People vs. Jennings (1911)
Headlines taken from various NY Times articles (1911).
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People v. Jennings became the first official case to integrate fingerprints as plausible evidence in America after prints found at the crime scene correctly identified Thomas Jennings as the murderer of Clarence Hiller. However, the strict sentencing of Jennings reveals the continued racial bias despite the increased accuracy from fingerprinting.
"On the night of September 19, 1910, Clarence B. Hiller...encountered an intruder [in his home] and a struggle ensued. Both fell to the foot of the stairway and Mr. Hiller was shot twice. He died moments later. Mrs. Hiller screamed and the intruder fled...[Luckily,] the [outside veranda] had recently been painted and it was here that the imprint of four fingers of someone's left hand was found imbedded in the fresh paint...At about 2:38 a.m. Thomas Jennings was spotted by police and was questioned as to what he was doing out so late...They searched him and discovered he was carrying a loaded revolver...Later, the police found out that Jennings had just been released on parole in August 1910 after serving a sentence for burglary. His fingerprint card was on file and was compared to the prints lifted at the Hiller household. Four fingerprint experts at Jennings' trial declared the fingerprints from the crime scene were a conclusive match to Jennings own prints. Based on this evidence, Jennings was convicted of murder on February 1, 1911. It was shortly after this event that fingerprint science spread to all the major American cities across the nation." "We are disposed to hold from the evidence of the four witnesses who testified, and from the writings we have referred to on this subject, that there is a scientific basis for the system of fingerprint identification, and that the courts cannot refuse to take judicial cognizance of it … " |