Quman Alasow
Elliot Winter
English 101
October 15, 2017
Textual Analysis
This article was written after Annie Dookhan, a former chemist was arrested when found tampering with evidence which was led to the dismissal of over 20,000 drug cases. The authors purpose of this article is to inform us that the reliability of crime labs depend on them being independent from law enforcement to protect citizens from wrongful convictions. The author specifically uses the phrase, “ cling to techniques that are of questionable value” to point out the corruption that happens in the labs are because of prosecutors wanting to win the case.
This article highlights the shortcomings of crime labs and argues for protecting its independence from prosecutors and …show more content…
The authors say, “ reliable scientific practices require strict protocols and aggressive oversight to protect against the Annie Dookhans of the world”. The Annie Dookhans of the world are those who have the “win at all costs” mindset and by using that exact number, the author emphasizes their point while pointing out the importance of fixing forensic science.
They use strong appeals to logos by providing evidence, stating facts, and giving statistics to back their claim. They point out that, “A 2015 review by the F.B.I. found that its forensic hair-sample analysts testified wrongly in favor of the prosecution 96 percent of the time,” to support their claim that a crime lab is more efficient and reliable if it is independent from law enforcement. This statistic is one of the many that logically supports their claim and their details and the facts also appeal to logos. The authors also use the phrase “dragged their feet like sullen children avoiding homework.” They compare the prosecutors to sullen children because the prosecutors were making excuses to avoid the fact that the convictions that were tied to Annie, were based on doctored evidence. This analogy uses logic as a form of reasoning because they appeal to the basic concept of knowing what is right and instead of complaining, the prosecutors should do what’s right and have those convictions …show more content…
The authors state that, “the thousands more who have continued to suffer the effects of a criminal record after they were released.” This image evokes the reality that this could happen to anyone and that it is a problem that we have to deal with. Their goal is to make the reader sympathize with those who were wronged when the law was supposed to protect them. Adding to this idea are small phrases like, “little comfort,” “suffer more,” “wrongly imprisoned,”. All of these evoke negative emotions about how easy it is to tamper with evidence and that it could lead to
Elliot Winter
English 101
October 15, 2017
Textual Analysis
This article was written after Annie Dookhan, a former chemist was arrested when found tampering with evidence which was led to the dismissal of over 20,000 drug cases. The authors purpose of this article is to inform us that the reliability of crime labs depend on them being independent from law enforcement to protect citizens from wrongful convictions. The author specifically uses the phrase, “ cling to techniques that are of questionable value” to point out the corruption that happens in the labs are because of prosecutors wanting to win the case.
This article highlights the shortcomings of crime labs and argues for protecting its independence from prosecutors and …show more content…
The authors say, “ reliable scientific practices require strict protocols and aggressive oversight to protect against the Annie Dookhans of the world”. The Annie Dookhans of the world are those who have the “win at all costs” mindset and by using that exact number, the author emphasizes their point while pointing out the importance of fixing forensic science.
They use strong appeals to logos by providing evidence, stating facts, and giving statistics to back their claim. They point out that, “A 2015 review by the F.B.I. found that its forensic hair-sample analysts testified wrongly in favor of the prosecution 96 percent of the time,” to support their claim that a crime lab is more efficient and reliable if it is independent from law enforcement. This statistic is one of the many that logically supports their claim and their details and the facts also appeal to logos. The authors also use the phrase “dragged their feet like sullen children avoiding homework.” They compare the prosecutors to sullen children because the prosecutors were making excuses to avoid the fact that the convictions that were tied to Annie, were based on doctored evidence. This analogy uses logic as a form of reasoning because they appeal to the basic concept of knowing what is right and instead of complaining, the prosecutors should do what’s right and have those convictions …show more content…
The authors state that, “the thousands more who have continued to suffer the effects of a criminal record after they were released.” This image evokes the reality that this could happen to anyone and that it is a problem that we have to deal with. Their goal is to make the reader sympathize with those who were wronged when the law was supposed to protect them. Adding to this idea are small phrases like, “little comfort,” “suffer more,” “wrongly imprisoned,”. All of these evoke negative emotions about how easy it is to tamper with evidence and that it could lead to