Unusual hanging deaths

Four unrelated hanging deaths involving young white males, all in enlisted status in the United States military, are presented. Taken in a military context, one scene served as a suicide note equivalent with the unmistakable message of extreme defiance toward military regulations. In two cases, the elaborate attire of the decedents could have lead to the misclassification of the manner of death if investigative information had not been considered. Extensive background investigation and review of medical records in the fourth case disclosed that the victim had an eight- to ten-year history of compressing his neck to cause unconsciousness. He left an extensive suicide note in which he concluded that "hanging would be good." Each case has certain unique features, as a group, the cases all demonstrate a continuum from obvious suicide to cases where the manner of death is, at first, equivocal.     

The logic of ‘Policy’ and successful policies

Developed on the premise that how we conceive of ‘policy’ and ‘successful policy’ guides policy sciences' research and evaluation, this paper responds to the conceptual questions of “what is a policy?” and “when is a policy successful?” Formal or logical conditions are established to distinguish ‘policy’ from related concepts. The notion ‘relevant public’ is introduced to distinguish public policies from private policies and to identify fairly-declared policies. Further, conditions are developed that can be used as logical tests for three types of policy success: implementation success, instrumental success and success in normative justification.     

North America's first supervised injection site opens in Vancouver

The number of injection drug users frequenting the long-awaited supervised injection site in the Downtown Eastside has steadily increased since the site opened in September 2003. However, there are concerns about the restrictions imposed by Health Canada and about the activities of the Vancouver Police.     

Supervised injection sites: Health Canada approves Vancouver pilot sites, but concerns remain

The paperwork has been processed, and Health Canada says that two pilot supervised injection sites (SISs) in Vancouver can now proceed, but operational funding for the site to be located in the Downtown Eastside has yet to be secured. Meanwhile, tired of waiting for the sanctioned SISs to open, community groups in Vancouver have begun to operate unsanctioned sites. There are also concerns that even if operational funding for the Downtown Eastside site is obtained, the pilot SIS project is too small in scope to make a major impact on public health in the area.     

Sex identification of white-tailed deer using frozen venison

Fluids from frozen muscle tissue taken from 449 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were analyzed using a radioimmunoassay technique for testosterone. Comparing 309 deer sampled in early November, antlered males had significantly higher tissue testosterone levels (range = 0.18 to 16.00 ng/mL) than females (range = 0.00 to 0.18 ng/mL) while antlerless (fawn) males overlapped both groups (range = 0.00 to 0.68 ng/mL). Samples taken from 132 deer from January through August showed no differences among ages or sexes. Antlered males can be differentiated from females during the breeding season.     

Free press and fair trial: The role of behavioral research

The growth of mass media has complicated the relatioship between the courts and the media. Free press and fair trial rights are kept in balance by the use of judicial restraints and remedies such asvoir dire, change of venue, and gag orders. This balance has shifted back and forth during the past two decades. Current case law and legal codes are inconsistent and provide insufficient guidance to judges in their use of restraints and remedies. Nor is there a body of empirical research on the impact of news coverage and juror behavior capable of informing the courts at this time. In this paper, we review and critically assess the empirical social science literature as it pertains to the legal issues involving free press and fair trial. We argue that carefully conducted empirical research could provide important information to the courts. We suggest research directions and methodological caveats to increase legal relevance and scientific validity.