There are two things in life that are inevitable: death and taxes. The coroner system was founded upon both of those undeniable facts of life. The kings of the middle ages initially created the position of a coroner to investigate the suspicious deaths of people and also to collect the death tax on the deceased’s estate. In the United States, we have two positions that work in the field of death investigating, obviously the coroner and the medical examiner. These positions are widely different in how they run. To be a medical examiner, one must have many years of experience in medical school, and they must be board-approved. However, for a coroner’s position, the people in the state elect a campaigning candidate, and that candidate does not …show more content…
Although, blaming the coroner position is not the correct idea. It is the lack of a budget and pay for these departments that is causing a lack of interest in the field, and therefore a decline in employed MEs. The salary of a medical examiner in Boston, now, is around $95,000, compared to in 2000, the salary was as high as $200,000 (Bartlett). If the job employment is in an MEs only state, which entitles a huge amount of paperwork and autopsies, along with that seemingly small amount of pay, then the job obviously becomes less sought after (Rocheleau). What is also outrageous, is the amount of school one has to do to become a medical examiner. To become a forensic pathologist, the minimum amount of college education is around 13 years (Van Berkel). It takes up an immense amount of time to become an medical examiner, and as such, the field is underemployed, leading to those inefficiencies in the offices. Eliminating the coroner position does not help nor stimulate the growth of the field, since the coroner position is relatively easy to become without any college requirements. As an elected official, a coroner has the power to make decisions and is the best representatives of a community’s needs and values (Parrott). The debate should not be on eliminating the coroner position, as the job maintains the balance of workload and represents the wishes of the people in the state who elected the official. Instead, the debate should be focused on the budget for these departments. In 2000, the National Association of Medical Examiners found the Massachusetts agency was $10 million short of the recommended budget, as well, which likely resulted in the cut of pay for future medical examiners
We all know that living is an expensive experience. You’re required to pay taxes, pay for food, and pay for shelter. The counterpart of living, however, can also be quite expensive. In fact, Death is one of the most profitable events in life generating about 15 billion dollars a year (Qtd. In Crawford). With profit, however, comes greed and the Mortuary business has it’s fair share of corruption. Although a profit is necessary to maintain a business the extent to which some morticians go to maximize their profits is disgusting. While laws that Morticians must follow exist, their lack of enforcement renders them useless. That being said, these issues need to be addressed and solved.
A psychological autopsy is an investigative technique, usually employed by psychologists, which is used to determine how death had occurred in equivocal death cases (Fulero & Wrightsman, 2009). This technique is used to try and understand the mindset of the deceased person to help answer certain questions like why did the individual do what they did and why did it occur at that time? The investigator will collect data about the individual, like written correspondence and journ...
...urvivors and any of these people may taint the process by providing “biased” recollections. The most commonly cited limitation or weakness of psychological autopsies is the lack of any standardized procedures for conducting them (Roberts & Baker, 2009, Psychological Autopsy, Limitations of Psychological Autopsies section, para.2). Although psychologists have developed a standardized guide with twenty-six categories to assist investigators in conducting psychological autopsies, not all of the categories are applicable to every case or are considered by every psychologist conducting a psychological autopsy (Roberts & Baker, 2009, Psychological Autopsy, Limitations of Psychological Autopsies section, para.2). Lacks, Westveer, Dibble and Clemente (2008) question its validity and reliability as the accuracy of equivocal death analysis has not been empirically studied.
“In most human society's death is an extremely important cultural and social phenomenon, sometimes more important than birth” (Ohnuki-Tierney, Angrosino, & Daar et al. 1994). In the United States of America, when a body dies it is cherished, mourned over, and given respect by the ones that knew the person. It is sent to the morgue and from there the family decides how the body should be buried or cremated based on...
Just as the economy travels through its cycles, from bear to bull and back again, so does the number of doctors in the country. In the 1960s, the government began an attempt to create more physicians using various methods. One such method was to reward medical schools for training a certain number of doctors (Bernstein 1013). This would give the medical schools an incentive to accept more students and to allow the students to fully graduate and go on to attend residency programs. Another such method was to give a monetary reward to residency programs for providing graduate medical education. This totaled approximately $7 billion, a sum large enough to “pay the tuition and living expenses of every medical student in the United States” with a large portion left over as well (Bernstein 1013). Because of these actions taken by the government, many more physicians were created, causing a physician surplus throughout the 1980s to the late 1990s, although this claim was based on ...
In order to understand Forensic Anthropology we must break it down into the components. According to Oxford American Dictionary the term Forensic is significant to the use of scientific methods to investigate a crime. Anthropology is defined by Oxford American Dictionary as the study of societies, cultures, and human origins. The combination of both, Forensic and Anthropology, consists of applying the principles which are introduced by Anthropologists to solving a crime. Forensic Anthropology is currently a small field but is expected to grow in the upcoming years due how it is being portrayed in books, television shows, classes, and many other resources. The usage of this field is becoming crucial because of how gruesome the crimes being committed by criminals are becoming. Although Forensic Anthropology is currently a small field it requires a lot of education, carries plenty of job responsibilities, and continues to aid in the solving of crimes.
Instead, state governments should provide more funding and training for county coroner’s so they can do their jobs well with the proper facilities and equipment. Coroners are important elected officials and should not be replaced by appointed medical examiners who are not accountable to the public (“Coroners and Forensic Science”). Electing coroners with little medical experience and allowing them to perform autopsies with no real regulatory oversight is a deeply flawed and outdated method for conducting death investigations. As stated in the article, “autopsies should be performed only by licensed physicians, preferably those specializing in forensic pathology, and in offices run by certified medical examiners (“Coroners and Forensic Science”).” Furthermore, the U.S. should have a federal department that can impose a uniform set of standards for death investigation in every county, instead of the confusing hodgepodge of systems it has
Having the title of a physician holds a great deal of weight, and many obligations. One of doctor 's most important duties is to accommodate his or her patients to the fullest making him or her as comfortable as possible while trying to alleviate all pain in a timely fashion. In certain situations(mostly in the elderly and terminally ill) a doctor is not able to eliminate all pain forcing the patient to live out the last moments of his or her life in agony and misery. Unfortunately, from time to time an individual’s last option should he or she wish to die peacefully would be death. Although assisted suicide seems like a situation where far more problems are created rather than solutions(which is why many encourage assisted suicide to remain
The 20th century was a pivotal time period for psychology. During this time period many sub-disciplines of psychology were created which in essence contributed to the growth and further development of psychology. One of those sub-disciplines of psychology that seems to constantly grow and has gained momentum over the years has been forensic psychology. Although Munsterberg was not the first to suggest that psychology should be applied to the law, instead it was Freud in 1906 during a speech to an Australian judge that there are factors within psychology that should be applied to the law. Although he was the man behind the discovery of forensic psychology and several other sub-disciplines of psychology.
Forensic pathologists are the people who determine the cause and time of death if the deceased person died under suspicious circumstances, whether they be violent or not. They determine if the death was accidental, a homicide, natural, a suicide, or even if the cause of death was unknown. They do this by studying said victim’s medical history, evaluating the crime scene for evidence, studying the body for any clues, and performing an autopsy. After determining the cause, time, and the manner in which the victim died, forensic pathologists make a written report on the victim and sometimes testify in court to report their findings.
There are huge numbers of the students which may choose to earn online degrees for criminal justice. The online format to earn the degree is more flexible than classroom-based education. It may enable the students to hold down a job as well as economic support them while they earn a degree. The best criminal justice degree online programs mark the similar rigorous coursework as the established brick as well as mortar options. The online process to earn the degree is also compromise the internship for the students as well as it allows the students to gain supervise training at police stations and law offices as well as at the real-world workplaces.
According to the American academy of forensic science, the forensic sciences form a vital part if the entire justice and regulatory system. Forensic science is an enticing career having to do with science and criminal justice, a large variety of schooling is needed to start this job Despite the fact that it can be a dangerous environment it can be an exciting profession to pursue. There are many different fields in forensic science that you can study or major in but they all have the same objectives.
Crime scene investigators work for law enforcement agencies or other criminal justice fields that utilize trained investigators. They collect, identify, classify and analyze physical evidence to help solve and prosecute criminal activity. A crime scene investigator may test weapons, clothing, hair and tissue for criminal evidence. Once they collect all the evidence, they have to write reports detailing evidence collection procedures and conclusions, which is part of their responsibility. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the majority of crime scene investigator work with local and state government agencies, including in crime labs, Medical examiner offices and Law enforcement agencies. The duties for crime scene investigator is to secure
Echlin, Echlin. “Doctors and Nurses Should Never Take Part in Euthanasia.” Medical Ethics. Ed. Noel Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.
The topic I find such fascinating is Forensic Science and how forensic science has significantly changed over the years. “The area of forensic science has grown considerably over the last 150 years and more so since the mid 1980’s.” (Lyman, 2016) Forensic science has gone from taking basic information, and fingerprints to DNA and blood splatter. During a crime scene investigation evidence is collected, analyzed in a crime laboratory and then if needed are presented to the court. However, today the crime laboratory is becoming mobile and can go to the scene to analyze the evidence. Each crime scene and investigation is unique and distinctive, with the help of forensics it can help solve a case.