"Lesson from the Arsenic Wars: The Image of the Mad Alchemist and the Crisis in Forensic Science"

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Place: 6th Floor Conference Room, Chemical Heritage Foundation

The history of arsenic detection in criminal courts includes numerous episodes of forensic scientists attacking other forensic scientists, implying that their testimony derived from hubris and amorality, both of which are characteristics associated with the image of the mad alchemist in popular culture. An arsenic-poisoning case in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, in the early 19th century, the arsenic wars in France and England leading up to the Marsh test, and the recently overturned conviction (for poisoning her husband with arsenic) of Cynthia Sommer in San Diego are in several respects strikingly similar “affairs.” While the current crisis in forensic science involves criticism of pre–DNA identification techniques and typically does not involve forensic chemistry, there is reason for some caution even today in arsenic-detection technologies.

David Caudill, J.D., Ph.D., is the Arthur M. Goldberg Family Chair in Law at Villanova University and a former Société de Chimie Industrielle fellow (2007–2008). His research and teaching interests include scientific expertise in the courtroom and in environmental regulation.