Anthrax Files Video 

1. What is anthrax? How was anthrax used in the crimes?

Anthrax is a deadly bacteria. It is used as a bioweapon.
2. When examining the anthrax, what did scientists find?
They found that all the different types came from a same strand.
They reached the conclusion analysing the DNA.
3. The scientists were both helping with the investigation and
suspects in the investigation. What issues might this create
for a criminal investigation?
The problem was that everyone was a suspect so they did not know
who to trust and who to beware of.
4. Who was Mr. Z? How did reporters and investigators react to
their belief that he was mailer? What was found?
Mr.Z was doctor Steven Halfield. He had access to anthrax when he
worked for the military. They thought he was to blame but they did
not find anything about him incriminating.
5. What was the situation five years after the crime?
After 5 years, Mr.Z finally was clear of all charges and did not have
any more social pressure.
6. Who did the FBI next focus on as a suspect? What evidence
did they base this on? What problems are there with this
evidence?
Their chemist consultant Doctor Bruce Ivins because he had access to
it and had worked long hours overnight during the time the anthrax
had been synthesised. The problem is that he does not know what
excuse to give to it and changes it all the time, which leads to think
that he is hiding something.
7. What did the FBI find when they searched Ivins' home and
office? How did these findings complicate the case?
They did not find any anthrax spores. In the basement, however,
they found strange little stuff such as guns and underwear. It
complicated the case because it didn’t have anything incriminating
but at the same time, he did have something dark.
8. What happened to Ivins? Was the FBI to blame for this?
He committed suicide taking a large dose of a medicine. The FBI was
partly to blame because they had pushed and broken him harder
than they thought they would.
9. When the FBI gave its evidence to an independent lab, what
did this lab find? What problems does this have for the FBI's
case against Ivins?
They questioned that Ivins flask was the murder weapon, which is
really important to the case because it means they may have been
taking the wrong approach to the investigation all these years.
10. According to critics, what are the mistakes that the FBI
and other investigators made in the anthrax case? Why might
these mistakes have been made?
They think the FBI pushed people hard and put them under social
pressure and therefore were unable to efficiently cope with
everything and help with the investigation. Moreover, they used
dogs, which by smell led them to a pond they had to empty for
nothing, because they just found a frog trap. These mistakes might
have been made because of the importance of the case and the
pressure to conclude it.