Edited sentence: A lead residue test is a routine procedure in crime scene investigations where the suspect is apprehended at or near the scene of the crime and was conducted with at least one other suspect at the scene.Abu-Jamal's hands and face were not tested or examined for the lead residue that would normally be present had he recently fired a gun.Although all five bullets in Abu-Jamal's gun were spent, the police didn't conduct forensic tests to ascertain whether the weapon had been fired in the immediate past (why would they neglect to carry out such a critical process in an alleged murder case of any kind.However, the fact that Jamal had a bullet in his chest requiring immediate medical attention made such a test on Jamal insignificant in comparison to his need for immediate hospitalization.However, there is no conclusive test to determine if a gun has been fired recently.Jamal claims that he was beaten by police after the shooting but before he went to the hospital.Jamal was indicted shortly after he filed a complaint charging police abuse on the night of the shooting.Since Abu-Jamal had been shot at close range himself, a nitrate test would have provided no useful information.The "sniff" test on a gun is not considered forensic evidence, being subjective.The only forensic tests available are the nitrate tests, which only show that someone might have been near a gun while it was fired