Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
Year : 2000, Volume : 17, Issue : 1
First page : ( 34) Last page : ( 36)
Print ISSN : 0971-1929.

Suicidal versus post-mortem hanging - Case report artifactual implications: (Use and abuse ofphotos)

Sharma SK, Senior Medical Officer

General Hospital, Gurgaon (Haryana), M-49, Old DLF Colony, Gurgaon 122001, India.

Abstract

An error in perception because of something that simulates other is an artefactual perception. Artefactual misinterpretation has thus the potential of meaning differently to different people on different occasions. Post-autopsy contradiction in the hands of investigators is being focussed. Death of a man, who was found hanging, was considered to be suicidal. It was therefore filed. A year after the postmortem the theory of suicidal hanging was replaced with suspicion of homicide. Those who perceived the death as homicidal did so out of misconceptions. The bleeding at the scene of occurrence got interpreted differently by the investigators of two different times. Initial police perception of bleeding at the site was that of ignoring. To their counterparts after a year same bleeding, was from antemortem injuries, which either escaped attention of autopsy doctor or could even be a deliberate omission. In this case report, author tries to analyse photographic perceptions and controversies. One of the reasons of this paper is that the author wants the readers to have an accurate perception of the photograph.

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Key Words

Artefacts, Post-mortem staInIng, Forensic photography, Hanging, Police investigation, Post-mortem hanging.

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