Forensic Pathology News
Dr. Young will post links to news articles that interest him about
forensic pathology, medical examiners, coroners and death
investigation in this section.
Pathology in the News
- John Oliver dives into the unexpectedly essential world of coroners and medical examiners
- Dr. Young: I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.
- Semen staining containing Boy A's DNA found on ripped top discovered in room where Ana was found, court hears
- Dr. Young: Humans are smart enough to discover DNA and analyze it, yet stupid enough to infer improperly from it.
- Local 4 Defenders take rare journey inside Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office
- PONTIAC, Mich. - The Local 4 Defenders took a rare journey inside the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office to see what they see.
- Sherlock Quiz: What Do You Know About Sherlock Holmes?
- Spend less time studying Sherlock Holmes; spend more time studying the Inferential Test.
- Graphic Autopsy Photos Shown as Medical Examiner Testifies in Eric Garner Case
- Describing the chokehold as the first event in a lethal cascade of events, Dr. Floriana Persechino said she found hemorrhages on muscles inside the neck, root of tongue and the back of his neck. She said there was a 2-inch hemorrhage in front of his larynx. The hemorrhages, she said, occurred around the time of Garner's death. She noted that she found no visible injuries under Garner's neck, but said in her medical opinion, the 43-year-old father was put in a chokehold. [Hemorrhages in these locations are not specific for a choke hold; they can be found at autopsy in natural deaths. You know she got the wrong answer if you know anything about the Sherlock Effect.]
- Medical Examiner testifies in Bass trial
- More Sherlock Effect--see it if you can spot it after watching the video.
- DNA is cracking mysteries and cold cases. But is genome sleuthing the ‘unregulated wild west?’
- Dr. Young: DNA evidence without the Inferential Test is disastrous.
- Our favourite detective Sherlock Holmes lands on Royal Mint’s new 50p coin
- Dr. Young: How absurd is it for the UK to honor Sherlock Holmes.
- Homicide ruling in Kilburn case shines light on medical examiner’s role
- Dr. Young: There is no evidence of homicidal intent, making this an accident. Both combatants are fighting with each other, not one assaulting the other.
- Mountain View man convicted of 1st-degree murder
- Dr. Thomas Bennett, the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy in the case, also testified during the trial. Bennett, who said he has performed more than 12,000 autopsies in his career, said he, too, noted the extensive bruising to the child’s body and was able to ascertain that most of those bruises were fresh. He also said he was able to determine that the injuries to the child’s mouth occurred on the day of his death. Bennett said there was absolutely no evidence of water in the boy’s lungs consistent with Hartley’s claim of finding him face down in the bathtub; however, he did find evidence of diffuse brain hemorrhage consistent with repetitive, violent shaking. Bennett determined the cause of death to be non-accidental head injuries indicative of abusive head trauma so severe the boy would have survived only 5-15 minutes after the injuries were sustained. [Sherlock Effect]
Pathology Links
- ACCPE means Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events. It is The Sherlock Effect.
- Whenever an expert states the past events that occurred on the basis of looking only at the physical evidence without reference to eyewitness statements, he or she is Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events. This is not only logically invalid and unsound, it never works in practice, Sherlock Holmes, CSI and Bones notwithstanding. Whenever ACCPE is listed in my comments to a news article, recognize one more tragic example of how this fallacy can destroy lives. ACCPE can also be understood as "backward reasoning,""effect-to-cause reasoning," or "abductive inference."
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences
- ForensicScienceDegree.org
- For further information on forensic science.
- National Association of Medical Examiners