The value of skull-photo superimpositions in identifying corpses found in domestic settings

The identification of decomposed corpses found in domestic settings is frequently problematic because comparative material for methods such as forensic odontostomatology, comparative X-ray analysis, or DNA analysis, is not available. In the case presented here, a photograph from an old, expired passport could be used to successfully identify a "domestic setting" corpse in a skull-photo superimposition. In an additional DNA analysis, 13 STR-loci could be amplified from tissue samples taken from the corpse. DNA comparison with the presumed brother of the deceased yielded a probability of 97.09% for siblingship. Y-STR-analysis was, therefore, performed. The results showed that all of the systems for the presumed brother and the corpse conformed, with the exception of the DYS390 locus, in which allele 21 was found for the corpse and allele 22 for the brother. Despite the rapid development of other identification procedures, skull-photo superimpositions remain an important means of identification. Last not least this is due to the increasing ubiquity of personal photo documents in the age of digital photography. The validity of the results from a DNA analysis in an identification process depends largely on the authenticity of the samples available for comparison and the degree to which the DNA from the corpse is preserved. In the case presented by the authors, positive identification of the corpse solely on the basis of the DNA analysis would not have been possible. Numerous constellations can be imagined for decomposed corpses found in domestic settings for which skull-photo superimpositions may be the only possible option for identifying the corpse.     

Criteria for the classification as a "domestic-setting corpse"--a literature search and review to define the term

In German medical and media circles (daily routine, specialist literature, press, novels), the term "domestic-setting corpse" is frequently used, but the term is only vaguely defined. The authors thus decided to perform an in-depth study of the literature, including historic textbooks and all German- and English-language medicolegal journals, going as far back as their first issues, in an attempt to more clearly define the term. Inclusion criteria used in the search were a post-mortem interval of at least 24 hours prior to discovery and discovery of the corpse in a domestic setting. In the literature, 37 cases that complied with the above-mentioned inclusion criteria were found. These cases frequently described "advanced decomposition", often "unclear cause of death" and "problems in identification". These characteristics can thus be considered as being additional pointers in the definition. However, we suggest that the two general defining characteristics of a "domestic-setting corpse" are a post-mortem interval of more than 24 hours before discovery and the discovery of the corpse in a domestic setting.     

No way out: crime,punishment and the capitalization of power

The United States is often hailed as the world’s largest ‘free market’. But this ‘free market’ is also the world’s largest penal colony. It holds over seven million adults – roughly 5 % of the labour force – in jail, in prison, on parole and on probation. Is this an anomaly, or does the ‘free market’ require massive state punishment? Why did the correctional population start to rise in the 1980s, together with the onset of neoliberalism? How is this increase related to the upward redistribution of income and the capitalization of power? Can soaring incarceration sustain the unprecedented power of dominant capital, or is there a reversal in the offing? The paper examines these questions by juxtaposing the ‘Rusche thesis’ with the notion of capitalism as a mode of power. The empirical analysis raises an enigma: it suggests that the Rusche thesis holds under the normal circumstances of ‘business as usual’, but breaks down during periods of systemic crisis. During the systemic crises of the 1930s and the 2000s, unemployment increased sharply, but crime and the severity of punishment, instead of rising, dropped perceptibly.     

Whistleblowing and Compliance in the Judicial Hierarchy

One way that principals can overcome the problem of informational asymmetries in hierarchical organizations is to enable whistleblowing. We evaluate how whistleblowing influences compliance in the judicial hierarchy. We present a formal model in which a potential whistleblower may, at some cost, signal noncompliance by a lower court to a higher court. A key insight of the model is that whistleblowing is most informative when it is rare. While the presence of a whistleblower can increase compliance by lower courts, beyond a certain point blowing the whistle is counterproductive and actually reduces compliance. Moreover, a whistleblower who is a “perfect ally” of the higher court (in terms of preferences) blows the whistle too often. Our model shows an important connection between the frequency of whistleblowing and the effectiveness of whistleblowing as a threat to induce compliance in hierarchical organizations.     

Transnational partisanship: idea and practice

That parties might successfully organize transnationally is an idea often met with scepticism. This article argues that while certain favourable conditions are indeed absent in the transnational domain, this implies not that partisanship is impossible but that it is likely to be marked by certain traits. Specifically, it will tend to be episodic, structured as a low-density network and delocalized in its ideational content. These tendencies affect the normative expectations one can attach to it. Transnational partisanship should be valued as a transitional phenomenon, e.g. as a pathway to transnational democracy, more than as a desirable thing in itself.     

A simple method of nose tip shape validation for facial approximation

Despite numerous papers relating to the prediction of nose projection for the purposes of facial approximation, there is little guidance for nose tip shape that has been evaluated on a known data set. This study presents a novel, simple technique for validation of the reconstructed nose tip shape based on methods used in actual approximation practice. The data set was comprised of 25 full-head computed tomography (CT) patient scans. In 22 of the 25 patients across all age and sex groups, when the head is tilted so that soft tissue pronasale is superimposed on hard tissue rhinion, the curvature of the nose tip was found to mimic the curvature of the superior portion of the nasal aperture. This occurs when the head is tilted dorsally by approximately 60° (55.87±5.91). Individuals with snub noses presented a much wider tip curvature. The method was highly repeatable and was evaluated through inter- and intra-observer studies (error=3.15%).