Part 21 (2/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: 382. The use of the curved holder for taking the ”rolled” impression.]

_Deformities_

If a subject has more than 10 fingers, as occasionally happens, the thumbs and the next 4 fingers to them should be printed, and any fingers left over should be printed on the other side of the card with a notation made to the effect that they are extra fingers. When a person with more than 10 fingers has an intentional amputation performed, it is invariably the extra finger on the little finger side which is amputated.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 383]

It also happens, not infrequently, that a subject will have two or more fingers webbed or grown together, as in figures 383 and 384, making it impossible to roll such fingers on the inside. Such fingers should be rolled, however, as completely as possible, and a notation made to the effect that they are joined.

Split thumbs, i.e., thumbs having two nail joints, as in figure 385, are cla.s.sified as if the joint toward the outside of the hand were not present. In other words the inner joint is used, and no consideration whatever is given to the outer joint.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 384]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 385]

_General_

These problems have dealt with the mechanical or operational processes. However, there are other problems dealing with the completing of the descriptive information. The fingerprint card may be returned because of the lack of information in the s.p.a.ces provided, such as name, s.e.x, race, height, weight, etc. Any discrepancies in this information may necessitate the return of the fingerprint card.

The success and value of the FBI's fingerprint files to all law enforcement agencies are dependent, in a large measure, on the legibly inked fingerprints taken by law enforcement agencies.

Figure 386 shows an enlarged portion of the bulb of a finger revealing the microscopic structure of the friction skin. The epidermis consists of two main layers, namely, the stratum corneum, which covers the surface, and the stratum mucosum, which is just beneath the covering surface. The stratum mucosum is folded under the surface so as to form ridges which will run lengthwise and correspond to the surface ridges. However, these are twice as numerous since the deeper ridges which correspond to the middle of the surface ridges alternate with smaller ones which correspond to the furrows. The sweat pores run in single rows along the ridges and communicate through the sweat ducts with the coil sweat glands which are below the entire epidermis. The friction ridges result from the fusion in rows of separate epidermic elements, such as the dot shown on the left. Generally speaking, when an individual bruises or slightly cuts the outer layer or stratum corneum of the bulb of the finger, the ridges will not be permanently defaced. However, if a more serious injury is inflicted on the bulb of the finger, thereby damaging the stratum mucosum, the friction skin will heal, but not in its original formation. The serious injury will result in a permanent scar appearing on the bulb of the finger.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 386]

CHAPTER X

_Problems and Practices in Fingerprinting the Dead_

Each year new graves are opened in potter's fields all over the United States. Into many of them are placed the unknown dead--those who have lived anonymously or who, through accident or otherwise, lose their lives under such circ.u.mstances that identification seems impossible.

In a majority of such cases, after the burial of the body, no single item or clue remains to effect subsequent identification. As a result, active investigation usually ceases and the cases are forgotten, unless, of course, it is definitely established that a murder has been committed.

Reliance is too often placed on visual inspection in establis.h.i.+ng the ident.i.ty of the deceased. This includes having the remains viewed by individuals seeking to locate a lost friend or relative. The body is often decomposed. If death was caused by burning, the victim may be unrecognizable. As a result of many fatal accidents the deceased is often mutilated, particularly about the face, so that visual identification is impossible. Yet, in many cases, the only attempt at identification is by having persons view the remains and the personal effects.

The recorded instances of erroneous visual identifications are numerous. In one case a body, burned beyond recognition, was identified by relatives as that of a 21-year-old man; yet fingerprints later proved that the corpse was that of a 55-year-old man.

Fingerprints have frequently been instrumental in establis.h.i.+ng the correct ident.i.ty of persons killed in airplane crashes and incorrectly ”identified” by close relatives.

In one instance a woman found dead in a hotel room was ”positively”

identified by several close friends. The body was s.h.i.+pped to the father of the alleged deceased in another state where again it was ”identified” by close friends. Burial followed. Approximately one month later the persons who had first identified the body as that of their friend were sitting in a tavern when the ”dead” woman walked into the room. Authorities were immediately advised of the error; they in turn advised the authorities in the neighboring state of the erroneous identification and steps were taken immediately to rectify the mistake. After permission had been granted by the State Health Board to exhume the body of the dead woman, fingerprints were taken and copies were forwarded to the FBI Identification Division. The finger impressions were searched through the fingerprint files and the true ident.i.ty of the deceased was established.

During a 12-month period, the FBI Identification Division received the fingerprints of 1,708 unknown dead. Of these, 1,298, or almost 76 percent, were identified. The remaining 410 were not identified simply because fingerprints of these individuals were not in the FBI files.

It should be noted that in these 1,708 cases, it was possible to secure legible fingerprints of the deceased in the usual manner by inking the fingers in those instances in which decomposition had not injured the ridge detail.

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