NCJ Number
142988
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Dated: (May 1993) Pages: 622-626
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
In Italy, forensic autopsies are performed either at the request of the court or prosecutor, or under circumstances where a proper death certificate is not filled out by a treating physician.
Abstract
Judicial autopsies are performed by doctors on a special list, based on training and competence. The adversarial court system allows the prosecutor, defendant, and victim's family to appoint a forensic pathologist as a consultant to testify in court. Nonjudicial autopsies, carried out under the auspices of the National Health Service, are usually performed by forensic pathologists in large urban areas. A survey made of Italian autopsies showed that too much time lapses before a judicial autopsy is done, resulting in decomposition and autolysis, loss of details and diagnostic accuracy, and impaired laboratory results. 7 references