NCJ Number
133673
Date Published
1991
Length
71 pages
Annotation
This manual presents standards and procedures for the effective investigation of deaths that may be the result of extra-legal, arbitrary, and summary executions.
Abstract
Such executions include political assassinations, deaths from torture or ill-treatment in prison or detention, death that results from enforced "disappearances," deaths resulting from the excessive use of force by police, executions without due process, and acts of genocide. This manual provisions protocols for the investigation of suspicious deaths, because the failure to detect and disclose these executions to the international community is a major obstacle to the rendering of justice for past executions and the prevention of future executions. The manual initially reviews international human rights standards that outlaw arbitrary deprivation of life. This is followed by an explanation of international standards for the effective prevention of extra-legal, arbitrary, and summary executions. A model protocol for investigations covers the purposes of an inquiry, inquiry procedures, and proceedings of a commission of inquiry. Separate sections describe a model autopsy protocol and a model protocol for disinterment and analysis of skeletal remains. Appended supplementary information