Introduction

At the end of the criminal trial, where does the evidence go? During the trial, strict rules govern the access to and the use and interpretation of evidence, but after the conclusion of proceedings these rules no longer apply. This book explores the eclectic, often surprising, places in which evidence reappears after the criminal trial. Sustained by the interest of artists, writers, scholars, collectors and curators, as well as its lingering legacy in the lives of legal professionals and parties to the legal dispute, criminal evidence often leads what this book describes as a cultural afterlife.