The causes of death in fire victims

In 169 consecutive cases of autopsied fire victims about 50% had lethal levels of carboxyhemoglobin. Soot in the respiratory tract was found in about 90% of the cases. The age distribution of the fire victims showed significantly less persons in the 15-35-year group than should be expected according to the age distribution of the population, presumably due to greater agility of younger people. More than half of the fire victims had alcohol in the blood exceeding 0.05%, and alcohol intoxication should be considered accessary to many deaths in fire. The characteristic biphasic distribution of carboxyhemoglobin in fire victims together with other observations suggest that the principal causes of death are carbon monoxide followed by carbon dioxide poisoning and/or oxygen deficiency, while the influence of heat is considered to be of minor importance.     

安乐死的法律定义之思考

安乐死不能理解为“无痛处死” ,它不是“无痛致死术” ,也不是“特殊的死亡方式”。安乐死是一种优化的死亡状态 ,应当具有四个特有属性 ,其本质不是授人以死 ,而是授死者以安乐。安乐死可以分为主动安乐死和被动安乐死。     

我国公安民警因公伤亡原因调查研究——兼论警察作训

采用文献资料、调查访问、比较数理统计等方法 ,对 2 0 0 1年度我国公安民警因公伤亡情况进行了研究 ,结合我国警察作训内容 ,分析了主要伤亡原因及对策 ,为公安民警教育培训提供理论指导     

论中国非暴力犯罪死刑的逐步废止

以长远的眼光观之 ,死刑的命运必然是走向终结。就中国现阶段的综合情况而言 ,可以经历如下三个阶段逐步废止死刑 :一是先行逐步废止非暴力犯罪的死刑 ;二是进一步在条件成熟时废止非致命犯罪 (非侵犯生命的犯罪 )的死刑 ;三是在社会文明和法治发展到相当发达程度时 ,全面废止死刑。目前 ,应及时将非暴力犯罪死刑的逐步废止问题提上日程。中国废止死刑之路 ,应以逐步而及时地废止非暴力犯罪的死刑为切入点     

死刑替代利弊分析

死刑存废之争在世界范围内沸沸扬扬,然而坚持适用死刑的国家无论面临来自国际还是国内的废除死刑压力和呼声,仍在适用死刑。我国适用死刑的总趋势是减少,甚至逐步被替代,替代是接受彻底废除死刑观念的过渡。事实上,我国刑法大部分适用死刑的犯罪不存在替代问题;另一方面,替代也可能会带来某些负面效应,并对立法和司法提出新的挑战。     

A retrospective comparative study to evaluate the reliability of post-mortem interval sources in UK and US medico-legal death investigations

Post-mortem interval (PMI) information sources may be subject to varying degrees of reliability that could impact the level of confidence associated with PMI estimations in forensic taphonomy research and in the practice of medico-legal death investigation. This study aimed to assess the reliability of PMI information sources in a retrospective comparative analysis of 1813 cases of decomposition from the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner in Pittsburgh, US (n = 1714), and the Crime Scene Investigation department at Southwest Forensics in the UK (n = 99). PMI information sources were subjected to a two-stage evaluation using an adapted version of the 3x5 aspects of the UK police National Intelligence Model (NIM) to determine the confidence level associated with each source. Normal distribution plots were created to show the distribution frequency of the dependent variables (decomposition stage and source evaluation) by the independent variable of PMI. The manner, location, and season of death were recorded to ascertain if these variables influenced the reliability of the PMI. A confidence matrix was then created to assess the overall reliability and provenance of each PMI information source. Reliable PMI sources (including forensic specialists, missing persons reports, and digital evidence) were used across extensive PMI ranges (1 to 2920 days in the US, and 1 to 240 days in the UK) but conferred a low incidence of use with forensic specialists providing a PMI estimation in only 35% of all homicide cases. Medium confidence PMI sources (e.g., last known social contact) accounted for the majority of UK (54%, n = 54) and US (82%, n = 1413) cases and were associated with shorter PMIs and natural causes of death. Low confidence PMI sources represented the lowest frequencies of UK and US cases and exclusively comprised PMI information from scene evidence. In 96% of all cases, only one PMI source was reported, meaning PMI source corroboration was overall very low (4%). This research has important application for studies using police reports of PMI information to validate PMI estimation models, and in the practice of medico-legal death investigation where it is recommended that i) the identified reliable PMI sources are sought ii) untested or unreliable PMI sources are substantiated with corroborating PMI information, iii) all PMI sources are reported with an associated degree of confidence that encapsulates the uncertainty of the originating source.     

the death penalty: An American history

Stuart Banner's thoughtful book, The Death Penalty: An American History (2002), serves as the basis of this review essay which explores the forces shaping the nation's experiences with capital punishment. The essay traces Banner's account of important death penalty developments throughout American history and examines justifications traditionally offered in support of capital punishment, issues of administration, and execution protocols. It concludes by projecting that, consistent with historical trends and nagged by serious and recurring administrative problems, the death penalty in America will in due course become a thing of the past.     

Effects of psychopathy and violence risk testimony on mock juror perceptions of dangerousness in a capital murder trial

The recent introduction of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) into the sentencing phase of capital murder trials has heightened concerns about the potentially prejudicial impact of such information on jurors, who might give disproportionate weight to this diagnosis when determining whether a defendant is a “continuing threat to society”. To investigate this issue, 238 undergraduates read a case summary based on US v. Barnette ( ), in which prosecution testimony was presented regarding the presence of a mental disorder (psychopathy, psychosis, or no disorder). Compared to the “no disorder” condition, participants rated psychopathic defendants as more likely to be violent in the future, even though testimony related to level of risk (high or low) was held constant. The difference in perceived dangerousness across the psychopathy and no disorder groups was particularly pronounced when the experts described the defendant as being at low risk. A similar pattern of effects was noted for the psychosis condition, suggesting that the impact of mental disorder testimony on perceptions of dangerousness may not necessarily be specific to the PCL-R.     

我国农村妇女自杀问题初探

农村妇女自杀问题已成为我国当前一个日益凸显的社会问题。家庭暴力、传统文化的落后思想、经济能力不足等是导致农村妇女自杀率高的主要原因。为解决农村妇女自杀问题,必须采取加大教育普及力、提高执法力和加强对农村妇女的心理援助等重要防治举措。     

论绑架罪的修正构成的解释与适用——兼评修正案对绑架罪的修改

刚刚通过的《中华人民共和国刑法修正案(七)》对于绑架罪进行了部分修正,增设了"情节较轻"的减轻构成规定,这虽然具有重要的意义,但是这一减轻构成的评价、理解与适用本身仍是问题。在对绑架罪的减轻构成从规定方式到下限选择作了评述之后,文章继而讨论了对于"情节较轻"的具体理解问题,特别指出在规定了绑架罪"情节较轻"的构成之后要避免的几种错误倾向。同时,修正案对于绑架罪的加重构成未作任何修改,这十分令人遗憾,而本着严格限制死刑适用的初衷,必须对于现有的加重构成进行严格的限制解释。总体而言,修正案对于绑架罪的修改虽有进步但不彻底,可谓是"半截子的革命"。