Pub Date : 1945-07-01DOI: 10.1177/030216374501300302
J B FIRTH
FROM the earliest times the two main methods of criminal killing appear to have been, and still are, by the use of (a) weapons; (b) poisons. It will be readily admitted that with the development of civilization there has been a very considerable change and augmentation of the resources of the criminal, not only in weapons-from bludgeon to firearms, etc., but also in poisons, from snake venom and poison pot to toxic chemicals; the technique of the criminal has also undergone marked development. In fact, in many major crimes, evidence of scientific skill and knowledge on the part of the criminal has often been manifested. Poisoning seems to have exerted some degree of fascination for the human race. Early history records many cases of death by criminal poisoning, also the production of alleged antidotes. Thus, Sir William Willcox records] that in the first century B.C., Mithridates conducted toxicological experiments on condemned criminals and others and invented a universal antidote alleged to have contained 36 ingredients. He himself became so immune to poisons that, wishing to commit suicide, was compelled to ask a mercenary to kill him with his sword. Poisoning became a fine art, political murders by poison developed to such a degree that it became the practice of kings and persons in high office to protect themselves by having" tasters" of both food and drink, a portion being removed and tasted in the presence of, and immediately before consumption, by the person or persons to be safeguarded. Although poisoning in England was not as prevalent prior to 1500 as on the Continent, it did exist; thus it is recorded that Henry VIII ordered poisoners to be boiled to death. After this, "criminal poisoning" developed fairly rapidly and became quite common up to the nineteenth century-the chief poisons were probably preparations containing arsenic and corrosive sublimates. The methods of diagnosis of poisoning were very limited, depending very largely on observations before and during illness prior to death, together with post-mortem appearances. Thus the scientific investigations relating to poisoning cases (i.e., toxicology), were undertaken by qualified medical men, and included in the field known as Forensic Medicine or Medical Jurisprudence. The development of toxicology was in some measure restricted and controlled by the advances in modern chemistry and reliable analytical methods, and ran parallel with developments in forensic medicine. (There are still, however, some who still claim that toxicology is included in forensic medicine.) The foundations of toxicology were laid towards the end of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Thus we have the discovery by Scheele of arsenic (1775), hydrogen cyanide 1783, the Marsh test for arsenic 1836. The detection of arsenic in the alimentary tract and organs by Orfila (1839) indicated the importance of a determination of the degree of absorption of this poison. The first systematic description of chemi
{"title":"Forensic science laboratories.","authors":"J B FIRTH","doi":"10.1177/030216374501300302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/030216374501300302","url":null,"abstract":"FROM the earliest times the two main methods of criminal killing appear to have been, and still are, by the use of (a) weapons; (b) poisons. It will be readily admitted that with the development of civilization there has been a very considerable change and augmentation of the resources of the criminal, not only in weapons-from bludgeon to firearms, etc., but also in poisons, from snake venom and poison pot to toxic chemicals; the technique of the criminal has also undergone marked development. In fact, in many major crimes, evidence of scientific skill and knowledge on the part of the criminal has often been manifested. Poisoning seems to have exerted some degree of fascination for the human race. Early history records many cases of death by criminal poisoning, also the production of alleged antidotes. Thus, Sir William Willcox records] that in the first century B.C., Mithridates conducted toxicological experiments on condemned criminals and others and invented a universal antidote alleged to have contained 36 ingredients. He himself became so immune to poisons that, wishing to commit suicide, was compelled to ask a mercenary to kill him with his sword. Poisoning became a fine art, political murders by poison developed to such a degree that it became the practice of kings and persons in high office to protect themselves by having\" tasters\" of both food and drink, a portion being removed and tasted in the presence of, and immediately before consumption, by the person or persons to be safeguarded. Although poisoning in England was not as prevalent prior to 1500 as on the Continent, it did exist; thus it is recorded that Henry VIII ordered poisoners to be boiled to death. After this, \"criminal poisoning\" developed fairly rapidly and became quite common up to the nineteenth century-the chief poisons were probably preparations containing arsenic and corrosive sublimates. The methods of diagnosis of poisoning were very limited, depending very largely on observations before and during illness prior to death, together with post-mortem appearances. Thus the scientific investigations relating to poisoning cases (i.e., toxicology), were undertaken by qualified medical men, and included in the field known as Forensic Medicine or Medical Jurisprudence. The development of toxicology was in some measure restricted and controlled by the advances in modern chemistry and reliable analytical methods, and ran parallel with developments in forensic medicine. (There are still, however, some who still claim that toxicology is included in forensic medicine.) The foundations of toxicology were laid towards the end of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Thus we have the discovery by Scheele of arsenic (1775), hydrogen cyanide 1783, the Marsh test for arsenic 1836. The detection of arsenic in the alimentary tract and organs by Orfila (1839) indicated the importance of a determination of the degree of absorption of this poison. The first systematic description of chemi","PeriodicalId":88741,"journal":{"name":"The Medico-legal and criminological review","volume":"13 ","pages":"120-33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1945-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/030216374501300302","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29423641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1945-04-01DOI: 10.1177/030216374501300203
K McFADYEAN
{"title":"The need for reform in statutes affecting illegitimacy.","authors":"K McFADYEAN","doi":"10.1177/030216374501300203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/030216374501300203","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":88741,"journal":{"name":"The Medico-legal and criminological review","volume":"13 ","pages":"62-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1945-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/030216374501300203","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29410433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1945-04-01DOI: 10.1177/030216374501300206
{"title":"THE McNAGHTEN Rules and the irresistible impulse defence.","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/030216374501300206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/030216374501300206","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":88741,"journal":{"name":"The Medico-legal and criminological review","volume":"13 ","pages":"93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1945-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/030216374501300206","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29410438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1945-04-01DOI: 10.1177/030216374501300205
D C NORRIS
DEFINITION.-The purpose of a medical examination is usually to enable the doctor to ascertain the condition of the patient, so as to be able to advise him as to treatment. The distinctive feature of a medico-legal examination is that it is conducted primarily for the information of some third party who has an interest in knowing the facts relating to the patient's condition, and the opinion of the medical examiner on these facts, and who may use this information in taking some action with legal consequences. Such an examination may be confined to some part only of the patient, such as his blood or excreta, or even of his cadaver, and in such a case the examiner is in the fortunate position of being able to treat the matter purely objectively as a scientific enquiry, and, if he is well versed in the theory and practice of pathology, he may be able to attain a high degree of accuracy and to deliver an opinion which it would be difficult to assail. Different considerations apply, however, in the case of the medical man who is called upon to examine the living subject. Here the situation is complicated by the infinite variety of human behaviour; the ascertainment of fact may be rendered more difficult by lack of co-operation by the patient, or even his strenuous .opposition, or his attempts to pervert or obstruct the examination, or to influence the examiner in his opinion by false or misleading information. In such circumstances the doctor is obliged to exercise a considerable discretion in his observation and interpretation of the facts, and to guard against the possible intrusion of personal prejudice in forming his opinion; his report may often be challenged on the grounds that he did not pay sufficient attention to these special circumstances.
{"title":"Medico-legal examinations and reports.","authors":"D C NORRIS","doi":"10.1177/030216374501300205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/030216374501300205","url":null,"abstract":"DEFINITION.-The purpose of a medical examination is usually to enable the doctor to ascertain the condition of the patient, so as to be able to advise him as to treatment. The distinctive feature of a medico-legal examination is that it is conducted primarily for the information of some third party who has an interest in knowing the facts relating to the patient's condition, and the opinion of the medical examiner on these facts, and who may use this information in taking some action with legal consequences. Such an examination may be confined to some part only of the patient, such as his blood or excreta, or even of his cadaver, and in such a case the examiner is in the fortunate position of being able to treat the matter purely objectively as a scientific enquiry, and, if he is well versed in the theory and practice of pathology, he may be able to attain a high degree of accuracy and to deliver an opinion which it would be difficult to assail. Different considerations apply, however, in the case of the medical man who is called upon to examine the living subject. Here the situation is complicated by the infinite variety of human behaviour; the ascertainment of fact may be rendered more difficult by lack of co-operation by the patient, or even his strenuous .opposition, or his attempts to pervert or obstruct the examination, or to influence the examiner in his opinion by false or misleading information. In such circumstances the doctor is obliged to exercise a considerable discretion in his observation and interpretation of the facts, and to guard against the possible intrusion of personal prejudice in forming his opinion; his report may often be challenged on the grounds that he did not pay sufficient attention to these special circumstances.","PeriodicalId":88741,"journal":{"name":"The Medico-legal and criminological review","volume":"13 ","pages":"76-93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1945-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/030216374501300205","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29410437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1939-01-01DOI: 10.1177/1051449X1000700110
J. W. R. B. Barrister
{"title":"The Legal Responsibilities of Hospital Authorities to Patients","authors":"J. W. R. B. Barrister","doi":"10.1177/1051449X1000700110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1051449X1000700110","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":88741,"journal":{"name":"The Medico-legal and criminological review","volume":"7 1","pages":"108-119"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1939-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1051449X1000700110","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65260968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1910-01-01DOI: 10.1177/1051449X1000700104
R. A. Robinson
IN this country the statutes dealing with the adulteration of food are the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1907. Administrative Authorities.-The authorities primarily charged with the administration of these Acts are :-In London the City Corporation and the Metropolitan Borough Councils. In boroughs having a separate court of quarter sessions and a population exceeding 10,000, the Town Council; elsewhere the County Council. As is presumably the case with all similar duties vested in local authorities, without much supervision from a central body, the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts is conspicuous for lack of uniformity. In some areas a disproportionately small number of samples is taken; while the conditions under which samples are taken are in some districts much less favourable to efficient administration than they are in others. Some local councils give their clerk or their medical officer of health or their inspector of weights and measures or their chief constable or their sanitary inspector carte blanche to take samples and to institute legal proceedings as he may think fit. Others keep the work under direct supervision and control. Some authorities are reluctant to prosecute except in very grave cases, and therefore conduct a more or less exhaustive inquiry into the circumstances
{"title":"Food Adulteration in England and France","authors":"R. A. Robinson","doi":"10.1177/1051449X1000700104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1051449X1000700104","url":null,"abstract":"IN this country the statutes dealing with the adulteration of food are the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1907. Administrative Authorities.-The authorities primarily charged with the administration of these Acts are :-In London the City Corporation and the Metropolitan Borough Councils. In boroughs having a separate court of quarter sessions and a population exceeding 10,000, the Town Council; elsewhere the County Council. As is presumably the case with all similar duties vested in local authorities, without much supervision from a central body, the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts is conspicuous for lack of uniformity. In some areas a disproportionately small number of samples is taken; while the conditions under which samples are taken are in some districts much less favourable to efficient administration than they are in others. Some local councils give their clerk or their medical officer of health or their inspector of weights and measures or their chief constable or their sanitary inspector carte blanche to take samples and to institute legal proceedings as he may think fit. Others keep the work under direct supervision and control. Some authorities are reluctant to prosecute except in very grave cases, and therefore conduct a more or less exhaustive inquiry into the circumstances","PeriodicalId":88741,"journal":{"name":"The Medico-legal and criminological review","volume":"MLST-7 1","pages":"51 - 68"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1910-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1051449X1000700104","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65260844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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