ABSTRACT
Infants are highly vulnerable, requiring the protection of caregivers for their survival. Unfortunately, infant abandonment continues to be committed regularly, posing a serious challenge to the dignity of human life. To identify the motivation and background information of this crime, we analyzed 20 cases of infant abandonment to determine their critical characteristics. We aimed to gather data to assist in crime prevention and ultimately to address the need for new policies to prevent this crime. The results of our analysis are as follows: The mothers who abandoned their infants were in their teens and twenties in 15 cases (75%). The relationship between the biological parents was that of longterm partners in 12 cases (60%). The place of childbirth was the perpetrator’s home in 16 cases (80%). The place of abandonment wasoutdoors in 9 cases (5 cases alive, 4 cases dead) and indoors in 10 cases (5 cases alive, 5 cases dead). Basic life support for the infant was provided in 4 cases. The most common excuse for abandonment was to conceal childbirth in 12 cases, followed by economic hardship in 8 cases. Executions were suspended in 19 cases, and the reasons for the sentences often seemed inadequate, even in light of the provisions of the criminal code. These results indicate that our society has the need to develop the appropriate acts or policies to stop the crime of infant abandonment.
ABSTRACT
Crimes committed by the mentally ill may give rise to critical conflicts on whether the criminals should receive punishment or treatment. Therefore, our criminal code has a legal provision for mental handicap and criminal responsibility, which can reduce or exempt the criminal penalty. This process requires a psychiatric evaluation of the defendants as well as normative decisions by judges. The psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis precede the court judgement, and are used by the court to judge the mental handicap of the defendant at the time of the crime. However, judgments on the criminal responsibility of a defendant with mental disorder are very complex and challenging because of time gaps and difficulties faced in the evaluation of human mental ability. We analyzed court rulings in 19 cases where the defendants claimed to be mentally handicapped. The analysis results showed that the mental handicap was recognized in nine cases, rejected in four cases, and not mentioned by the court in six cases. Further, psychiatric evaluation was not performed in three cases. Apart from the result of the evaluation, the judges seem to consider other factors for sentencing, like recidivism risk, premeditation of crimes, and their brutality. These results suggest that the rationale and procedure of court rulings involving mentally handicapped persons may be debatable. We argue that psychiatric evaluations should be made indispensable in judicial procedures for cases involving mentally handicapped persons, and judges should clearly indicate their decision on mental handicap or criminal responsibility in the sentencing.
ABSTRACT
Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is a rare form of mental disorder and is known as a particular type of child abuse. MSBP has been described since 1977 as a severe form of abuse with illness falsification or the intentional harming by guardians, mostly mothers. The perpetrator of MSBP may inflict damage to the child directly or indirectly through medical procedures. The perpetrator’s alleged motive is to satisfy her psychological needs, and she has a history of mental illness, mostly, factitious disorder, personality disorder, and somatic disorder. The pathology is not well known; as such, it is difficult for medical personnel to detect it early. In addition, it is hard to be handled effectively by the police and child welfare agencies because of the scarcity of evidence. Therefore, the authors attempt to examine the essential information from early detection and child abuse prevention by analyzing its clinical characteristics and the perpetrator’s characteristics, including alerting signs of MSBP. For this purpose, we focus on the role of nursing staff to detect this unusual cause of child abuse.
ABSTRACT
Among the various crimes, the ones committed by the mentally ill provoke more serious public concern, which is probably caused by such characteristics such as unpredictability, brutality, unknown motives, or random targeting of victims. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of crimes committed by the mentally ill, to investigate the type of mental disorders and assaulting weapons, and to examine the correlation between the type of mental disorders and their criminal behavior patterns. Through the combination of the forensic and psychological approach, the authors examined the psychological and behavioral characteristics of mentally ill criminals to identify the criminal and behavioral characteristics of crimes committed by them. The cases for this analysis were collected through the search for precedents at National Law Information Center where 19 cases were selected. In conclusion, the diagnoses of mental disorders were schizophrenia, pedophilia, intellectual disability, personality disorder, and depressive disorder, in descending order. Among them, schizophrenia accounted for 6 cases (31.6%), where especially the paranoid type (3 cases) committed the premeditated crimes. Mental handicap was recognized in 9 cases and was rejected in 4 cases. However, in 6 cases, it was not mentioned by court. Further, the judgment of being mental handicapped was made without reference of mental appraisal in 3 out of 19 cases, and so its credibility might be argued. The number of defendants who had past criminal histories was 7 (33.3%) out of 21 defendants, which may illustrate the rate of recidivism of mental disorder criminals.
ABSTRACT
It is in a country’s best legal interests to guarantee the protection of the right to life within a nation’s constitution. Most countries operate a postmortem investigation system to ensure compliance with their country’s internal legal codes. However, Korea, which is ranked among the World’s Top 10 Largest Economies, does not have its own comprehensive act or system for conducting a postmortem examination including death scene. This is a very improper situation in terms of our global status. Death certification is critical because it impacts the national vital statistics that influence health policy and crime investigation for social security. Various acts and rules for death certification and death investigation exist in Korea, but they all have one serious loophole:there is no regulation determining the circumstances under which a judicial autopsy should be performed. The authors, therefore, identify the faults in the existing legal codes regarding death certification and postmortem investigation and suggest replacement codes. The authors also propose the implementation of a single comprehensive act that includes the required qualifications for postmortem examination experts and outlines the creation of an institution responsible for overseeing death certification.
ABSTRACT
The death certification system in a modern welfare state is of critical importance because it is related to the collection of national statistics for health policy, social security and social welfare. So, the monitoring of death events by the government has become an important function of a constitutional state. There are two ways in which a death certificate can be issued: the medical judgment by the physician via the death certificate and through a warrant for an autopsy by a law enforcement agency, especially in the case of violent deaths. On a practical level, however, the death certificate issued by a physician may contain serious faults like an inaccurate assessment of the cause of death especially when the death resulted from unnatural causes. The warrant specified in the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act also raises the question of whether it is legally fulfilling its original mandate, especially when looking at procedures in the case of suicide or other causes of death that are not related to a crime. The authors, therefore, examined the shortcomings of legal codes related to death certification and warrants for autopsies and propose the reformation of legal codes for the death certification system.
ABSTRACT
The death certification system in a modern welfare state is of critical importance because it is related to the collection of national statistics for health policy, social security and social welfare. So, the monitoring of death events by the government has become an important function of a constitutional state. There are two ways in which a death certificate can be issued: the medical judgment by the physician via the death certificate and through a warrant for an autopsy by a law enforcement agency, especially in the case of violent deaths. On a practical level, however, the death certificate issued by a physician may contain serious faults like an inaccurate assessment of the cause of death especially when the death resulted from unnatural causes. The warrant specified in the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act also raises the question of whether it is legally fulfilling its original mandate, especially when looking at procedures in the case of suicide or other causes of death that are not related to a crime. The authors, therefore, examined the shortcomings of legal codes related to death certification and warrants for autopsies and propose the reformation of legal codes for the death certification system.
ABSTRACT
The death certification system in a modern welfare state is of critical importance because it is related to the collection of national statistics for health policy, social security and social welfare. So, the monitoring of death events by the government has become an important function of a constitutional state. There are two ways in which a death certificate can be issued: the medical judgment by the physician via the death certificate and through a warrant for an autopsy by a law enforcement agency, especially in the case of violent deaths. On a practical level, however, the death certificate issued by a physician may contain serious faults like an inaccurate assessment of the cause of death especially when the death resulted from unnatural causes. The warrant specified in the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act also raises the question of whether it is legally fulfilling its original mandate, especially when looking at procedures in the case of suicide or other causes of death that are not related to a crime. The authors, therefore, examined the shortcomings of legal codes related to death certification and warrants for autopsies and propose the reformation of legal codes for the death certification system.
ABSTRACT
These days, medical practice tends to be highly specialized and divided into qualified medical personnel, including nurses. Recent amendments of medical law show the change of the nurse's role in medical practice. Traditionally, nursing has been an aid work to doctor's practices and is one of the core parts of medical practices. Nurses are a skilled occupational group and individuals are trained and licensed as professionals during their educational courses under government supervision. Because all of the nursing practices cannot be directed or recognized by doctors and nurses are building their own expertise as healthcare providers, they can be held accountable in medical malpractice. In the past, from the perspective of legal responsibility, the nurse was only regarded as an assistant to a doctor; hence, a nurse's malpractice was concluded as a supervising doctor's liability. In the case of medical malpractice caused by nurses, the range of responsibility will be different, depending on the scope of the work carried out by nurse and whether it was supervised by a doctor. Therefore, further discussion is needed regarding the scope of independent nursing practice in order to distribute the legal liability. The authors reviewed ten cases of precedents of medical dispute, examined the events in-depth, and analyzed the court rulings determining the legal responsibility of a doctor or nurse.
Subject(s)
Humans , Dissent and Disputes , Health Personnel , Jurisprudence , Liability, Legal , Malpractice , Nurse's Role , Nursing , Occupational Groups , Organization and AdministrationABSTRACT
Scuba diving is a popular sports activity, even though it is associated with potential hazards. When a diver enters the water for an underwater expedition, he/she needs a series of diving gear, including a regulator, buoyancy compensator, diving suit, and weight belt, among others. Here, the author encountered a fatal diving accident wherein autopsy showed the evidence of death by drowning. The witness stated that the diver requested more weight to descend into the water, and the diver wore one more weight belt, totalling 26 kg. After a second trial of diving, he did not grab the regulator and disappeared into the water suddenly, and bubbles did not appear at the surface. Based on the witness statement and autopsy findings, the original cause of accident was concluded as an overweighted belt for descent into the water.
Subject(s)
Autopsy , Diving , Drowning , Expeditions , Overweight , Sports , WaterABSTRACT
Injuries caused by free-fall from heights represent a specific form of blunt trauma that can be difficult to interpret, especially when the impact medium is water. On autopsy practice, the immersed bodies with rib fractures and internal organ injuries were often encountered and many studies have reported that impact with the water surface could cause skeletal fracture and visceral organ rupture. The height of the fall and body orientation on impact are the most important factors determining the severity and range of these injuries. In the present case, the victim was a 69-year-old male who weighed 48 kg. Following were the autopsy findings: numerous pin-point epidermal injuries on the body surface (like those due to nibbling by fish), a massive soft tissue hemorrhage in the left upper chest, multiple rib fractures (3rd–7th left ribs), ballooning of the lungs, froth in the trachea and bronchus, pericardial tearing in the right anterolateral side (7-cm long), intra-pericardial hemorrhage, and focal hemorrhage in the adventitia of the intra-pericardial aorta. No sign of an external wound was observed in the left chest area. The cause of death was drowning, and the manner of death was suicide. Unfortunately, the site and height of fall were not investigated.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Male , Adventitia , Aorta , Autopsy , Bronchi , Cause of Death , Drowning , Hemorrhage , Lung , Rib Fractures , Rupture , Suicide , Tears , Thorax , Trachea , Water , Wounds and InjuriesABSTRACT
These days, medical practice tends to be highly specialized and divided into qualified medical personnel, including nurses. Recent amendments of medical law show the change of the nurse's role in medical practice. Traditionally, nursing has been an aid work to doctor's practices and is one of the core parts of medical practices. Nurses are a skilled occupational group and individuals are trained and licensed as professionals during their educational courses under government supervision. Because all of the nursing practices cannot be directed or recognized by doctors and nurses are building their own expertise as healthcare providers, they can be held accountable in medical malpractice. In the past, from the perspective of legal responsibility, the nurse was only regarded as an assistant to a doctor; hence, a nurse's malpractice was concluded as a supervising doctor's liability. In the case of medical malpractice caused by nurses, the range of responsibility will be different, depending on the scope of the work carried out by nurse and whether it was supervised by a doctor. Therefore, further discussion is needed regarding the scope of independent nursing practice in order to distribute the legal liability. The authors reviewed ten cases of precedents of medical dispute, examined the events in-depth, and analyzed the court rulings determining the legal responsibility of a doctor or nurse.
ABSTRACT
Scuba diving is a popular sports activity, even though it is associated with potential hazards. When a diver enters the water for an underwater expedition, he/she needs a series of diving gear, including a regulator, buoyancy compensator, diving suit, and weight belt, among others. Here, the author encountered a fatal diving accident wherein autopsy showed the evidence of death by drowning. The witness stated that the diver requested more weight to descend into the water, and the diver wore one more weight belt, totalling 26 kg. After a second trial of diving, he did not grab the regulator and disappeared into the water suddenly, and bubbles did not appear at the surface. Based on the witness statement and autopsy findings, the original cause of accident was concluded as an overweighted belt for descent into the water.
ABSTRACT
Injuries caused by free-fall from heights represent a specific form of blunt trauma that can be difficult to interpret, especially when the impact medium is water. On autopsy practice, the immersed bodies with rib fractures and internal organ injuries were often encountered and many studies have reported that impact with the water surface could cause skeletal fracture and visceral organ rupture. The height of the fall and body orientation on impact are the most important factors determining the severity and range of these injuries. In the present case, the victim was a 69-year-old male who weighed 48 kg. Following were the autopsy findings: numerous pin-point epidermal injuries on the body surface (like those due to nibbling by fish), a massive soft tissue hemorrhage in the left upper chest, multiple rib fractures (3rd–7th left ribs), ballooning of the lungs, froth in the trachea and bronchus, pericardial tearing in the right anterolateral side (7-cm long), intra-pericardial hemorrhage, and focal hemorrhage in the adventitia of the intra-pericardial aorta. No sign of an external wound was observed in the left chest area. The cause of death was drowning, and the manner of death was suicide. Unfortunately, the site and height of fall were not investigated.
ABSTRACT
Under current law, there are two paths for death investigations: administrative and judicial. A proper death investigation system is essential to the establishment and maintenance of the human rights of those involved and to enhance the credibility of the judicial system as a source of ensuring the security of society. These objectives are accomplished through the accurate, professional, and systematic management of death investigations by qualified experts. The present study aims at reviewing and uncovering the limitations of the current legal codes governing administrative death investigations and autopsy by administrative order. The main problem being that no clear legal statements exist regarding the qualifications of persons responsible for administrative postmortem inspections and administrative autopsies; the problem is the same for any death related to crime. At the conclusion of this paper, the authors propose that legal codes regarding the scope of postmortem inspections or autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death should be clearly defined, and that the qualification standards for experts examining any desceased individual should be legislated.
ABSTRACT
Under current law, there are two paths for death investigations: administrative and judicial. A proper death investigation system is essential to the establishment and maintenance of the human rights of those involved and to enhance the credibility of the judicial system as a source of ensuring the security of society. These objectives are accomplished through the accurate, professional, and systematic management of death investigations by qualified experts. The present study aims at reviewing and uncovering the limitations of the current legal codes governing administrative death investigations and autopsy by administrative order. The main problem being that no clear legal statements exist regarding the qualifications of persons responsible for administrative postmortem inspections and administrative autopsies; the problem is the same for any death related to crime. At the conclusion of this paper, the authors propose that legal codes regarding the scope of postmortem inspections or autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death should be clearly defined, and that the qualification standards for experts examining any desceased individual should be legislated.
Subject(s)
Humans , Autopsy , Cadaver , Crime , Human Rights , JurisprudenceABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of human infections, and it is also a commensal that colonizes the nose, axillae, vagina, throat, or skin surfaces. S. aureus has increasingly been recognized as a cause of severe invasive illness, and individuals colonized with this pathogen are subsequently at increased risk of its infections. S. aureus infection is a major cause of skin, soft tissue, respiratory, bone, joint, and endovascular disorders, and staphylococcal bacteremia may cause abscess, endocarditis, pneumonia, metastatic infection, foreign body infection, or sepsis. The authors describe a case of a fisherman who died of sepsis on a fishing boat during sailing out for fish. The autopsy shows paravertebral abscess, pus in the pericardial sac, infective endocarditis with vegetation on the aortic valve cusp, myocarditis, pneumonia and nephritis with bacterial colonization, and also liver cirrhosis and multiple gastric ulcerations.
ABSTRACT
Progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD) is a primary muscle disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness and wasting, which is inherited by an X-linked recessive pattern and occurs mainly in males. There are several types of muscular dystrophies classified according to the distribution of predominant muscle weakness including Duchenne and Becker, Emery-Dreifuss, facioscapulohumeral, oculopharyngeal, and limb-girdle type. Clinical manifestations of PMD are clumsy, unsteady gait, pneumonia, heart failure, pulmonary edema, hydropericardium, hydrothorax, aspiration, syncopal attacks, and sudden cardiac death. The deceased was a 34-year-old man, and the onset of the first clinical symptom, gait disturbance, was in his late teens. His elder brother had the same disease and experienced brain death after a head trauma and died after mechanical ventilation was discontinued. After an autopsy, we found contracture of the joints, pseudohypertrophy of the calf, wasting and fat replacement of the thigh muscle, pericardial effusion (80 mL), fibrosis and fat replacement of the cardiac ventricular wall, pulmonary edema, and froth in the bronchus. The cause of death was heart failure and dyspnea due to muscular dystrophy. There was no sign or suspicion of foul play in his death.
ABSTRACT
Criminal profiling of violent, serial crimes plays a critical role in police work worldwide. However, its performance in Korea remains a topic of debate and has been deemed unsatisfactory; empirical studies on the behavioral characteristics of murderers are extremely scarce. This work analyzes some murder or suspicious death cases using autopsy, ruling, and public media reports, where available, as well as literature reviews. The findings are expected to raise research interest in the field of behavioral evidence analysis and encourage researchers to analyze murder cases with consideration for wound interpretation and case reconstruction. The basic concept of behavioral evidence analysis is that different patterns of offending actions will reflect differences in the personality traits or motives of offenders. The analysis of offending behaviors and witness or suspect statements can be a useful investigative tool for solving violent crimes. This paper presents a description of the case history, autopsy findings, and psychological connotations for eight murder or suspicious death cases, including serial killing, in the context of behavioral evidence analysis.
ABSTRACT
The official investigation of death and the certification of the cause of death are among the most critical roles played by the government in maintaining public safety, carrying out public health surveillance, and compiling national health statistics. Currently, Korea has no single comprehensive act governing the postmortem examination system. Therefore, there might be some discord, contradiction, or defect in the current legal regime governing the examination of dead bodies. The authors reviewed various legislative instruments that contain the words, “death,â€â€œcorpse,â€â€œautopsy,â€â€œdeath investigation,†and “cause of death†by searching the website of the National Law Information Center (http://www.law.go.kr), which is run by the government. The authors found 64 laws and rules, of which 47 were reviewed for this study, after ensuring relevance to the subject. After a review and comparison of the acts and rules, the authors point out the discords, contradictions, and defects in the current legal regime on corpses and death investigations. They then present the need for a single comprehensive legislation addressing postmortem examination.