Statistical basis for positive identification in forensic anthropology: Response to Anderson

✍ Scribed by Dawnie Wolfe Steadman; Bradley J. Adams; Lyle W. Konigsberg

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 77 KB
• Volume: 133
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-9483
• DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20587

✦ Synopsis

We thank Dr. Anderson for his thoughtful comments on our paper \Statistical Basis for Positive Identification in Forensic Anthropology" (Steadman et al., 2006). We heartily agree with his sentiment that the current terms used to qualify identifications (e.g., \circumstantial," \positive," \consistent with," \presumptive") are quite problematic and create numerous inconsistencies between disciplines and in the courts. In truth, we had a difficult time addressing these issues both in the original paper and in this response. One problem is that none of the disciplines involved in personal identification put forth a clear definition of \positive" identification, and