A special case of bolus fatality

The case of a 58-year-old man is reported, who had been hospitalized for almost 30 years for paranoid-hallucinatory schizophrenia. He was found unconscious in the clinic with a scarcely perceptible pulse and irregular breathing. Attempts at resuscitation were not successful. Looking at the corpse, no findings of particular value were noted. At the court-ordered autopsy, a mouse was found in the oral cavity; the head of the mouse was stuck in the laryngeal inlet. The cause of death was ascribed to asphyxia by alimentary bolus; the cause of death was apparently the effect of choking combined with a reflex action. In the large colon (megacolon) many metal objects were found. On the basis of the evidence, it was assumed that the mouse was already dead when the patient choked on it. A disturbance in the ability to swallow as a result of alcohol or medication was ruled out, as were neurological diseases.     

Privacy and the Question of Technology

Law and Philosophy -     

Conditions for unity and action: A collective vision

This paper is a collaborative effort that describes a theoretical framework for understanding the diversity of women's experiences by focusing on the lives of the four authors. The model developed looks at individual women within the social contexts of academia and community. Factors put forth that influence women's lives are: the history of each woman, the principles she lives by, the issues she recognizes as important, and the action strategies she develops to survive in an oppressive society. As a collaborative project, this paper also reflects a bond of friendship among the writers that has deepened through their collaboration.     

The Quest for Truth: Substantiating Allegations of Physical Abuse in Criminal Prosecutions and Care Proceedings

The protection of children from violence is increasingly beingplaced on national and international societal and politicalagendas throughout the world. Although responses vary, measuresto punish abusers in the criminal courts and measures to protectchild victims in the family courts are common to many jurisdictions.When an allegation of abuse is contested, the conflict mustbe resolved before these punitive or protective measures canbe implemented. However, proving that a child has been abusedis a process fraught with difficulties. This article exploresthe concept of proof and illustrates the challenges faced insubstantiating allegations of physical abuse in criminal prosecutionsand care proceedings in England and Wales. In so doing it considersthe relationship between the two kinds of proceedings in thelight of their respective punitive and protective objectives.It concludes that, although recent developments may occasionallyhave blurred the distinction between the two systems, the fundamentallydifferent objectives of each remain and that this distinctionjustifies apparently conflicting outcomes in the quest for truth.