Fantasy,Commitment and the Irish Peace Process

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique -     

Diagnosing post-mortem treatments which inhibit DNA amplification from US MIAs buried at the Punchbowl

The US military is committed to recovering and identifying the remains of unknown military service members. Casualties of the Korean War were exhumed from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or Punchbowl, and submitted to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) for mtDNA sequencing. Contrary to AFDIL's experience on other samples from this era, most failed to yield amplifiable DNA. Suspicion fell on mortuary practices that may have been applied to the remains, evidenced by a white powder found with the bones, and general records suggesting the use of formaldehyde-based stablizing agents. To improve the chances of successful identification of the unknown individuals, we looked for the causes underlying this failure. We did this by examining the state of the collagen, the most abundant biomolecule in bone, by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The DSC analyses showed collagens with a range of different thermal stabilities. When these results were compared with the DNA amplification results, a clear correlation between elevated thermal stability and amplification failure was evident. TEM analysis revealed that fibril integrity was maintained after thermal and acid treatments in the samples which failed amplification. Together these two approaches implicate a stabilization agent as the cause of problems with DNA analysis, presumably due to excessive cross-linking. Following the initial study, the ability of DSC to rapidly identify problem samples was tested in a blind study of 14 samples, the method successfully identifying all the problematic samples from Punchbowl. Within this unusual context, DSC analysis is a useful method to assess the likelihood of successful DNA extraction and amplification.     

Enhancing the Foster Care Review Process: The Case of Kentucky's Interested Party Review Program

In order to promote timely permanency for children in out‐of‐home care, citizen foster care review programs employ volunteers to monitor progress for children in the child welfare system. In addition to case file reviews, Kentucky implemented an Interested Party Review system in which foster care review board members meet with family members and child welfare staff in order to glean more detailed and multi‐faceted information to submit to the court. This article describes a mixed‐methods program evaluation demonstrating the contribution of such a review process to judicial decision making and child outcome, as well as recommendations for program improvement.     

Differential enforcement across police jurisdictions and client demand in paid sex markets

Police officers on the ground, as well as their senior officers, generally accept the view that arresting prostitutes and their clients is simply not as important as arresting many other types of ‘offenders’. Police officer preferences and priorities will differ such that the discretion applied to the enforcement of paid sex market related offences varies across locations. Motivated by increasing policymaker interest in considering demand-side policies, a simple model is developed to help analyse how clients will be likely to respond to enforcement level differences across jurisdictions. A range of policy implications that arise are also identified and discussed.     

Pediatric homicides related to burn injury: a retrospective review at the medical university of South Carolina

Many burn injuries are mistakenly referred to as "accidents" because they occur suddenly and seem unpredictable and uncontrollable; however, injuries often occur in predictable patterns. We reviewed all pediatric forensic cases referred to the Medical University of South Carolina Forensic Pathology Section over a 28-year period from January 1975 to December 2002. There were 124 cases with 121 fire-related fatalities and three scald fatalities. Ninety of the burn victims were in the 0-5-year age group. The manner of deaths showed 108 accidents and 12 homicides (four undetermined). Eleven of 12 burn-related homicides occurred at the home with all of the victims in the 1-8-year age group. The perpetrator of the home fire homicides was the mother in five cases and the sister in one case (two undetermined). Homicide involved a vehicle fire in one case in which the father caused an explosion with an accelerant. The three scald death perpetrators were the father, mother's boyfriend, and an aunt.This retrospective study and review of the literature may reveal patterns useful for evaluation of manner of death. By recognizing scene characteristics, potential perpetrators, and children at risk, we can better classify pediatric burn-related fatalities.