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Abstract: The mutilated fingerprints of a convicted felon are compared to his original fingerprints. Using enlarged photocopies, the mutilated prints are reconstructed as closely to their original configuration as possible. From this experiment, it is shown that triangular pieces of friction ridge skin were originally switched within each finger. The steps used in the actual mutilation procedure are then diagramed, and some facts of this case are presented.
Introduction
To this day, no one has ever successfully mutilated his or her fingerprints to the extent that they cannot be identified. Many criminals have tried, but all have failed. Nevertheless, criminals continue to demonstrate their general level of intelligence by repeatedly inflicting pain and suffering upon themselves in a futile attempt to escape prosecution for previous criminal activity. Two prominent examples demonstrate to what lengths criminals will go to alter the appearance of their fingerprints.
On July 22, 1934, John Dillinger, a notorious gangster, was killed by federal agents. A subsequent examination of his fingerprints revealed that the ridge detail directly surrounding prominent features in his fingerprints had been mutilated. Dillinger's plastic surgeon not only sliced through the deltas and cores in each finger, but went on to pour acid into these cut areas. The result was a set of fingerprints that would be difficult to classify but easy to identify, as most of the ridge detail on his fingers remained unaltered.
Roscoe Pitts was a career criminal who is renowned for attempting to conceal his identity by surgically grafting the tips of his fingers to his side and then having them removed. This resulted in smooth skin being transferred to the end joint of each finger. He did not realize that he could be identified by other friction ridge skin. In 1941, Pitts was linked to and convicted for his prior crimes based on an identification utilizing ridges in the second joints of his fingers.
In a recent case, another set of mutilated fingerprints appeared in Miami. The fingerprints were dated March 24, 1995, and were taken from a man who called himself "Alexander Guzman". The impressions looked as though the subject was an unfortunate victim of a severe industrial accident.
Several possible explanations for the skin damage on the fingers were considered....