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An experienced attorney, Stephen Krzyston served 7 years as an assistant public defender with the Richland County Public Defenders Office in Columbia, South Carolina. He currently practices criminal law with the Columbia firm of Cavanaugh & Thickens. One of Stephen Krzyston’s areas of experience is fingerprint evidence.
Because each human being’s fingerprints are unique and remain consistent over time, forensic scientists have long used them as extremely important tools of criminal investigation. In their efforts to identify people of interest, criminal investigators rely on three different types of found fingerprints: patent, latent, and plastic.
Patent fingerprints occur when fingertips become coated in highly visible substances such as dirt and blood, while latent fingerprints are merely comprised of the sweat and oils of the skin, and must be processed with powder or chemical agents to become visible. Like patent prints, plastic fingerprints are easy to see with the naked eye. Defined by their three-dimensional nature, they leave deep impressions in viscous mediums such as paint, soap, and tar.
