GrinLine Identification Using Digital Imaging and Adobe Photoshop*

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to outline a method by which an antemortem photograph of a victim can be critically compared with a postmortem photograph in an effort to facilitate the identification process. Ten subjects, between 27 and 55 years old provided historical pictures of themselves exhibiting a broad smile showing anterior teeth to some extent (a grin). These photos were termed “antemortem” for the purpose of the study. A digital camera was used to take a current photo of each subject’s grin. These photos represented the “postmortem” images. A single subject’s “postmortem” photo set was randomly selected to be the “unknown victim.” These combined data of the unknown and the 10 antemortem subjects were digitally stored and, using Adobe Photoshop software, the images were sized and oriented for comparative analysis. The goal was to devise a technique that could facilitate the accurate determination of which “antemortem” subject was the “unknown.” The generation of antemortem digital overlays of the teeth visible in a grin and the comparison of those overlays to the images of the postmortem dentition is the foundation of the technique. The comparisons made using the GrinLine Identification Technique may assist medical examiners and coroners in making identifications or exclusions.     

A fatality involving clomipramine

A fatality following ingestion of the tricyclic antidepressant clomipramine (Anafranil), alprazolam (Xanax), and ethyl alcohol is described. Clomipramine and N-desmethylclomipramine were quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography and alprazolam by gas liquid chromatography. Concentrations of clomipramine and N-desmethylclomipramine were: in blood--0.84 and 1.4 mg/L; in urine--0.56 and 0.62 mg/L. Alprazolam concentration in blood was 0.069 mg/L. Ethyl alcohol was measured by headspace gas chromatography and found to be 375, 385, and 435 mg/dL in blood, urine, and vitreous humor, respectively. These findings are compared to previous reports of clomipramine related fatalities and alprazolam toxicity combined with ethyl alcohol.     

First Russian biographies of Trotsky: A review article

N. A. Vasetsky, Trotskii. Opyt politicheskoi biografii. Moscow: Respublika, 1992, 351 pp. D. Volkogonov, Trotskii. Politicheskii portret. II Vols. Moscow: Novosti, 1992, 412 & 412 pp.     

The dimensions of dangerousness revisited

In this article, we extend our previous study on clinical predictions of violence using the Dangerous Behavior Rating Scale by increasing follow-up interval from 2 to 6 years and supplying new data on prediction-outcome correlations for multidiscipline assessors. A total of 162 accused persons remanded for evaluations at METFORS were assessed using three criterion measures: subsequent violence, criminality, and general incidents. Statistical analyses revealed a range of predictive performance, contingent on several conditions including the identities of evaluators, categories of subjects, and length and context of follow-up. Even prognostications yielding the highest magnitude coefficients, reaching 53 in the case of psychometric forecasts of behavior in psychiatric hospitals, failed to account for more than 28% of the prediction-outcome covariance. Implications of the results are considered for the future role of the dangerousness construct.The research project described in this article was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation, the Solicitor General Canada, the LaMarsh Research Program on Violence and Conflict Resolution, the Ontario Ministry of Health, Simon Fraser University, the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, and the psychopathy project supported under the sustaining grant provided by the Solicitor General, Canada, to the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto. Thanks for their perceptive commentaries to Ronald Roesch and the two anonymous reviewers ofLaw and Human Behavior. Acknowledged as well are the contributions of the many research assistants and representatives of mental health, police, justice, and correctional agencies who collaborated in the compilation of these data. Research assistance was provided by Michelle Grossman, Simon Hanbury, Lily Keoskerian, Ed Tymosiak, and Cheri Wilner. Bill Glackman offered technical help with the data analysis. A version of this paper was originally presented at the 1991 Meeting of the American Society of Criminology in San Francisco.Clarke Institute of Psychiatr