The final destination: Incorporating 'Death by GPS' into forensic and legal sciences.

This article seeks to give visibility to a growing program: Motorists who set out for travel following directions from their GPS device and never return. These occurrences have gained the moniker 'Death by GPS'. From giving incorrect directions, to taking motorists to isolated areas, to directing motorists into unsafe neighborhoods, GPS technology has led several people into catastrophic scenarios. This article is split into two sections. In the first section, the varying causes of Death by GPS are examined, alongside notable cases. In the second section, as Death by GPS is understudied in forensic science and legal spaces, the author explores the societal and scientific benefits of filling this gap. Relying on relevant collision figures, cultural trends, death science, legal studies, and ethics literature, this article produces groundwork on the growing issue of Death by GPS and identifies areas for future exploration.

Certifying Death in the United States.

Accurately identifying death and its causes is integral to the compilation of mortality data and ultimately to the operation of the criminal justice and public health systems. A clear understanding of who is in charge of such processes is paramount to establishing the quality, or lack thereof, of the information provided in death certificates. Our study provides a comprehensive overview of all state statutes identifying death investigators charged with classifying and certifying death in the United States. We found that state statutes designate a broad range of individuals as responsible for the classification and certification of death. Those vary by state and set of circumstances and can include medical examiners, coroners, pathologists, other physicians, registered nurses, and more. Our findings highlight the important need for a unified standard of qualifications in the medico-legal system, as well as, regulatory reform at the state level regarding who can complete and sign death certificates.

A fatal review: Exploring how children's deaths are reported in the United States.

Child death reports are the leading data source used to orchestrate child fatality prevention policy. Therefore, the way in which child death is reported is crucial to how we sustain life. We sought to assess the systematic ways in which death is reported for children. Based on a qualitative analysis of medico-legal investigation reports collected from a medical examiner's office and a coroner's office, we examined several indicators of data completeness, quality, site organizational structure, and consistency. We found stark differences between the two sites, as well as issues regarding death diagnosis certainty, and a general lack in consistency in the reports' content, as well as procedures performed post-mortem. We conclude that there are some flaws in our death reporting system for child populations, which have the potential to hinder reliability and accuracy of these death reports, as well as thwart their overall usefulness in prevention policies.