Cannibalistically intended homicide following a media report

Inspired by media reports on the cannibalistically motivated homicide in Rotenburg (German state of Hesse), a man in Berlin with homosexual tendencies decided to realize his longstanding fantasies of slaughtering someone. He killed another homosexual man and dismembered his victim, while the motive changed from an offensive and necrophile to a defensive dismemberment of the body. The parallels between the two homicides are presented and discussed.     

Further data on interrogative suggestibility and compliance scores following instructed malingering

Purpose. This study examined whether people can successfully feign high levels of interrogative suggestibility and compliance as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales (GSS) and the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) when given instructions to malinger. Methods. Participants (N = 90) were randomly allocated to one of three groups that received: (1) instructions to give into leading questions in order to look vulnerable to suggestions, (2) instructions to be compliant with the examiner, or (3) the standard GSS/GCS instructions. Results. One of the two malingering instructions led to modestly elevated scores of total suggestibility, while subscales remained unaffected. In contrast, both malingering groups obtained highly elevated compliance scores. Conclusions. These findings suggest that heightened suggestibility is rather difficult to malinger, thereby confirming the reliability of the GSS. On the other hand, it might be easier to malingering compliance as measured with the self‐report GCS.     

Puppe's rule--a literature review

As early as 1903, it was pointed out by Puppe that it is possible to determine the sequence of injuries in skull fractures caused by blows to the head: the second fracture ends at the point where a break in cohesion is already present. This finding was confirmed by tests carried out by other forensic pathologists. It soon became clear that the rule also applies to gunshot fractures. In the case of gunshot injuries, it is even possible to make more detailed statements. However, the applicability of Puppe's rule is limited by incomplete ossification or ossification disorders. The priority rule is also found in English-language literature, but without the name of the author who first described it.     

Regulating the Internet infrastructure: A comparative appraisal of the legitimacy of ICANN,ITU, and the WSIS

How to generate legitimate forms of governance beyond the nation state is often considered a central question in contemporary world politics. To proceed in theory‐building, scholars need to systematically assign the theory‐driven assumptions on legitimate forms of governance beyond the nation state with the various, already observable, forms of global governance. This article aims to conduct a comparative appraisal of the legitimatory quality of different patterns of governance by applying a framework of indicators for their assessment. The indicators are selected from the scholarly debate within International Relations on the legitimacy of global governance arrangements and structured by a multidimensional concept of legitimacy (input, throughput, and output dimensions). This framework is then applied to international, transnational, and private forms of global governance in the field of Internet regulation in order to show how each of them tries to produce and maintain legitimacy, which strategies it applies, and in how it interacts with its stakeholders.     

Suicides in East Berlin from 1980 to 1989

In the analysed period from 1980 to 1989, 3.480 suicides (= 34.6%) were among the 10.064 corpses admitted to the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Humboldt University in Berlin. The share of men who committed suicide was higher than the share of women with the average ratio being 1.4:1. The preferred suicide method in men was hanging and in women drug intoxication. The decrease of the formerly common carbon monoxide poisoning is attributable to the switch from town gas to natural gas. Autopsies showed that only about one third of the individuals who had committed suicide had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of death. In most cases the suicides were committed in the suicides' own flat. It also turned out that there was a seasonal peak of suicides in spring.     

Death in a fold-away bed

The term "death in abnormal body position" refers to deaths caused by a position-induced impairment of the vital functions of respiration and circulation. In the described case from the autopsy material of the Berlin Institute of Legal Medicine (CCM), the 82-year-old woman died in a folded up fold-away bed in a fixed head-down position. Death was caused by the combined effect of neck compression, traumatic asphyxia and head-down position.     

Set‐theoretic Multimethod Research: The Role of Test Corridors and Conjunctions for Case Selection

Set‐theoretic multimethod research (SMMR) using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) formalizes the choice of cases based on a truth table analysis. We make three recommendations for improving SMMR. First, current standards can lead to faulty case selection if causal inference on a conjunction is the goal. Case selection needs to take into account that the non‐members of a conjunction might be empirically diverse and that only selected types of non‐members are ideal for causal inference. Second, we formally show that cases with similar fuzzy‐set memberships in a term and the outcome are the superior choice for process tracing. They minimize the expected membership in the mechanism and make it most difficult to pass a hypothesis test. Third, we propose formulas that comply with all SMMR principles and identify the best pairs of cases for analysis. We illustrate our arguments with a study of the effectiveness of sanctions against authoritarian regimes.     

Praktische Probleme der Staatsanwaltschaft bei der Verfolgung von Tierschutzstraftaten

Das Tierschutzstrafrecht wird in der Praxis oft stiefmütterlich behandelt. Viele Probleme sind ungel?st. Der Beitrag besch?ftigt sich deshalb mit typischen Fragestellungen, die immer wieder im Rahmen von Tierschutzstrafverfahren auftreten. Auch wenn dabei auf die Sicht der Ermittlungsbeh?rden abstellt wird, sind die dargestellten Grunds?tze für alle anderen am Tierschutzstrafverfahren Beteiligten (z.B. Strafverteidiger, Veterin?re etc.) ebenso von Bedeutung.