. Flur wonders what the reaction would have been. Embarrassed silence? A quick, mature resolution of the question and no more said about it? Giggles?

Even though she’s not going to eat (she does take samples from each of the jars for her specimen cases), Flur finds the isolation soothing. She would like to sit in this cozy womb, silently, for at least ten or twenty minutes, breathing slowly and remembering why she’s here. Instead she talks to Mission Control.

“How long would it take for us to get back without that canal?” Flur asks the air in front of her nose.

“We calculate walking would add another hour to the journey,” answers Winin, the desk officer assigned to her earpiece. “That’s with no obstacles or disruptions of the sort that might come from visitors from outer space walking through a major city.”

“So about two and a half hours total,” Flur muses.

“You’ve still got some time,” Winin assures her.

“Yeah, but we’re coming up on the limit we gave them.” Flur lowers her voice, wondering how sound travels among these cubicles.

“Well, you can find an excuse to extend that, if you have to. How does it look?” Winin asks, as though she hadn’t seen and heard everything that happened herself.

“Can you patch me in to Tsongwa?” A moment later she hears his voice.

“. . . very interesting, how many things we did not foresee.”

“It is, it’s fascinating. I think we can consider that alone a success, a complete validation of the need for this expensive face-to-face visit in addition to all the other communication.”

Flur is a little surprised to hear the Mission Director. So Tsongwa went straight to the top during his break. She clears her throat. “Hey Tsongwa, how’s the food on your side?”

He lets loose his surprisingly relaxed chuckle. “We’ll have to ask the lab techs later,” he says.

The Mission Director is not interested in small talk at this juncture. “Now that I’ve got you two together, what do you think? Can we get the agreement signed today?”

There is a moment of silence, and Flur realizes that, through the layers of alien building material and empty alien atmosphere that separate them, she and Tsongwa are feeling exactly the same thing.

“It seems unlikely,” she offers, at the same time as he says, “I doubt it.”

The Mission Director lets out a whoosh of breath. “Well. That’s a shame.”

“It’s not a no,” Tsongwa clarifies. “They need more time.”

“Maybe if we could talk to someone else,” Flur says, looking for some hope. “The president doesn’t seem up for it right now, with all she’s been through.”

She’s hoping that Tsongwa did not get the full tragic history and will have to ask what she means. Instead he says, “Actually . . .” He pauses to order his thoughts and in that pause Flur hears a rustling and then her name called, very softly, from the other side of the curtain.

“Gotta go,” she whispers, and then slides out of the cubbyhole.

Irnv is reclining in a hammock-harness outside the cushioned wall of nests, still within the women’s area. Her face covering is loosened and hanging down below her chin, and although Flur is careful not to stare at the dark purple, circular mouth, she finds she is already acclimatized enough to be shocked. The orifice seems to be veiled on the inside by a membrane of some kind, and doesn’t fully close. Struck by the curiosity of the forbidden, Flur wishes she could see how they eat.

“Do we have to get back now?” she asks, wondering too late if she should thank her host for the food she couldn’t ingest.

“We have some time still,” Irnv says. “I don’t know how you do it, but here we usually relax and socialize after eating.”

“It is . . . like that for us too,” Flur says, wondering if she is right about the translation for ‘socialize.’ Following Irnv’s graceful nod, she climbs into the hammock next to her and tries to put a relaxed expression on her face. Where is everyone else? They must have designated special eating rooms for the aliens and their handlers.

“Flur,” Irnv says, and Flur snaps out of it. “What does your name mean?”

Rather than try to define a general noun, Flur takes out her palm screen and presses a combination she had pre-loaded. “Like this,” she says, holding it out to Irnv as the screen runs through hyperphotos of flowers, all different kinds.

“Ahhh,” Irnv strokes the screen appreciatively, stopping the montage on a close-up of a wisteria cluster.

“And you?” Flur asks, trying to keep up her end of the socializing.

Irnv looks up, her head tilted at an angle that is so clearly questioning that Flur begins to trust her body language interpretation again. “Your name,” she says. “What does it mean?”

“Star,” Irnv replies, with a curious sort of bow.

“Oh, I thought star was ‘trenu,’” Flur says.

“Yes, trenu, star. Irnv is one trenu. A certain trenu.”

Flur finds herself tilting her head exactly the way that Irnv did a few minutes ago, and Irnv obligingly explains.

“Irnv is the name of your star. Your . . . planet? We tried to pronounce it like you, but this is our version.”

Terre. Earth. Irnv. But “pronounce it like you?” They have only been in contact for a few years. How old is Irnv?

“And your family?” Irnv asks, while Flur is still turning that over. “Where are you from?”

“An island,” Flur says, one of the first words she learned in Cyclopan. She takes her palm screen back and brings up globes, maps, Ayiti. She hadn’t prepared anything about her family, though. “Many brothers and sisters,” she says. She thinks of the video that was made for the launch party, presenting a highly sanitized version of her backstory, and wonders why nobody thought to load that into her drive. Maybe it wouldn’t translate well; their research has not pinned down the alien version of the heartwarming, life-affirming family unit. “We used to raise chickens,” she says, unexpectedly, and quickly pulls up a picture of a chicken on the screen, and in her mind, the memory of chasing one with her brothers.

Irnv blinks her single eye. “They are all well? Your brothers and sisters?”

“Well?” It’s a hard concept to define. The pause feels like it’s stretching out too long. “They’re fine. We’re just fine.”

A beat. “And how were you chosen for this?”

“Oh,” Flur says. These are all questions they should have prepared for. She can’t imagine, now, why they thought the conversation would be all business all the time. “Well, I went to school, and there were . . . competitions.” She can’t remember the word for tests. “And then more school.”

Irnv is nodding, but Flur reads it as more polite than comprehending, and she’s trying to remember the words, find the right phrase to explain it, how it’s not just written tests, but also character, leadership qualities, sacrifices, observations by instructors and mentors, toughness, drills . . .

“. . . happy to have you here,” the alien is saying, with seeming earnestness.

Flur rouses herself back to her job. “We are very happy to be here too,” she manages. “But we will have to go home soon, and we would really like to complete this agreement. For the future.”

Irnv leans back in her hammock. “We hope so. But it is a very short time.”

“It is,” Flur agrees, with as regretful a tone as she can summon. “The president . . .” she trails off, delicately.

“The president is a great woman,” Irnv says, in a tone that sounds to Flur very close to reverence.

“She is,” Flur agrees, disingenuously. Pause, effort at patience. “Perhaps it’s not the best time, though, with all she’s been through recently.”

Irnv looks confused, then understands. “You mean the loss of her family? But that wasn’t recent, that was many years ago.”

Years ago?

It takes Flur a moment to recover from that, and when she does Irnv is looking at her curiously. She puts out her hand, and the supple, red-purple fingers curl around Flur’s arm. Flur is shocked to feel their warmth, faintly, through the protective space suit.

“I think she will agree,” Irnv says. “It will take time. We can’t rush.”

“Of course,” Flur answers, still feeling the pulse of warmth on her arm, though by then Irnv has removed her hand. “We go,” the Cyclops says, sliding the scarf back over the bottom of her face as she stands.

They are not the first ones back into the meeting room, but it is still half-empty. Tsongwa and Slanks aren’t there yet, and Flur wonders what they might be talking about in the men’s room. She decides to put her time to good use.

“Irnv,” she says gently, getting her attention from a conversation with another alien. “That—that face there?” Flur nods at the first one in the series, the two-tone blue and lavender portrait. “Is that like the fountain in the middle of the city?”

Now that Flur has seen Irnv’s mouth she finds she can better interpret the movement of the muscles around it, even with the mask covering it. She is pretty sure Irnv is smiling. “Yes, yes,” she says, “you are right, that is another example. She is the founder of our city. After starting this city she was visited by very great tragedy. In her sorrow she wept, and her tears, different colors from each side of her eye, became the canals that we use to navigate and defend our city.”

Flur is trying to figure out how to phrase her follow-up questions—does she probe whether Irnv understands it as a myth and exaggeration, or take it politely at face value?—when she notices Tsongwa has come back in with Slanks, and nods to them.

“It is in her honor,” Irnv continues, “that we now make the tear tracks on our faces, to represent her learning, sacrifice, and wisdom.” She runs her fingers along the deep grooves in her face.

“You . . . do that? How?” Flur asks, trying to sound interested and non-judgmental.

“There is a plant we use,” Irnv says. “But when one has really suffered, you can see the difference. As with her,” she adds in reverential tones as the president enters the room, and Flur can see that it is true, the wrinkles in her cheeks are softer and have a subtle shine to them.

“That’s . . . impressive,” she says, feeling that admiration is the correct thing to express, but then the president begins to speak.

“Very regretfully,” she begins, her eye not nearly as moist as Flur had expected, “the time our visitors have with us is limited by their technology, and unfortunately we will not be able to settle this question on this visit.”

Flur’s hammock shudders with her urgency to speak, even as she catches Tsongwa’s warning look.

“However, we look upon it favorably,” the president goes on. “We will take the time to discuss it here among ourselves, and converse again with our good friends soon.”

Flur is about to say something, to ask at least for a definition of ‘soon,’ a deadline for the next communication, some token of goodwill. It is the Mission Director’s voice in her ear that stops her. “Stand down. Stand down, team, let this one go. We were working with a tight time frame, we knew that. And it’s not over. Great job, you two.”

The positive reinforcement makes Flur feel ill. Irnv’s face, as she turns to her, seems to hold some wrinkles of sympathy around the mouth-covering mask and her cosmetic tear tracks, but all she says is, “We should get you back to your ship as soon as possible.”

The return trip, indeed, seems to pass much more quickly than the journey into the city. Less constrained by the idea of making a good impression, Flur takes as many hyperphotos as she can, possibly crossing the borders of discretion. Noticing that they are taking a different canal back (unless they change color over time?) she scoops up another sample. She even pretends to trip in the forest to grab some twigs, or twig analogs. Irnv says little during the walk, although Tsongwa and Slanks appear to be deep in discussion. Probably solving the whole diplomatic problem by themselves, Flur thinks miserably. When they find their ship—it is a relief to see it again, just as they left it, under guard by a pair of Cyclopes—Flur half-expects Irnv to touch her arm again in farewell, but all she does is make the double-hand gesture of welcome, apparently also used in parting.

“Irnv,” Flur asks quickly. “How old are you?”

“Eighty-five cycles,” Irnv says, then looks up, calculating. “About thirty-two of your years,” she adds, and Flur catches the corners of a smile again. Meanwhile, Tsongwa and Slanks are exchanging some sort of ritualized embrace, both arms touching.

The return beam is less difficult than the landing, and once they are out of the planet’s atmosphere and waiting for the Mission Crawler to pick them up, Tsongwa takes off his breathing apparatus and helmet, removing the comms link to Mission Control.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Fine,” Flur says, trying for a why-wouldn’t-I-be tone. “You?”

Tsongwa nods without saying anything.

“I just wish we could have gotten the stupid thing signed,” Flur says finally.

Tsongwa raises both palms. “It’ll happen. I think.”

“The president seemed so . . .” Flur shakes her head. “It’s a shame that we caught a weak leader.”

“You think she’s weak?”

“Well, grief-stricken, maybe. But it comes to the same thing. For us, anyway.”

Tsongwa leaves a beat of silence. “What did you talk about in the eating room?”

“Personal stuff, mostly . . . names, families. Oh, that’s something,” Flur sits up in her chair. So different from those hammocks. “Irnv told me she’s named after our planet, but after our word for it. Earth, I mean.”

Tsongwa is stunned for a moment, then laughs. “Well, that’s very hospitable of them.”

“Tsongwa, she’s thirty-two. Thirty-two in our years!”

Another pause. “Maybe her name was changed in honor of the visit?”

“Or maybe . . .” Neither of them says it: Maybe the Cyclopes have been listening to us longer than we have been listening to the Cyclopes.

“What did you talk about?” Flur asks finally.

“Family, to start with.” Tsongwa says. “Personal history. It’s very important to them.”

“What do you mean?”

He arranges his thoughts. It occurs to Flur, looking at the lines in his face shadowed by the reflected light from the control panel, that she has no idea what he might have told them about his family, because she doesn’t know anything about him outside of his work.

“They wanted to know if I’d suffered.”

“Suffered?” Flur repeats, in the tone she might use to say, Crucified?

Tsongwa sighs; the English word is wrong, so dramatic. “They wanted to know if I’d . . . eaten bitter, if I’d . . . gone through hard times. If I’d experienced grief. You know.” An alert goes off; he starts to prepare for docking as he speaks. “They think it’s important for decision makers, for leaders. It stems from the myth of the founder—you heard about that? They believe that people who have suffered greatly have earned wisdom.” He twitches a control. “Now that we know this, we can adjust the way we approach the whole relationship. It’s a huge breakthrough.”

“But . . . but . . .” Flur wonders, with a pang, whether this means she won’t be included in the next mission. Can she somehow reveal all the hardship and self-doubt she has so painstakingly camouflaged with professionalism, dedication, and feigned poise? “But come on! The president has suffered, okay, but she didn’t seem any the wiser for it!”

Tsongwa shrugs. “They believe it, I said. That doesn’t mean it’s true. They aren’t perfect, any more than we are.”

And Flur thinks of the Mission Director, his careful multidisciplinarity and his pep talks, or the president of her country, a tall, distinguished-looking, well-spoken man who has failed by almost every measure yet retains a healthy margin of popularity. By that time they are docked, and scanned for contaminants, and the airlock doors open, and then they are swarmed by the ops team, shouting and congratulating them, slapping their shoulders and practically carrying them into the main ship where the Mission Director, his emotion apparent but held in perfect check, shakes hands with each of them and whispers a word or two of praise in their ears. Flur tries to smile and nod at everyone until finally, though it can’t have been more than five or ten minutes later, she’s alone, or almost, stripped to a sterile shift and lying in a clinic bed for the post-visit checkup.

“What’s the matter?” The medical officer says, coming in with a clipboard and a couple of different scanners. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Fine,” Flur manages through her sobs.

“You did great,” he says, as he runs the scanners over her quickly, almost unnoticeably. “The geeks are already raving about those samples you brought back. There, there,” he says, when she doesn’t stop crying. He pats her arm awkwardly. “It’s just the tension and excitement. You’ll be fine.”

But it isn’t the tension or the excitement. Flur is thinking about the things she could have said to Irnv: about her four brothers, dead, drunk, imprisoned, and poor; her three sisters, poor, unhappy, and desperate. About her own childhood, hungry and hardscrabble. If she had unburied these old sufferings, would Irnv have trusted her more? Would she have been able to get the agreement signed?

But mostly, and it is this that makes her want to cry until she makes her own, shimmering tear tracks, she is thinking about her mother. Twice abandoned (three times if you count Flur’s reluctance to visit). Beaten occasionally, exploited often, underpaid always. An infant lost, a dear sister lost, an adult child lost. Flur has always avoided imagining that grief. When her brother was killed, she clung to her own complicated pain and did not look her mother in the eye so she would not probe those depths. Now she weighs all her mother has suffered.

In another world, it would be enough to make her president.

#Malka Older #Tear Tracks #short story #long post

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walialawfirm · 8 days ago

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Exploring Child Molestation and Criminal Law in San Jose

Child safety is a fundamental concern within any community, making the topic of child molestation particularly sensitive and crucial. In San Jose, the implications of Child Molestation Law San Jose are far-reaching, affecting both victims and accused individuals. The purpose of this article is to investigate the subtleties of these rules and their importance in safeguarding the most defenseless people of society. Understanding these legal frameworks is essential for anyone involved in or impacted by these serious allegations.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, comprehending the intricacies of Child Molestation Law San Jose and Molestation Criminal Law San Jose is vital for anyone involved in or affected by these serious legal matters. Knowledge of these laws empowers individuals to advocate for their rights and navigate the complex judicial landscape effectively. For those seeking further information or support regarding these issues, walialawfirm.com provides valuable resources and expert guidance on legal matters related to child molestation and criminal law.

Blog Source URL : https://ginnywalialawoffices.blogspot.com/2025/01/exploring-child-molestation-and.html

#San Jose Property Division Attorney

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thellawtoknow · 20 days ago

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Exculpatory Evidence 101: A Cornerstone of Justice

Nature and Definition of Exculpatory Evidence The Case of Brady v. Maryland (1963) The Due Process Clause and Fair Trials Materiality of Evidence Broader Implications of the Brady Rule 1. Alibi Evidence 2. DNA Evidence 3. Witness Testimony 4. Forensic Evidence Contradicting the Prosecution's Case 5. Confessions by Another Party 6. Communication Records 7. Surveillance Footage 8. Medical Records 9. Improper Identification 10. Evidence of Police Misconduct 11. Financial Records 12. Mental Health Records 13. Evidence of Entrapment 14. Recantation of Prior Testimony 15. Alternate Perpetrator Evidence Real-World Case Examples Significance of Exculpatory Evidence Challenges and Controversies Reforms and the Path Forward Conclusion Exculpatory Evidence: A Cornerstone of Justice Exculpatory evidence is a vital concept in the legal world, standing as a safeguard against wrongful convictions and upholding the integrity of justice systems worldwide. Derived from the Latin word "exculpate," which means to clear from blame or fault, exculpatory evidence refers to any material that can absolve a defendant of guilt or cast doubt on their culpability in a criminal case. This essay explores the nature, significance, and challenges associated with exculpatory evidence, highlighting its role as a cornerstone of due process and fairness.

Nature and Definition of Exculpatory Evidence Exculpatory evidence encompasses any information or material that might favor the defendant in a criminal case. It can take various forms, including physical evidence, witness testimonies, forensic reports, or documentation that contradicts the prosecution’s narrative. Examples include alibi evidence proving the defendant was elsewhere when the crime occurred, DNA evidence excluding the defendant as the perpetrator, or eyewitness accounts that corroborate the defendant’s version of events. This evidence is governed by constitutional principles, particularly in jurisdictions adhering to the rule of law. In the United States, for instance, the landmark Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland (1963) established the "Brady Rule," which obligates prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense. This duty stems from the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, ensuring that trials are fair and that justice prevails over procedural victories. Constitutional Foundations and the Brady Rule Exculpatory evidence is not merely a procedural requirement; it is deeply embedded in constitutional principles, serving as a pillar of justice in societies governed by the rule of law. In jurisdictions like the United States, where constitutional protections ensure the fairness of criminal trials, the handling of such evidence is a matter of legal and moral obligation. Central to this framework is the Brady v. Maryland (1963) decision, a landmark case that set the precedent for the disclosure of exculpatory evidence by the prosecution. The Case of Brady v. Maryland (1963) The case of Brady v. Maryland arose when John Brady, convicted of murder, discovered that the prosecution had withheld a confession by his co-defendant admitting to sole responsibility for the crime. While Brady admitted involvement in the crime, he argued that the withheld confession was critical to his defense and could have influenced the jury’s decision regarding sentencing. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brady’s favor, holding that suppression of evidence favorable to the accused violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court’s ruling established the "Brady Rule," mandating that prosecutors disclose any material evidence that is favorable to the defense, whether it is exculpatory (tending to exonerate the defendant) or impeaching (undermining the credibility of prosecution witnesses). This ruling underscored the principle that the prosecution’s role is not to win at all costs but to ensure justice is done. The Due Process Clause and Fair Trials The Brady Rule’s foundation lies in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees that no individual shall be deprived of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." This clause ensures that criminal trials are conducted fairly and that the defendant is given an equitable opportunity to challenge the evidence against them. In the context of exculpatory evidence, due process requires transparency from the prosecution. By withholding evidence favorable to the defense, the state undermines the fairness of the trial, violating the accused’s constitutional rights. The Brady Rule reflects the belief that justice is not merely about convicting the guilty but about ensuring that every defendant has access to all evidence that might lead to a fair determination of guilt or innocence. Materiality of Evidence An important aspect of the Brady Rule is the concept of materiality. Evidence is considered material if there is a reasonable probability that its disclosure would have changed the outcome of the trial. This standard was further clarified in subsequent cases such as United States v. Bagley (1985), where the Court emphasized that materiality must be assessed in the context of the entire case, not in isolation. The materiality requirement, however, has been a point of contention. Critics argue that it places too much discretion in the hands of prosecutors, who are responsible for determining whether evidence is material and thus subject to disclosure. This discretionary power can lead to inadvertent or intentional violations, particularly in cases where prosecutors are overburdened or motivated by a desire to secure convictions. Broader Implications of the Brady Rule The Brady Rule is more than a procedural safeguard; it is a manifestation of the values underpinning a democratic legal system. It reinforces the idea that the prosecution and defense are not merely adversaries but co-participants in the search for truth. By mandating the disclosure of exculpatory evidence, the Brady Rule seeks to prevent wrongful convictions, protect the innocent, and maintain public confidence in the justice system. However, the implementation of the Brady Rule is not without challenges. In practice, compliance often depends on the ethical commitment of prosecutors and the effectiveness of defense counsel in identifying potential Brady violations. Courts have occasionally struggled to enforce the rule consistently, leading to calls for reforms such as open-file discovery policies, which require prosecutors to share their entire case files with the defense. The Brady v. Maryland decision and the constitutional principles it enshrines are critical to the functioning of a fair and equitable criminal justice system. By obligating prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence, the Brady Rule affirms the importance of transparency, accountability, and fairness in legal proceedings. Although challenges remain in its application, the rule serves as a reminder that the pursuit of justice requires not only the conviction of the guilty but also the protection of the innocent. This commitment to fairness is what ultimately sustains public trust in the rule of law and the legitimacy of the judicial process.

Exculpatory Evidence Forms

Exculpatory evidence can take many forms, and its significance often depends on the specifics of the case. Below are examples of exculpatory evidence in legal practice, illustrating how it can exonerate defendants or cast doubt on their culpability: 1. Alibi Evidence - Example: A defendant charged with burglary claims they were at a family gathering at the time of the crime. Security camera footage from the event, timestamps on photos, or testimony from attendees confirming their presence serves as exculpatory evidence by establishing an alibi. 2. DNA Evidence - Example: In a sexual assault case, DNA analysis reveals that biological material found at the crime scene does not match the defendant’s DNA. This scientific evidence can conclusively exclude the defendant as the perpetrator. 3. Witness Testimony - Example: Eyewitnesses at the scene of a robbery identify someone other than the defendant as the perpetrator. Similarly, a witness might testify that the defendant was with them elsewhere when the crime occurred. 4. Forensic Evidence Contradicting the Prosecution's Case - Example: In an arson case, fire investigation experts determine that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction rather than intentional acts. This finding undermines the prosecution’s theory of arson and supports the defendant's innocence. 5. Confessions by Another Party - Example: A co-defendant in a murder case confesses to being solely responsible for the crime, explicitly exonerating the accused. If suppressed by the prosecution, this confession would constitute exculpatory evidence under the Brady rule. 6. Communication Records - Example: A defendant accused of harassment or making threats might produce text messages, emails, or phone records showing no such communications occurred or proving that someone else sent the messages. 7. Surveillance Footage - Example: Video footage from a nearby store’s security camera shows the defendant in a different location during the time the alleged crime took place. This directly contradicts the prosecution’s timeline and narrative. 8. Medical Records - Example: A defendant accused of assault may provide medical records showing they were physically incapacitated at the time of the incident, such as recovering from surgery or hospitalized for a severe injury. 9. Improper Identification - Example: In a lineup procedure, police fail to follow proper protocols, and a key witness later recants their identification of the defendant, stating they were pressured or unsure. Documentation or recordings of the lineup process showing inconsistencies can serve as exculpatory evidence. 10. Evidence of Police Misconduct - Example: Body camera footage reveals that police planted evidence at the crime scene or coerced a confession from the defendant. This undermines the credibility of the prosecution’s case and supports the defense's argument of misconduct. 11. Financial Records - Example: In a fraud case, the defendant produces financial records showing that their transactions were lawful, contradicting the prosecution's claim of illicit activity. 12. Mental Health Records - Example: A defendant charged with a crime that requires intent might provide mental health records proving they lacked the capacity to form intent due to a diagnosed condition. 13. Evidence of Entrapment - Example: In a drug trafficking case, recorded conversations reveal that undercover agents coerced or pressured the defendant into committing the crime, supporting an entrapment defense. 14. Recantation of Prior Testimony - Example: A key prosecution witness recants their earlier testimony, stating that they lied under pressure or made a mistake. A sworn affidavit detailing the recantation would be exculpatory evidence. 15. Alternate Perpetrator Evidence - Example: Fingerprints or DNA found at the crime scene match someone other than the defendant. Similarly, surveillance footage or social media posts may place a different suspect at the scene of the crime. Real-World Case Examples - The Central Park Five (1989): In this high-profile case, DNA evidence and a confession by the actual perpetrator years later exonerated five men wrongfully convicted of assault and rape. - Michael Morton Case (1987): Michael Morton was wrongfully convicted of his wife’s murder. Evidence suppressed by the prosecution, including a witness statement describing a different suspect and the discovery of Morton’s wife’s belongings in someone else’s possession, eventually exonerated him after serving 25 years in prison. Significance of Exculpatory Evidence The importance of exculpatory evidence lies in its capacity to prevent miscarriages of justice. It acts as a counterbalance to the prosecutorial power in criminal proceedings, ensuring that the defendant receives a fair trial. Without access to evidence that could exonerate them, defendants are at an inherent disadvantage, and the adversarial system risks becoming a vehicle for unjust outcomes. Exculpatory evidence also reinforces public trust in the legal system. When the public perceives that courts diligently seek the truth, it strengthens confidence in the rule of law. Conversely, failures to disclose such evidence can lead to high-profile miscarriages of justice, eroding trust and highlighting systemic flaws. In addition, exculpatory evidence contributes to the overarching goal of justice—not merely securing convictions but ensuring that the innocent are protected. The principles of fairness and equity are integral to the legitimacy of any legal framework, and exculpatory evidence is instrumental in safeguarding these ideals. Challenges and Controversies Despite its critical role, the proper handling and disclosure of exculpatory evidence face numerous challenges. One major issue is the discretionary power of prosecutors. The prosecution is responsible for identifying and disclosing exculpatory material, but this process is not always transparent. Whether due to oversight, negligence, or intentional misconduct, failure to disclose exculpatory evidence—commonly known as a Brady violation—can have devastating consequences. Moreover, systemic issues such as inadequate training, lack of resources, and overwhelming caseloads may hinder the timely identification of exculpatory evidence. In some jurisdictions, the defense may not have sufficient tools or resources to independently investigate and uncover such material, creating an imbalance in the adversarial process. Another area of concern is the evolving nature of evidence in the digital age. Electronic records, surveillance footage, and metadata are increasingly central to criminal cases. While these sources often hold critical exculpatory information, their sheer volume and complexity can overwhelm legal practitioners. Ensuring proper disclosure amidst a deluge of data requires technological expertise and robust systems, which may be lacking in underfunded legal settings. Reforms and the Path Forward To enhance the handling of exculpatory evidence, several reforms can be considered. Strengthening prosecutorial accountability is paramount. Independent oversight mechanisms and stricter penalties for Brady violations can deter misconduct and negligence. Comprehensive training programs for legal professionals can also raise awareness of the ethical and legal obligations surrounding exculpatory evidence. Technology offers promising solutions to the challenges posed by large volumes of digital evidence. Advanced tools for evidence management and artificial intelligence systems can assist in identifying potentially exculpatory material, ensuring nothing is overlooked. However, the adoption of such technologies must be coupled with guidelines to safeguard against misuse and privacy violations. On a broader scale, fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration between the prosecution and defense can mitigate adversarial excesses and prioritize truth-seeking over strategic victories. Open-file discovery practices, where the prosecution shares its entire case file with the defense, have been successfully implemented in some jurisdictions, reducing the likelihood of overlooked exculpatory evidence. Conclusion Exculpatory evidence embodies the principle that justice must not only punish the guilty but also protect the innocent. Its proper identification, disclosure, and utilization are essential to the fairness of any criminal justice system. While challenges persist, particularly in the context of prosecutorial discretion and the complexities of modern evidence, reforms and technological advancements offer pathways to a more equitable system. By recognizing and addressing the critical importance of exculpatory evidence, societies can ensure that their legal systems uphold the ideals of fairness, accountability, and the pursuit of truth. Read the full article

#evidence #evidencelaw #Exculpatoryevidence

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askme012 · 1 month ago

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Courses to do after MBA for career transition into emerging industries

MBA graduates have been the favourites of recruiters in the near past but in this digital advanced age, this notion of “Life is set after MBA” is not quite apt .

An MBA is just the starting point, not the end goal. To truly excel, you need continuous learning, practical experiences, and a proactive mindset. Remember, an MBA opens doors- it's up to you to walk through them. The best way for you to do that in this ever changing world is to opt for courses to do after MBA like a PGDM offered by top-notch institutes like GRMI.

PG in Risk Management by GRMI

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reliabledetective01 · 3 months ago

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How Technology Has Changed Private Investigation?

In the evolving landscape of Investigation Agency In Mumbai, technology has become an indispensable tool, transforming traditional methods into more efficient, effective, and precise practices. Here’s a look at how technology is reshaping the world of private detectives.

Advanced Surveillance Equipment: Modern private investigators utilize high-definition cameras, drones, and GPS tracking devices to gather evidence. Drones, in particular, allow for aerial surveillance that can cover large areas quickly and discreetly, providing invaluable perspectives in cases ranging from infidelity investigations to locating missing persons.

Digital Forensics: As society becomes increasingly digital, private detectives often encounter cases involving data recovery, cyberbullying, and identity theft. Digital forensics involves the recovery and analysis of data from computers, smartphones, and other devices. Investigators use specialized software to uncover deleted files, trace online activities, and even analyze social media interactions.

Background Checks and Public Records Access: Technology facilitates extensive background checks. Investigators can access a variety of databases that include criminal records, financial history, and public documents. This information is crucial for assessing potential risks or verifying identities, making it easier to build comprehensive profiles of individuals involved in a case.

Social Media Investigations: Social media provides private detectives with insights into personal lives and relationships through platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Using analytics tools, they identify patterns and gather crucial evidence for legal cases and disputes.

Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making waves in private investigation by enabling more sophisticated data analysis. AI can sift through vast amounts of information quickly, identifying relevant patterns and connections that might be missed by human investigators. This capability is particularly useful in cases involving fraud or complex financial crimes.

Mobile Technology: The advent of mobile technology has equipped private detectives with tools that enable real-time communication and information sharing. Investigators can receive alerts, access databases, and share findings instantly, enhancing collaboration and efficiency during investigations.

Cybersecurity Measures: With rising cybercrime, private detectives emphasize cybersecurity, using tools to protect sensitive information and ensure confidentiality during investigations, as breaches can jeopardize cases and client interests.

To avail of the services from the Best Private Detective Agency In Mumbai, you can reach out to them without any delay.

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Source: https://penzu.com/p/dc15de4652305450

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communicationblogs · 3 months ago

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Bioinformatics Market -Forecast, 2024–2030

Bioinformatics Market Size is forecast to reach $ 21423.6 Million by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.10% during forecast period 2024–2030. The recording, annotation, storage, analysis, and retrieval of nucleic acid sequence, protein sequence, and structural information are all covered by bioinformatics. Proteomics is the study of proteomes on a vast scale. A proteome is a collection of proteins made by a living creature, system, or biological milieu. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is a useful tool for determining the genetic basis of disease. In genome-wide association studies and fine-scale genetic mapping initiatives, these variants can be utilized as markers.

Bioinformatics applications include molecular therapeutics, metabolomics, and proteomics, to name a few. It’s also used in genetics and genomics research. The combination of biology and information technology is referred to as “bioinformatics.” Computer software tools are used in bioinformatics to create, administer, and develop databases. Data warehousing, data mining, and communication networking all use it. Furthermore, it is frequently utilized in the field of medical research and medication development for the management of biological data. The worldwide Bioinformatics Market is predicted to develop owing to the high frequency of chronic diseases. According to the American Cancer Society, it was expected to have 1,762,450 new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,880 cancer deaths in the United States year 2019.

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Bioinformatics Market Report Coverage The report: “Bioinformatics Market — Forecast (2024–2030)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Bioinformatics Market.

By Products & Services: Knowledge Management Tools, Bioinformatics Platforms, and Bioinformatics Services

By Application: Genomics, Chemoinformatics & Drug Design, Proteomics, Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, and Others

By Sector: Animal Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Forensic Biotechnology, Plant Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology, Others

By Geography: North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand, and Rest of Asia Pacific), South America (Brazil, Argentina & Rest of South America) and Rest of the World (Middle East & Africa)

Key Takeaways A single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP (pronounced “snip”), is a difference in the DNA sequence at a single place between individuals. DNA is made up of a chain of four nucleotide bases: A, C, G, and T. The rise in bioinformatics platform application can be ascribed to an increase in demand from life science companies for structural identification and customization. This, in turn, would aid in the development of drugs and the assessment of their therapeutic effects. Furthermore, as drug research and discovery become more efficient and safe, the demand for new tools in drug development grows. As a result, the Bioinformatics Market is likely to grow in the future. A detailed analysis of the main players functioning in the Bioinformatics Market’s Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities will be provided in the report.

For More Details on This Report — Request for Sample

Bioinformatics Market Segment Analysis — By Products & Services: Based on Products & Services, Bioinformatics Market is segmented into Knowledge Management Tools, Bioinformatics Platforms, and Bioinformatics Services. The Bioinformatics Platforms segment is accounted for the largest revenue market share in 2020 for Bioinformatics Market owing to an increase in platform applications and the demand for better tools in drug development. This trend is expected to continue during the projected period. The study of evolutionary history, development, and relationships among organisms using molecular sequence or structural data is known as molecular phylogenetics (DNA, RNA, or proteins). The Knowledge Management Tools segment is poised to grow with the fastest CAGR of 13.6% in the forecast period 2024–2030. Researchers utilize knowledge management technologies to deal with vast amounts of diverse data. This data comprises both experimental data and data acquired from publicly available repositories. Data management, data warehousing, data mining, and information retrieval are all functions of knowledge management technologies. By comparing them to available databases, these functions aid in understanding the structure of genes and proteins, as well as the implications of mutations.

Bioinformatics Market Segment Analysis — By Sector: Based on Sector, Bioinformatics Market is segmented into Animal Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Forensic Biotechnology, Plant Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology, Others. In 2020, the medical biotechnology segment accounted for the largest revenue market share for Bioinformatics Market. The use of bioinformatics in clinical diagnostics is primarily driven by the development of new databases for drug discovery, the use of bioinformatics for clinical diagnostics, and increased funding for the development of bioinformatics solutions for clinical diagnostics, all of which are contributing to the growth of the medical biotechnology segment in the market. Metabolomics is the study of all or a large number of biological metabolites on a global scale. Metabolomics, like other types of functional genomics research, generates a lot of data. Handling, processing, and analyzing this data is a significant undertaking that necessitates the use of sophisticated mathematical, statistical, and bioinformatics software. The Animal Biotechnology segment is predicted to grow with the fastest CAGR of 13.8% in the forecast period 2024–2030. In the veterinary sciences, it has become an essential tool for both basic and applied research. Bioinformatics has advanced veterinary research by introducing new tools for identifying vaccination targets based on the sequencing of biological data from organisms.

Bioinformatics Market Segment Analysis — By Geography Based on Geography, North America Bioinformatics accounted for the 35% revenue share in 2020. The Bioinformatics Market in this region is growing owing to the government funding for genetic research, the existence of prominent bioinformatics providers, decreasing sequencing prices, improved awareness of bioinformatics services, and an increase in the number of genomic research activities. It has a good funding scenario for research activities. This regional market is characterized by increased government initiatives for genomic testing reimbursement and a favorable financing scenario for bioinformatics research activities. A large number of healthcare investments in the European region is expected to fuel the Bioinformatics Market. Furthermore, the increased adoption of IoT technologies in this industry is likely to have a beneficial impact on regional market growth. With a EUR 20 million investment, the UK government started the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK) in March 2020 to sequence the genomes of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic, using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). The NHS, Public Health Agencies, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and numerous university institutions make up the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK).

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Bioinformatics Market Drivers The Occurrence Of Rare Diseases Is Projected To Upsurge Market Growth: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 5,000 to 8,000 different rare diseases in Europe, with 27 million to 36 million people affected. Similarly, new diseases are emerging in other parts of the world that do not yet have a specific prescription treatment. As a result, there is a critical need for novel vaccines and treatments to treat these diseases. These rare diseases, it appears, necessitate a lot of data analytics for diagnosis and treatment, which mostly necessitates bioinformatics and other research methodologies.

The Evolution Of Big Data Technology Is Fueling Bioinformatics Advancement: Big data has risen to prominence in practically every industry, with a slew of government and private companies using it to boost their bottom lines. In today’s world, technology is rapidly evolving, allowing for precise predictive analysis. This steady advancement in big data is fueling the rise of bioinformatics since it allows for a closer examination of current medical issues and the development of new approaches for better treatment.

Bioinformatics Market Challenges High-Priced Equipment May Impede Market Expansion: With the development of sophisticated NGS technology, there is an increasing demand for user-friendly, fast, and accurate bioinformatics tools. Bioinformaticians do not make up the bulk of experimental research scientists. As a result, providing user-friendly tools for using bioinformatics platforms is crucial. Because of the lack of a user-friendly interface, many bioinformatics applications require advanced computer abilities. Genomics instruments are also more expensive, ranging from USD 10 million to USD 20 million, because of their extensive features and functions. Pharmaceutical businesses and research institutions spend a lot of money on various genomic equipment since they need so many of them. Small and medium-sized pharmaceutical businesses and research facilities are unable to make such large investments in various genomics equipment due to financial constraints.

Bioinformatics Market Segment Landscape: Product launches, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and geographical expansions are key strategies adopted by players in the Bioinformatics Market. Bioinformatics Market top 10 companies include:

Agilent Technologies Inc. Biomax Informatics AG Dassault Sytemes Biovia Corp Bruker Corporation Qiagen, Illumina Inc. Permin Elmer Inc. Applied Biologicals Materials Fios Genomics Partek Incorporated SOPHiA Genetics

#digital marketing #chemicals #research #reseach marketing

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