The human body system has a beautiful defense mechanism that can stop pain signals to the brain. That is why in the case of a gunshot wound, some victims don’t feel the pain until much later because it looks just like a sting or a tap on the shoulder or left arm.
According to an article by Harvard Health Publishing, it was explained that the human brain could be fooled or distracted into ignoring pain and giving it less attention. Hence, some victims of gunshot wounds do not feel gruesome pain until seeing blood rushing out of the affected part.
Despite the feeling of little pain in the case of some victims, that doesn’t take away the damage a gunshot wound can cause to its victim. Some guns with smaller calibers will cause minor damage than those with larger ones.
Gunshot Wound Leading To A Court Case
This article focuses on gunshot wounds leading to a court case. Not all gunshot wounds will lead to a court case. A soldier on the battlefield who got shot by an enemy cannot sue the enemy to court. However, events like shootouts, armed robbery attacks, domestic violence, etc., can lead to court cases.
One of the numerous examples is the case of Willis v. State, who was charged with three counts of malice murder and multiple related offenses after he shot some close friends and their kids in their home.
Another example is the case of Scott v. Weems, who shot someone while committing a crime.
Like every other court case or trial, legal exhibits like evidence have to be adduced during a gunshot wound. The evidence can either be physical, demonstrative, documentary or be in the form of witness testimony.
For example, courtroom graphics are generally considered a form of demonstrative evidence, and they can be used during a gunshot wound. They serve as a visual aid and can be employed as part of an attorney’s visual litigation strategies in a court case.
Using Forensic Animation As Part of Your Visual Litigation Strategies.
Gunshot wounds can be deadly, horrific, complex, and traumatic. The injuries caused by a gunshot wound may not be easily explained to a layman or the jury unless the scene is recreated by an expert who will show and explain the damage done as the bullet penetrates through the human body.
Furthermore, to make the scene more understandable, a forensic pathologist can use his expertise to study the wound ballistics and help analyze the bullet paths to aid the recreation of the forensic animation.
For example, a victim shot in the head. A forensic pathologist can show how the bullet traveled through and hit the frontal bone and frontal lobe leading to intraparenchymal hemorrhage and midline shift.
When all these have been ascertained, forensic animation can then recreate the trajectories of the bullet and injuries it caused to the skull and brain and present visually.
An account of a man shot in the hip explained how the bullet broke his hip, hit his spine, and left half the bullets and fragments in the hip.
With the aid of forensic animation, an attorney can present this fact visually before the jury to show how the gunshot wound caused severe and traumatic damage to their client.
In conclusion, using forensic animation to depict a gunshot wound is a better way to present the picture much more clearly to the jury. Explaining with words of mouth may not be enough, and you shouldn’t take chances or compromise on legal exhibits that can tilt the case in your favor as an attorney.
