Forensics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 21

Ten Ways Hollywood Gets It Wrong

IN THIS CHAPTER

Mishandling trauma and poisons

Portraying inaccurate death and time of death errors

Misunderstanding how the crime lab works

These days, much of what people know about history, geography, and world cultures comes from what they see on TV and in movies. Because forensics is such a hot topic these days, millions of viewers also are becoming armchair experts on that subject. But is Hollywood reliable? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In this chapter, I cover some of the common forensic mistakes that Hollywood puts on the screen.

The Quick Death

A gun is shot or a knife is thrown and down goes one of the bad guys, perhaps clutching his chest or taking one last dramatic breath, but either way, he’s instantly a goner.

The problem: No one dies instantly in those circumstances. Well, almost no one. Instant death can occur from heart attacks, strokes, extremely abnormal heart rhythms, and with cyanide and other metabolic poisons (toxins that perform their mischief inside the cells of the body). Trauma from gunshot wounds (GSWs) and knife wounds, however, rarely causes instant death. Yet, how often has a single shot felled a villain? ...