Introduction to Forensic Medicine and its role in the administration of justice

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Introduction to Forensic Medicine and its role in
the administration of justice

• Dr A Tay

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Forensic Medicine

• The term Forensic Medicine means the application
  of medical knowledge (all branches of medicine
  including laboratory examinations) for the
  administration of law and justice

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• Forensic comes from the Latin word forensis
  meaning forum.
• During the time of the Romans, a criminal charge
  meant presenting the case before a group of
  public individuals

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All the Forensics

• forensic pathology,
• forensic DNA tests,
• forensic toxicology,
• criminal toxicology,
• forensic autopsy

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• Forensic entomology deals with the examination of
  insects in, on, and around human remains to
  assist in determination of time or location of
  death. It is also possible to determine if the
  body was moved after death.
• Forensic meteorology is a site specific analysis
  of past weather conditions for a point of loss
• Forensic geology deals with trace evidence in the
  form of soils, minerals and petroleums
• Forensic odontology is the study of the
  uniqueness of dentition better known as the study
  of teeth.
• Forensic photography is the art of producing an
  accurate photographic reproduction of a crime
  scene for the benefit of a court.
• Forensic toxicology is the study of the effect of
  drugs and poisons on/in the human body.
• Forensic firearms examination is the science
  dealing with the investigation of use of firearms
  and ammunition

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• The term Forensic Science means the application
  of the knowledge of science for the purposes of
  law and justice. The term includes the
  application of all sciences such as physics,
  chemistry, biology
• Almost all branches of science can help in the
  administration of justice

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• The term Clinical Forensic Medicine involves an
  application of clinical methods for the
  administration of justice.
• e.g. battered baby
• e.g.live rape victim

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• Forensic pathology
• It is the application of the knowledge of
  pathology for the administration of justice.
• Post-mortem examinations, deducing the cause of
  death by looking at the state of internal organs,
  estimating the cause of death by doing
  histo-pathology of internal organs, etc. involves
  a thorough knowledge of pathology

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Medical Jurisprudence

• Medical jurisprudence means legal aspects of
  practice of medicine.
• For instance, a physician while prescribing
  medicines for his patients is guided by certain
  rules and regulations.
• If he is negligent towards his patients, he may
  have to face the law.
• All the rules and regulations which guide a
  physician during his practice come under medical
  jurisprudence

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Medical Ethics

• Medical ethics deal with the moral principles
  which should guide members of medical profession
  in their dealings with one another, with their
  patients and with their State. For instance a
  doctor is not expected to refuse treatment to a
  patient on religious grounds.

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Medical etiquette

• Medical etiquette deals with the conventional
  laws and customs of courtesy observed between
  members of the medical profession.
• For instance, a doctor is not expected to charge
  for giving medical advice and/or medicines to
  another doctor.
• He is also expected to see him out of turn. If he
  follows these guidelines, he is said to have
  observed proper medical etiquette

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Case Study
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The autopsy

• Autopsy was done on the dead body of the thirty
  years old lady, who was noticed hanging from the
  bough of a keekar tree in a forest. The
  deceased was a divorced lady.
• A shawl was tied around her neck, which belonged
  to the deceased.
• As a slip-noose was used, ligature was in contact
  with the skin throughout the full circumference
  of the neck.

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The cause of Death

• There was mark of saliva dribbling from the left
  angle of her mouth. Except over the uppermost
  part of the right side of the neck ligature mark
  was faint and deficient on the back and sides. It
  was believed to correspond to the ligature
  material as soft as shawl. There was evidence of
  bruising on and around carotid vessels on the
  right side.
• She had abrasions on the upper front of her both
  legs and also over right side lower outer front
  of the abdomen. There was no bony injury in the
  air passages like the fracture or dislocation of
  the hyoid or thyroid indicative of manual
  strangulation.
• Cause of death by all standards was hanging.

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The missing earrings

• Doubt of homicide gained footings because father
  of the deceased held that earrings, that the
  deceased was always wearing, were missing from
  her ears. So much so the rumor of missing earring
  had converted in to news of recovery and seemed
  to have reached police ears while autopsy was
  going on.
• Police expected autopsy doctors to provide some
  vital clues regarding the nature of hanging.
  Dismissing earrings based homicide theory autopsy
  team apprised police, true her ears were without
  any earring but there was no fresh or recent
  injury in her ears.
• Ligature mark was believed to be the result of
  hanging, from a low point, for little period and
  in such a position that her legs were touching
  the ground. How could the body examination
  exclude that she could not and did not hang
  herself still appeared mysterious to the autopsy
  team

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The Recovery of new evidence

• Absence of earring in the ears of the deceased
  was not given much credence till it was recovered
  from the killers.
• Villagers handed over two boys to the police who
  were found selling the earrings of the deceased.

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The confession

• They confessed that one of them raped her. They
  then rendered her unconscious during throttling.
• They also confessed of having created a scene of
  hanging. According to them in her efforts to
  escape she even fell and sustained some injuries
  on the front of her legs. Just because she
  removed her earrings herself to offer them for
  letting her go there was no injury on her ears.
• They suspended her for two reasons. First they
  had doubt that she had not died and was still
  alive. They were so skeptical about her death
  that even after hanging her, one of them came
  back to the scene after sometime to make sure
  that she was really dead.
• Another reason for hanging her, they told, was
  that they knew by creating a scene of hanging,
  even if she was noticed no one would suspect
  them.
• A divorced young lady in the village would have
  several reasons to commit suicide.

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