Patricia Cornwell Gives $1 million for CSI
NEW YORK (AP) - February 8, 2008 The best-selling novelist said she's taking action because she's
appalled by what she's seen at crime scene investigations.
"I've seen cops walk through blood. I've seen them leave their
own fingerprints on a window," Cornwell said in an interview
Friday. "I've seen bloody clothing put in a plastic bag, instead
of a paper bag, so it decomposes."
Her funding will help start the Crime Scene Academy at New
York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, set to open this fall
with training in DNA typing, fingerprint enhancement techniques,
ballistics and forensic psychology.
The 51-year-old author has written more than a dozen books
featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. Her latest is
"Book of the Dead."
Praised for her meticulous research, Cornwell blames television
and movies for misleading the public on how crimes are
investigated.
"It's like `Star Trek' compared to the real Air Force," she
said.
