The New Face of Terrorism in Turkey: Actor Unknown Political Murders

Abstract:  In this study, we have analyzed the temporal and spatial trends in actor unknown political murders in Turkey. A total of 1852 cases, defined as actor unknown political murders, occurred in Turkey between 1975 and 2006, with the peak years being 1980 and 1994. Three different time frames could be defined: 1975–1993, 1994–1999, and 2000–2006. During the first period, cases were common all over Turkey, but during the second and third periods, they were more frequent in metropolitan areas and in the southeast. Incidents occurring during the first period could be attributed to the struggle between right- and left-wing supporters, while most murders occurring during the second and third periods seem to have been related to Kurdish separatism. Although the most crucial factor in preventing actor unknown political murders is a politically stable atmosphere, forensics can also play an important role. Turkey needs to improve its forensic services to bring them in line with international standards, namely the Minnesota Protocol.     

Punish and profit: The emergence of private enterprise prisons

Prison supply, especially at current prices, is unable to meet demand. The resultant overcrowding, combined with taxpayer reluctance to bear the costs of new construction and added operational expenses, creates a dilemma for penology. Commercial prisons, privately owned and operated under government contract, may offer at least a partial solution.     

The assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy. An academician's thoughts

Another look is taken at the murder case of the late President John F. Kennedy. The overall pattern established by various investigations should force any reasonable person to conclude that a conspiracy of greater or lesser proportions did exist. The actors in that conspiracy have not been identified. The role of Lee Harvey Oswald in the event is still obscure. The art and science of pathology, in this case, failed the nation. Federal agencies were incompetent and possibly criminally negligent in their handling of the case. The fact that more than a single gunman was involved in the murder seems indubitable. Scientists, as scientists, have contributed all that they can to resolving the case. Suppression, modification, and destruction of evidence crucial to the case by those having it in custody have been completed so effectively that one esteemed historian has asserted, "at least some of those responsible for the murder of a President of the United States got away with it."     

The case of Dr. Shipman

On January 31, 2000, Dr. Harold Shipman was convicted at Preston, England, of murdering 15 of his patients by administering lethal doses of diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin). Investigations indicate that, during his working life, he killed about 220 to 240 of his patients. The bodies of many victims were cremated. Twelve victims were exhumed, and 9 of these deaths were included in the indictment. Most victims were elderly and had histories of natural disease. Autopsies confirmed known natural disease but showed no evidence of acute lethal events. Analysis of skeletal muscle disclosed significant quantities of morphine, to which the deaths were attributed. Circumstantial evidence was strong, as illustrated by the convictions in 6 deaths without autopsy or toxicology, because the bodies had been cremated. Organic compounds are remarkably stable in buried bodies. Even so, detection and quantitation of morphine in exhumed bodies may become problematic after burial for 4 years or more. Morphine glucuronide is slowly converted back to free morphine in the buried corpse.     

The case of Ohio v. Robinson. An 1870 bite mark case

In 1870, Ansil L. Robinson was charged with the murder of his mistress, Mary Lunsford, in Mansfield, Ohio, U.S.A. Evidence against Robinson included an attempt to match his teeth to bite marks on the victim's arm. Robinson was acquitted after a 3-week trial despite the evidence linking his teeth to the wounds. This trial represents an early and perhaps the first attempt to admit bite-mark evidence in a court of law in the United States. The acquittal resulted in the obscurity that prevented this case from coming to the awareness of the forensic dental and legal communities sooner.     

The Poet and the Poor Law. Reflections Upon John Clare's ``The Parish'

This article argues that the work of the hedgerow poet John Clare is invaluable for legal social history in illuminating the reality of the operation of the poor law as it affected the lives of the poor. Clare's poem,The Parish, written between 1823–6 was not published during the author's lifetime. Written as he first achieved fame, it consists of 2,202 lines of satire denouncing the cant and hypocrisy he himself had witnessed and experienced in local village life. His Parish was his settlement parish where he and his parents were subject to the power of the vestry and local officials. This piece considers the text within the context of the legal history of the poor law. The value ofThe Parish as a primary source for that legal history is not merely in the simple narrative of biographical events allied to the poet's words, evocative as they are. It lies in the subtleties of Clare's own ambiguity about being poor and in the way those ambiguities assist us today both in understanding Clare's times and values and in hearing Clare mediating the universal experience of poverty through his art. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The case of the empty body.

Autopsy on an externally intact decomposed body showed empty thoracic and abdominal cavities with no trace of normal organ content. The process producing this previously unencountered situation is discussed.     

The Brave New World of Sir John Laws

This article considers the political philosophy of Lord Justice Sir John Laws who, in a series of articles, developed a theory of the UK constitution based on Kant's principle of the sovereign autonomy of the individual. The author points to the dangers of entrusting the judiciary with too much power at the expense of the democratic process.     

Metropolitan forensic anthropology team (MFAT) case studies in identification: 3. Identification of John J. Sullivan, the missing journalist

Skeletal remains removed from an unmarked grave in El Salvador were intensively studied by a team of forensic science experts. Even though the skull, teeth, and several major bones were missing, a positive identification was made of the missing journalist. This was contrary to reports submitted to the State Department by Salvadorian officials. All of the methods used in this investigation, which includes a new method for simultaneously assessing sex and race by discriminant function analysis that was tested by application, are fully described. The international background of this case and information regarding the cause of death is discussed.