Introduction

Forensic science applies scientific methods to matters related to the legal system. Members of the forensic field are part of the criminal justice system charged with upholding justice through science. Numerous wrongful convictions and ethical issues involving forensic science indicate a need to dissect the field from a different perspective. Stories in the media regularly identify ethical issues in forensic science ranging from individual misconduct to systemic organizational failures that lead to injustice. Even with these journalistic investigations, a lack of awareness remains regarding the contribution of ethical reasoning skills in forensic science. This book addresses that gap in the forensic field by discussing the potential contribution of ethical reasoning skills from a bioethics perspective to forensic science.