No charges will be brought in Silvis slaying
From the Violent Quad Cities file:
A coroner's jury has determined that the stabbing death of Perry Bingham, 1150 41st Street, Moline, was his own fault.
Bingham was stabbed by his ex-wife's boyfriend after he entered her Silvis home and pushed her through a window. After a struggle with the boyfriend, Bingham was stabbed and died shortly afterwards.
The jury also heard testimony from the medical examiner in the Adrianne Reynolds case that a cause of death could not be conclusively determined due to the dismemberment of her body and the fact that it was burned.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 3/02/2005
3 comments
3 Comments:
Keen insight indeed Dissenter. ;-)
It does seem rather odd that they have to pay a guy with 8+ years of advanced medical training to come to the conclusion that he can't come to a conclusion.
And as you say, I think we can safely rule out an accidental death.
And your comments are a breath of fresh air. Thanks.
Excellent point as ususal dissenter, and one that I'd never considered.
Just what DOES the coroner do that a hired pathologist could not do? And would the cost of hiring a full-time pathologist or professional medical examiner be justified?
And indeed, no doubt everyone would hope that a qualified person highly trained in the area would be the one making any declarations on cause of death for themselves or their loved ones, especially were the cause of death open to question.
What could the justification for the current system be, other than the funeral home "first dibs" scenario?
Could it be a cost savings? Do they assume that the coroner is capable of dealing with so-called "routine" deaths?
I'd like to think that all deaths are thoroughly looked into for possible foul play. And considering the many stealthy ways to kill a person, I'd like to know that potential murderers aren't walking away scott free.
For instance, say an elderly person dies in their home and there's evidence of a heart attack. A coroner would likely attribute the death to that and walk away.
But further investigation may show that the person was given a drug that induced the heart attack.
Perhaps a relative that was tired of caring for their parent decided to off them. Would a coroner detect this, or even suspect it?
It's a valid issue. Anyone know just why a coroner is necessary?
And if we really want to kick up a duststorm here, we could ask why the township layer of government is necessary. (but if anyone wants to discuss that, we'll post it on it's own topic.)
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