ffemtreed
Ultimate Member
I still don't understand how etching solves any problems with firearms unless the whole chain of custody is etched into the thing. Any test firing from a lab should include a lab report with the serial number of the gun and any and all unique identifying marks on the gun as well as photo's of those marks. How is a unique etching any different than a unique serial number on a gun to prove beyond a doubt it was that gun that was tested.
Obviously if the serial number is unreadable or gone the etching would be justified.
So about the gas can, its not tested for prints by a lab? or sent out to verify what was in the can by a lab? Or sent to a lab to get any DNA off the can? My point is a simple everyday item can have just as much testing as a firearm and not need to be etched.
Is this etching a practice from way past prior to firearms having serial numbers that no one ever changed or challenged?
Altering the evidence should be kept to an absolute min. If I were at the defense table and someone showed me that firearm and asked if it were mine, I would say No, my firearm doesn't have those marks on it and here are the pictures of my firearm that doesn't show them marks. I know its B.S. but it still raises a tiny bit of doubt with uneducated jurors and gives them another thing to think about.
