The following article was published in the Omaha World Herald today and mentions Corrie's murder as one of the reasons that change needs to occur. It is nice to see that something Corrie is able to help others in light of this tragedy.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10576650
Published Monday March 2, 2009
Dealing with death in Nebraska: More nails in coffin of coroner system
BY KARYN SPENCER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Coroner systems such as Nebraska's should be abolished and replaced with a medical examiner system, similar to the one in Iowa, with the help of federal funds, a national report recommends.
A National Academy of Sciences report released last month supports many conclusions of The World-Herald's 2008 "Fatal Flaws" investigative report, which found that the quality of death investigations is inconsistent because of variations in qualifications, skills and budgets.
The academy, the federal government's chief science adviser, also called for an overhaul of the crime laboratory system nationwide because such labs are underfunded, often beholden to law enforcement and lack consistent standards.
The deficiencies pose "a continuing and serious threat" to identifying criminals and protecting people from wrongful convictions, said the researchers who led a two-year study ordered by Congress.
Nebraska is one of 11 states that use coroners to investigate deaths, but it is the only one in which county attorneys serve as the coroners. Nebraska has few statewide standards and no required training.
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• World-Herald Investigative Report: Fatal Flaws
• Grant frustrated by unsolved beating death
• National Academy of Sciences forensic report
In Iowa, the State Medical Examiner's Office already meets all of the recommendations in the science academy report. It has full-time forensic pathologists and statewide standards for autopsies and investigations.
Nebraska State Sen. Pete Pirsch of Omaha has introduced a bill that includes some elements of the academy recommendations to improve the current coroner system.
If passed, Legislative Bill 671 would require training for county attorneys, have forensic pathologists available for consultation around the clock and create standardized investigative procedures.
Some jurisdictions, including some rural ones, have thorough procedures and training that should be available statewide, Pirsch said.
He thinks his proposal makes improvements without the expensive start-up cost of a medical examiner system. He has suggested that expenses could be covered with a potential $1 fee on criminal and traffic court cases, which would yield about $350,000 a year.
"It would lead to a quality system that can be realistically obtainable," Pirsch said.
He said his bill offers a quick solution for Nebraska at modest expense. The national recommendations would, if adopted, take years to implement.
A Lexington, Neb., doctor is pressing for change after a county attorney refused to conduct an autopsy.
Mohamed Hirsi, 39, had no history of medical problems before dying suddenly earlier this year, Dr. Mark Jones said.
Jones wanted an autopsy to determine a cause of death, but he said Dawson County Attorney Elizabeth Waterman refused, mentioning the taxpayer expense. Counties pay for autopsies, which cost about $2,000.
Waterman, who has been in office 15 years, said she tries to be prudent in spending taxpayer dollars, but will order an autopsy when she believes it is needed.
She said this death did not warrant an autopsy because it was not suspicious. She said neither the doctor nor law enforcement officers had any indication of foul play, and the doctor gave no indication that a public health threat was involved.
Jones said such things can go undetected without an autopsy. He pointed to a case last fall in Grant, Neb., in which local investigators did not suspect foul play in a woman's death. Later, an autopsy determined that she had been fatally beaten.
Not having an autopsy in the Lexington death, he said, "leaves you with some fears of the possibility that something more serious could have gone on."
Jones thinks the best investigation system would include input from county attorneys, who are more attuned to legal factors, as well as from doctors, who are familiar with medical and public health concerns.
Waterman thinks the proposed coroner bill has promise but lacks practical details, which Pirsch wants to be developed by a council of local experts.
"It's all going to come down to money," Waterman said.
The academy report favors the use of medical examiners, typically doctors, because of their medical expertise.
Forty states require the use of medical professionals in some role: overseeing local death investigations, serving as state medical examiners or both.
Only a handful of Nebraska's 93 counties regularly use doctors. Almost all hire private forensic pathologists to perform autopsies.
A dozen states switched to medical examiner systems between 1960 and 1979 after a national organization that promotes uniform laws among states made similar recommendations.
Nebraska's system was established in 1917.
This wasn't the first time the National Academy of Sciences recommended getting rid of coroners. A committee in 1928 suggested elimination of the coroner office, calling it an "anachronistic institution" incapable of performing the functions required.
Reforming death investigation systems was a portion of the most recent report, which focused on a broader lack of standards in forensic science.
The academy said, for example, that while DNA technology has been well-tested, forensic scientists for decades have made claims about fingerprints, bite marks, handwriting and blood spatter that have never been verified by science.
The report also recommends creating an independent National Institute of Forensic Science to lead research and establish and enforce standards for forensic science professionals and labs.
This report includes material from the Los Angeles Times.
Hopefully something will be happening soon though.
