Comparison of Turkish Injury Scale (TIS) with the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS)

According to the Turkish Penal Code, Section 456, an assailant is punished in a correlation to the severity of the victim's injury. In this study, the injury scale used in Turkey in the basis code 456 is compared with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). For this aim, a total of 984 cases out of the total amount reported at the Traumatology Section of the Turkish Council for Forensic Medicine were randomly selected and evaluated retrospectively. In all, 40.7% of injuries were caused by blunt trauma, whereas 59.3% were caused by a penetrating trauma. According to the Turkish Injury Scale (TIS), 40.3% of the cases were scored to be of a first degree of injury, 15.6% as second degree and 44.1% as third degree. When compared, the score points 3, 4 and 5 in the AIS were seen to be nearly equivalent to the TIS of third degree. From this point of view, in the modified AIS 91.1% of first degree of injury, 51.2% of second degree and 97.2% of third degree of injury are harmonious with TIS. Generally, 83.2% of the cases are harmonious with the AIS system. The purpose of this study is to determine what was the source of differences and to focus on particular traumatic lesions in order to determine a possible rearrangement of the Turkish Injury Scale.     

The inpatient evaluation and treatment of a self-professed budding serial killer

The authors present the case of a man who was hospitalized after claiming that he was about to become a serial killer. The patient presented with extensive written homicidal fantasies and homicidal intentions without evidence of actual homicidal acts. In addition to routine assessments, hospital staff members used case conferences, psychological testing, outside forensic consultation, and a forensic review process to make decisions regarding diagnosis, treatment planning, and discharge. The patient was discharged after 8 months of inpatient treatment and was apparently free of homicidal impulses or symptoms of severe mental illness. A 2-year court commitment allowed for the enactment and potential enforcement of a discharge plan that was endorsed by the patient, the hospital, and community care providers. The authors review diagnostic and risk management issues. Comparisons with known features of typical serial killers are made.     

Determination of heroin after embalmment

A 30-year-old male died in Thailand after a scuffle. The corpse was embalmed and repatriated to France where an autopsy was performed. As usual in cases of embalmment, fluids such as blood and urine were unavailable and the toxicological analyses was performed on the bile and the liver. An overdose of heroin was determined as the cause of death. A review of the literature indicates that several drugs can be detected in fluids and tissues that contain formaldehyde. This case demonstrates that in embalmed corpses, toxicological assessment is still possible, e.g. after heroin fatalities.     

The Fragility of Law: Anti-Jewish Decrees,Constitutional Patriotism,and Collaboration Belgium 1940–1944

In October and November 1940, the German Military Command which ruled conquered Belgium, introduced a series of measures aimed at the identification and exclusion of the Jews of that country. The Belgian government of the day refused to allow the measures to be incorporated into Belgian law, but did permit, under their reading of the Hague Convention, government departments and local administrations to assist in implementing the German anti-Jewish Decrees. The Brussels Bar, Prosecutors and Court of Cassation refused to accept the authority of the Occupier to violate basic rights guaranteed under the Belgian Constitution. Officials in Antwerp, on the other hand, struck all lawyers identified as "Jews" from the Roll. This article examines these instances of "constitutional patriotism" and "constitutional betrayal" by these actors in the Belgian legal system, and offers some preliminary discussion of important questions about our historical and current understandings of legality, legitimacy and citizenship in light of this part of the Belgian experience of law under Nazi occupation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Salvation or damnation?: Religion and correctional ideology

Fundamentalist affiliation and religious beliefs are generally related to more punitive attitudes toward criminals. Fundamentalists also tend to attribute criminality to individual dispositional factors, and in turn, such factors are related to punitiveness. Recently, it has also been found that compassionate dimensions of religion are related to treatment-oriented policies. It is still not clear which dimensions of religion are related to punitive or treatment ideology and what effects religious variables may have when tested against secular concerns about crime and crime attributions. In the present research, we test three models of punitiveness and one model of rehabilitation with demographic, secular, religious, and attributional factors. We found that those for whom religion is salient in their daily lives tend to believe that the death penalty should be reserved for older offenders and that those who believe in a punitive God tend to support harsher punishments.     

Vaccine trial results generate debate and calls for further research

The first large-scale human trial of an HIV vaccine produces disappointing results overall, but finds that the vaccine may have been effective among some of the minority populations participating in the trial. Whatever the significance of this finding (the debate continues), there was a consensus: (a) that the trial provided very useful information on how to conduct large-scale HIV vaccine trials; (b) that further research needs to be conducted; (c) that governments need to contribute more to vaccine research and development; and (d) that existing prevention efforts must be maintained or expanded.     

Home care and prescription drugs to be funded under medicare

Canada's first ministers have signed a health accord that could potentially lead to significant changes to Canada's health-care system. But the agreement is short on details and the new initiatives may not keep pace with the expectations of Canadians.