Forensic Case Studies Ballistics

Answer the following questions on your OWN SHEET OF PAPER!!

Sacco and Vanzetti (1920)

Three different types of shell casings were found at the scene of a payroll holdup. Two security guards were killed. When suspects Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested, they were both in possession of loaded guns of the same caliber and ammunition from the same three manufacturers as the casings found at the crime scene. Both were anarchists who openly advocated the violent overthrow of the government. The trial opened in 1921. More than 140 witnesses were called to testify. The one fact that seemed incontrovertible was that the bullet that killed one of the security guards was so ancient in its manufacture that no similar ammunition could be found to test- fire Saccos weapon except those equally ancient cartridges found in his pocket upon arrest. The defendant’s lawyer, Fred Moore, aggressively turned the trial from murder to politics. He accused the prosecution of trying the men as part of the Red Scare of 1919 1920. It soon turned into a worldwide spectacle of patriots versus foreigners. Despite Moores tactics, the defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. In 1927, a committee was appointed to review the case. The comparison microscope had been recently invented and was used to conclusively link the murder bullet with Saccos gun. Both men were executed in the electric chair in 1927.

  1. How many different shell types were found at the crime scene?
  2. What evidence was found when the two men were arrested?
  3. Why were police not able to test-fire the suspected gun?
  4. What tool helped to conclusively link the murder bullet with Saccos gun?
  5. What was the ultimate conviction of the two suspects?

Lee Harvey Oswald (1963)

The Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone in his assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The bullets that were fired at President Kennedy were analyzed for chemical composition and left conflicting conclusions as to the number of bullets fired and their origin. However, many believe that the evidence seems to contradict the Warren Commission report on this point.

Three bullets were reported to have been fired. The path of one of the bullets went through President Kennedy and then through Governor Connally, who was also in the car. Of the three shots that Oswald is said to have fired, one missed the car completely. A second bullet struck Kennedy in the back and then proceeded through his body into Connallys back, out through his chest, striking his right wrist, and then proceeding through his left thigh. The last bullet struck Kennedy in the back of the head and was fatal.

  1. Who did he assassinate?
  2. How were the bullets from the scene analyzed?
  3. Which evidence was contradictory?
  4. What was the path of the first bullet?
  5. What was the path of the second bullet?
  6. Which bullet was fatal?

Joseph Gerace (2004)

Albany Police Officer Joseph Gerace was trapped between parked cars in downtown Albany a few blocks from the State Capitol Building. Daniel Reed drove his car erratically toward the officer and Gerace, fearing for his life, fired at Reed. One of the shots accidentally killed David Scaringe as he crossed a nearby street. Ballistics testing confirmed the shot that killed Scaringe was fired from Officer Geraces firearm. The officer left the scene of the incident while police tried to help Scaringe. Gerace was later charged with reckless endangerment.

  1. Where was Gerace a police officer at?
  2. How was he trapped?
  3. What was Daniel Reed doing that caused him to fire his gun?
  4. What was Gerace charged with and why?