Introduction
Criminal law may in other words be termed as penal law. It is one of the branches of law comprising of rules and legislative duties which mostly deals with criminal processes. Criminal law may at times imply individual persons or organizations attempting to adjudicate legal conflicts. In criminal cases, the evidence may either be presented in organic or inorganic forms (Smith, 2009, p.1).
The differences between organic and inorganic evidence
Organic evidence is proof that is in most cases from materials and substances that are chemical in nature. These organic materials are considered to originate from either living organisms or substances that are made up of carbon. The source of organic evidence is therefore from animals or humans. Examples of organic evidence include cotton, manure, crude oil and water. Inorganic evidence on the other hand is proof that arises from materials or substances whose molecules do not contain any carbon compounds. These materials can also be termed as non-living. They may include objects such as knives, bullets, glass, hair, paint and many others.
The strengths and weaknesses of both organic and inorganic evidence
Organic evidence is obtained from the body of the victim or the perpetrator’s body. Such evidence includes fluids found at the crime scene which will be of very great importance in providing evidence concerning the crime committed. The fluids can be vomit, blood drops, semen, and saliva among others. Samples of the fluids are collected at the scene of the crime and taken for screening. First, the fluid sample is subjected to a DNA test (Smith, 2009, p.1).
This gives information concerning the victim or the perpetrator of the crime. One can know the gender whether the person was male or female. The fluids also tell if the person to whom the fluid samples belong suffers any disease or disorder. The DNA can also be sampled with other DNA recorded by the law enforcement authorities before to see if they match a renowned suspect. If the victim is found with wounds then the law enforcement team can know the kind of tools or weapons used to commit the crime.
At other times the evidence may be interfered with when chemical compounds are used near the crime scene to conceal the outcome of the results. If chemical compounds are poured on bloodstains to be used as evidence then the DNA carried out will give a different result from the actual result. This means that in case the organic evidence is contaminated then the credibility of the results will be questionable. In cases where the evidence is not altered with then, the results of the evidence obtained will be highly reliable and dependable in the verdict given concerning the culprit (Ella, 2010 p.1).
Inorganic evidence includes materials and objects used to commit the crime. This type of evidence gives information regarding the tools or objects used to commit the crime. For instance, if there was a bank robbery and used bullets recovered then it implies that the crime perpetrators were armed with guns. The type of bullet also tells the type of gun that was used to commit the crime. Further scrutiny of the inorganic evidence may reveal more evidence. For instance in the case of murder where a gun was used to initiate the death of the victim, then a bullet may give the range and the positions of the victim and perpetrator at the time of the occurrence of the incident.
Conclusion
Organic evidence is highly reliable since its results give precise and credible results. For example, a fingerprint found at a crime scene if matched with fingerprints at the law enforcement authority then there is no doubt that the person whose fingerprints match is the culprit. This is due to the fact that evidence such as the fingerprints are unique among people and there is no way different people can have resembling fingerprints (Ella, 2010 p.1).
Unlike organic evidence, inorganic evidence creates different outcomes depending on the understanding and interpretation of the investigator. Inorganic evidence also does not give accurate and precise evidence on the crime committed. For example, in the case above of murder, it only provides information relating to the weapon used the distance between victim and perpetrator but does not give information regarding the culprit himself. This type of evidence is at times considered to be vague in that the evidence it produces is not fully reliable and cannot be depended on completely without any supporting evidence from other sources.
Reference List
Ella, S. (2010). Organic and Inorganic Trace Evidence. Web.
Smith, D. (2009). Types of Evidence. Web.