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
- Medical examiner: 24 dead in Oklahoma twister
- "The state medical examiner’s office has revised the death toll from a tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb to 24 people, including seven children."
- Shane Todd's inquiry adjourned after family walked out of court
- Singapore: Dr. Edward Adelstein engages in ACCPE.
- Medical Examiner Testimony Key in Columbia Trial
- Columbia, SC: ACCPE. "Dr. Bradley Marcus said Friday that Brian Capnerhurst's left arm was broken with one of the first shots fired at him, and the blow sent him falling backward, which would have forced him to let go of anything he was holding."
- Medical examiner: Capnerhurst could not have wielded a pistol.
- More of the same ACCPE silliness.
- Forensic pathologist: Destiny Cox covered in bruises
- Illinois: ACCPE. Bruises on Destiny Cox’s abdomen and back were consistent with fist marks, and a bruise on her head consistent striking the corner of a wall, a forensic pathologist (Scott Denton) testified Friday in the murder trial of David Gharrett. Destiny, 3, lost consciousness while in the care of her mother’s former boyfriend April 28, 2011, and died the next day of what authorities say was blunt force trauma to the brain and abdomen. Gharrett, 25, of Chenoa is charged with first-degree murder.
- Medical Examiner: Infant's death is a homicide
- Tennessee: ACCPE.
- Kickoff of St. Tammany coroner recall effort draws steady stream of voters
- Louisiana: "Hoping for a good turnout for Saturday's public kickoff of the recall petition against St. Tammany Parish Coroner Peter Galvan, the organizers received some encouraging signs before the event even got started. Two hours prior to the scheduled 10 a.m. start -- as members of Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk at 2104 First St. in Olde Towne Slidell -- motorists kept stopping and asking if they could sign."
- Family calls The Boss
- Ohio: If you want justice to be done and the truth to be learned, don't call Bruce Springsteen. Learn about the Inferential Test instead.
- Coroner’s office has theory of dead person’s identity
- Ohio: Saying too much too soon to the wrong people.
- EXCLUSIVE: Pioneer in DNA testing quits Medical Examiner's Office over lab violations
- New York, NY: "The abrupt April 19 departure of Theresa Caragine is the latest snafu to befall the office and has already affected ongoing cases in the Bronx and Brooklyn, according to court papers."
- Allegheny County medical examiner: ‘All options open’ in UPMC doctor’s cyanide death
- Pittsburgh, PA: An alleged poisoning case requires a very thorough witness investigation and not just a positive (possibly a false positive) toxicology finding. Don't rule out anything -- even a natural death -- until more is known.
- Recall effort against St. Tammany Coroner Peter Galvan is officially under way
- Louisiana: "The clock has started ticking on a citizens group's effort to recall St. Tammany Parish Coroner Peter Galvan. Rick Franzo, president of Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany, picked up the official recall petition from the state Secretary of State's Office in Baton Rouge on Wednesday morning, marking the beginning of the 180-day period in which the group must collect the signatures of more than 53,000 registered voters."
- Joyce L. deJong to head WMU department of Pathology
- Michigan: "Joyce L. deJong has been named the founding chair of the department of pathology in the Western Michigan University School of Medicine. Her appointment is effective July 1."
- Medical examiner says toddler who died of neglect covered in human waste, maggots
- Washington: ACCPE. I know this looks bad; still, the parents should be given every opportunity to explain in their own words what they did, saw and heard. Was this done in this case? Did the ME take this information into consideration before calling this a homicide?
- Williamson County weighs medical examiner options
- Texas: "With Travis County looking to build a new medical examiner’s office, Williamson County officials are considering partnering with their neighbors to the south."
- Leicester forensic pathology expert appointed head of international radiology autopsy group
- “There are important religious, cultural and humanitarian benefits offered by non-invasive autopsies and it is recognised that there is no longer the need to undertake invasive autopsy examinations in certain types of death." Dr. Rutty, what you don't know and cannot know could come back to hurt you and others. It is not good to cut corners.
- New law to help speed process of hiring medical examiner for El Paso
- Texas: "Gov. Rick Perry signed a new bill into law, making it easier for El Paso County to finally hire a chief medical examiner. The new law allows counties to hire a licensed out-of-state medical examiner."
Pathology Links
- ACCPE means Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events
- 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
- National Association of Medical Examiners