PBS Newshour 2/1/2011
Excerpt from transcript
LOWELL BERGMAN (Frontline): Today, coroners in South Carolina have limited access to a refrigeration unit. And there's a new requirement to be a coroner: You have to have a high-school diploma.
Forensic Pathology
Is a branch of pathology concerned with determining the cause of death by examination of a corpse. The autopsy is performed by the pathologist at the request of a coroner or medical examiner usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions. Forensic pathologists are also frequently asked to confirm the identity of a corpse.
The Forensic Pathologist: Is a medical doctor who has completed training in anatomical pathology and who has subsequently sub-specialized in forensic pathology. The requirements for becoming a 'fully qualified' forensic pathologist varies from country to country.
Need I say? This is the problem. A Coroner SHOULD be a fully qualified Forensic Pathologist (aka a Doctor). Note that this does NOT mean every berg should have it's own, it could be a county position. But a Coroner should NOT have ONLY a high-school diploma, not if justice is to be served.
ALSO
"The Real ‘CSI’: How America’s Patchwork System of Death Investigations Puts the Living at Risk" by A.C. Thompson, Mosi Secret, Lowell Bergman and Sandra Bartlett; ProPublica 2/1/2011
Frontline Documentary (full show video, opens in new page)
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