Sudden death in the community had always been considered important since the early days of the office and was also investigated by coroners, although for reasons far different to those of today. After the Norman Conquest, to deter the local communities from a continuing habit of killing Normans, a heavy fine was levied on any village where a dead body was discovered, on the assumption that it was presumed to be Norman, unless it could be proved to be English.
The fine was known as the 'Murdrum', from which the word 'murder' is derived and, as the system developed, many of the early coroners' inquests dealt with the 'Presumption of Normanry' which could only be rebutted by the local community, and a fine thus avoided, by the 'Presentment of Englishry'.
The Coroner system continued to adapt over the centuries, but in the nineteenth century major changes relating to the investigation of death in the community occurred. In , the first Births and Deaths Registration Act was passed, prompted by the public concern and panic caused by inaccurate 'parochial' recording of the actual numbers of deaths arising from epidemics such as cholera. There was also growing concern that given the easy and uncontrolled access to numerous poisons, and inadequate medical investigation of the actual cause of death, many homicides were going undetected.
The office of coroner probably existed in Anglo-Saxon times, but not until was it given something akin to statutory recognition. Tension existed between Normans and Anglo-Saxons, who were not averse to murder. One function of the coroner was to determine, through a jury recruited from the male members of the community, whether a deceased, who appeared to have died violently, was Norman. The jurors, being local, may have been able to identify the deceased in whose presence the inquest was held and could examine the body to discover the cause of death, often obvious from the injuries to be seen.
Until modern times, the jury was required to view the body. Accordingly, inquests were held promptly; a necessity without refrigeration. Although no longer required to be a knight, most county coroners were elected. However, since , all coroners are appointed by the local authorities in the areas in which they serve. Answer: According to the Pennsylvania Statutes pertaining to the Office of the Coroner, Section ; the Coroner must be notified to investigate the circumstances concerning deaths to determine the identification of the deceased, cause and manner of death, and whether an autopsy should be conducted.
The coroner is also empowered to conduct an inquest and subpoena witnesses in deaths that may have resulted from criminal action or a negligent act.
Specifically, the Coroner is called to investigate:. The Coroner is also responsible for maintaining the security of the scene, determining medical history, notifying the next of kin, retaining the property on or about the deceased until the family can claim it, and, issuing death certificates.
This means that the Coroner spends about 30 days a year transporting bodies to the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, where autopsies are performed. He may assist in the autopsy process and determination of cause and manner of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide, or undetermined, and then transports the body back to the county.
The department also has full-time clerical assistance which provides the necessary support that this busy office demands on a daily basis. There is now a decedent viewing area and a larger space for holding decedents pending autopsy completion and release to funeral homes.
Although it is still necessary to send many toxicology tests and other lab work out of the area for processing which often takes up to 12 weeks until results are received , the Forensic Center in Williamsport offers a place where some procedures can be completed locally. Targeting areas of specific concern, such as water safety during the summer or teen driving during the prom season, programs of community awareness and education are then offered to the public.
According to the Coroner, most of the crashes were caused by driver error including:. Former county Coroner Dr. Earl Miller with Coroner Charles Kiessling. The following year, Brooks also investigated the death of a man who drowned in an attempt to cross Pine Creek with a four horse team. Miller who was elected in and held the office for 20 years.
Answer: According to the Pennsylvania Statutes pertaining to the Office of the Coroner, Section ; the Coroner must be notified to investigate the circumstances concerning deaths to determine the identification of the deceased, cause and manner of death and whether an autopsy should be conducted.
They were interested in something more supple—a satisfactory conclusion. We call this site CSI:Dixie then because the coroner was more detective than medical examiner; he inspected the body and possible crime scene, interviewed witnesses including slaves , and sought expert testimony including from physicians , before discussing the case with a jury that was partially chosen for its knowledge of local personalities and circumstances.
His was the first link in the chain of the legal process. Gradually the coroner would yield some of his duties to other government functionaries, particularly to the police detective and the medical examiner. These early units were not created to solve crimes, however, but to police the new urban poor and operate as the enforcers of the rising political machines, capitalists, and captains of industry.
In some respects, then, they were a more formalized version of the southern slave patrols, which may explain why the south formed few police departments before the Civil War. Police detectives as we know them—as arms of the criminal justice system—did not emerge until the twentieth century. The medical examiner, on the other hand, encroached earlier upon duties previously associated with the coroner.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, physicians, for noble reasons and selfish ones, interposed themselves more forcefully into death investigation and the criminal justice system. In , for instance, the physician Benjamin Rush lectured University of Pennsylvania medical students on the potential value of medical testimony in cases of rape, murder, infanticide, and abortion.
In , the Beck brothers Theodric and John published the two-volume, Elements of Medical Jurisprudence, which became the foundation of modern forensic pathology in the United States. Boston appointed its first medical examiner in , Cleveland in , and New York City in At CSI:D, however, all of these developments await the future.
Here the coroner remains the leader of a kind of macabre community theater.
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