{"title":"Development of a tool for the evaluation of cultural competence of staff members at a secure forensic unit in the UK: A feasibility study.","authors":"Madhurima Basu, Alisdair Jg Taylor, Megan Georgiou, Doreen Kageha, Nadine Myers, Agatha Wojdylak, Quazi Haque, Piyal Sen","doi":"10.1177/00258024251329208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00258024251329208","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cultural competence among healthcare professionals and providers is pivotal to providing effective, safe, and quality services. This paper considers the feasibility of using a tool to measure cultural competence within forensic mental health services, adapted from the Cultural Competence and Linguistic Competence Policy Assessment (CLCPA) developed in the United States (US). The adapted tool was piloted at a secure forensic unit in England; this consisted of a two-phase approach to data collection comparing the results from an initial assessment (time 1, n = 50), with those of a follow-up assessment conducted three years later (time 2, n = 100). The aim was to assess the practicability of using the tool to measure perceptions of cultural competence among 150 staff members, as part of a wider quality assurance and improvement process. The results indicate that the tool has utility in measuring perceptions of cultural competence and that the information gathered can be used to plan service improvements. Yet, it is recommended that the tool is modified at site-level as part of a collaborative exercise with staff and patients and according to service need prior to implementation.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"258024251329208"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143780459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Moral responsibility and mental disorder: A philosophical exploration of the insanity defence.","authors":"Nicholas Hallett","doi":"10.1177/00258024251329180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00258024251329180","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>People are assumed to have moral responsibility, but the presence of mental disorder may call this into question. Nevertheless, when and how mental disorder affects moral responsibility is unclear. The insanity defence exculpates a defendant and effectively extinguishes their moral responsibility, although the criteria for insanity varies between different jurisdictions. Most successful cases of insanity are due to delusions, although the nature of delusions itself varies considerably. The recent case of <i>Keal</i> in England and Wales demonstrates some of the problems with the insanity defence, and a coherent philosophical basis for the defence is lacking. I argue that a volitional element should be added to the insanity defence in England and Wales such that a person may be exculpated on the basis of a mental disorder which sufficiently causes any of (1) defects of reason; (2) deficits in knowledge; (3) a lack of control; and (4) their ability to form intentions in crimes of intent, although the threshold should remain high. Reasons-responsive accounts of moral responsibility underpin many of these abilities. The extent to which mental disorder, particularly delusions, are considered a type of manipulation, rather than part of the self, is likely to be contributing to intuitions about exculpation although not all delusions will cause impairments or manipulation to the same extent. Amending the insanity defence in this way would be more just, more philosophically coherent and allow a more consistent approach for those with mental disorders who are charged with criminal offences.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"258024251329180"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143780460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Women falling from heights in Turkey-can the Latin American model protocol help them?","authors":"Çağdaş Meriç, F Gülsüm Önal","doi":"10.1177/00258024241257104","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241257104","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It is not always possible to determine the exact origin of death in cases of suspicious female deaths. Deaths resulting from falls present many challenges in forensic medicine. In order to overcome these difficulties, we screened the approaches to suspicious female deaths from international documents aimed at preventing violence against women worldwide, and we conclude that the Latin American Model Protocol (LAMP) is the most qualified one in addressing this issue. We have converted the LAMP into a checklist, compared it with the circumstances in the cases we present, and evaluated the potential benefits that LAMP could provide. The study examines three cases of women from Turkey who have died by falling from a height. In all cases, the women's partners were present with them at the time of incident. In all these three cases, partners were in a legally suspicious position and claimed that the incident was a suicide. The investigation and trial processes were different in all three cases, and various difficulties were encountered during the establishment of the truth. This study has demonstrated that, despite the actual occurrence of femicide, the use of the investigation steps proposed by LAMP and a comprehensive approach utilizing the scientific methods of forensic medicine, law, and other disciplines that can assist in analyzing the incident during the investigation process can help reveal the cases where defendants claim cases are suicide despite cases being a femicide.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"89-97"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141093539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Analytical methods for the determination of xylazine in pharmaceutical, clinical and forensic matrices - A review.","authors":"Sachil Kumar, Hemi Gayakwad, Tulsidas R Baggi","doi":"10.1177/00258024241275899","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241275899","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary anaesthetic tranquillizer that is not licensed for human use, has been linked to an increase in overdose fatalities worldwide. The study delves into the forensic aspects of xylazine usage, emphasizing on chemical, clinical and toxicological analyses of drug seizures, bodily fluids and tissues. It advocates for validated analytical methods for determining xylazine. This study provides supporting material to pave the path for the usage and development of relevant and verified alternative screening and confirmation methods for laboratories. Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct and PubMed were searched for relevant articles and case reports in relation to xylazine misuse and established analytical methods for forensic investigation until April 2023. A total of 79 articles were evaluated, and 40 publications met the inclusion criteria. The most prevalent xylazine exposures recorded were incidental and intentional misuse/abuse. Common symptoms upon presentation were hypotension, bradycardia, drowsiness and lethargy, although mortality was less prevalent. Solid-phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction are two extensively used sample preparation techniques. These techniques are used to extract desired analytes from complex matrices. Several analytical techniques have been stated, including GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, HPLC-DAD and others. The analytical procedures used are determined by the matrices involved, the amount of xylazine present, interfering compounds, the degree of precision required and the laboratory infrastructure. In the present context, the LC-MS/MS methods are preferred as the gold standard. In the near future, many analytical techniques such as capillary electrophoresis, PSI-MS, immuno-analytical techniques and SERRS may show significant potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"128-138"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142036277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Abolition of 'Discharge By Operation of Law' - patients detained under sections 3 and 37, Mental Health Act 1983.","authors":"Benjamin Andoh","doi":"10.1177/00258024241275901","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241275901","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ever since patients started to be admitted into mental institutions, absconding from such institutions has been a fact of life. Also, clear statutory authority to retake absconders has existed since county asylums, the forerunners of today's mental hospitals, started to be built following the County Asylums Act 1808. At present section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 concerns patients detained under a hospital order without restrictions on their discharge, etc. Section 3 of the Act, on the other hand, governs patients who are non-offenders but who are compulsorily detained in hospital for treatment. In the past, where a detained patient absconded from hospital and stayed at large beyond the period during which he could be retaken, he was deemed automatically discharged (i.e. 'discharged by operation of law'). Regarding sections 3 and 37 patients, such discharge was effectively abolished by the Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995. Not much attention has been given to this topic in the literature. This article adopts a solely legal perspective. It looks briefly at when the power to retake absconders from mental hospitals may be exercised and then examines the concept of discharge by operation of law and its abolition. It concludes that the abolition of discharge by operation of law in the case of patients detained under sections 3 and 37, Mental Health Act 1983 was, though long-overdue, sensible and must be applauded.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"157-161"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142349770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katie Carpenter, Katie Stammers, Grace Payne-James, Louise Parapanos, Jason Payne-James
{"title":"The role of a Medical Examiner Service in an acute NHS hospital: Perspectives from doctors and next of kin.","authors":"Katie Carpenter, Katie Stammers, Grace Payne-James, Louise Parapanos, Jason Payne-James","doi":"10.1177/00258024241259327","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241259327","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A new Medical Examiner system was introduced in England and Wales in 2019 to scrutinise all non-coronial deaths. The three key roles of independent Medical Examiner scrutiny are to establish accurate causes of death, determine whether coronial referral is required and identify any care concerns. This is the first published service evaluation exploring the views of doctors and next of kin with whom Medical Examiner Services interact. The aims were to understand whether the Medical Examiner Service was achieving its three main roles. Surveys were sent electronically to the qualified attending practitioners, and by post to the next of kin, of a consecutive series of deceased patients reviewed by an acute NHS hospital Medical Examiner Service in the East of England. Recruitment took place over a five month period in 2023. Results are based on 100 returned surveys from doctors (response rate 35%) and 179 completed by next of kin (response rate 65%). Findings suggest the Medical Examiner Service was successfully achieving its three key roles and well received by both doctors and next of kin. Service user feedback is clearly important as Medical Examiner Services continue to develop into the statutory phase during 2024, when they are anticipated to review approximately 400,000 deaths per annum in England and Wales. This study demonstrates such feedback is not only useful for service development, but also eminently possible.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"120-127"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141306275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Selfie accidents and crimes in Egypt: A comprehensive discussion of the medico-legal implications.","authors":"MennattAllah Hassan Attia, Nancy M Zaghloul","doi":"10.1177/00258024241257100","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241257100","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Selfies are self-surveillance images or videos captured by individuals using digital cameras that, in the attempt to obtain content, may lead to selfie-related injuries or deaths. Criminal selfies refer to offenders who take selfies with their victim(s) during crimes. Globally, both phenomena are underestimated due to deficient official data and the social nature of these incidents. This pioneering media-based retrospective study on selfie-related trauma aims to offset the literature deficit on this topic in Egypt, as an Arabic-speaking country, and extend the global understanding beyond the Western context. We utilised the Egyptian newspaper articles published between January 2014 and May 2023. We identified 25 reports of selfie-related accidents that resulted in 29 casualties with an 82.8% fatality rate. Male victims outnumbered female victims and the mean age was 21.8 years, with most victims aged in their twenties. Regarding the causes of selfie-related deaths, drowning in the Nile ranked first (43.4%) followed by falling from a height (26%). Unless suicide was suspected (n = 1), the remaining cases were considered accidental. We also found four reported criminal selfies that were associated with intimate partner violence. Three of these offenders were male, of which two had a history of drug addiction. In contrast to selfie cases, only one offender belonged to the second decade age group. Overall, selfie-related deaths were infrequent, with an average of three incidents per year. In conclusion, audio-visual communication has altered the modus operandi of crimes, so the digital media analysis should supplement the criminological and medicolegal processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"113-119"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141200285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Reena Sarkar, Nicholas Dempsey, Clare Toulmin, Joel Forthun, Annika Spiers, Chloe Dalla-Fontana, Richard Bassed
{"title":"Advancing research on femicide prevention: A mixed methods approach.","authors":"Reena Sarkar, Nicholas Dempsey, Clare Toulmin, Joel Forthun, Annika Spiers, Chloe Dalla-Fontana, Richard Bassed","doi":"10.1177/00258024241270818","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241270818","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Femicide, the killing of women, girls, and infants, is a pervasive problem affecting all global societies. Policy and research are impeded by inaccurate and missing prevalence data, gaps in understanding of femicide, especially for hard-to-reach marginalized populations, and conflicting perceptions between jurisdictions. Leveraging on a combined socio-ecologic model and Public Health approach, the paper spans the methods of a computed tomography-based injury study, an in-depth media-analysis, a legislation evaluation study, and a data barriers' study. Injury patterns, media depiction, and end-user consultations will close the loop on residual problems such as implementation, data gaps, and cultural perceptions. By mixed methods research representing multiple regions, and stakeholders, this project will enhance knowledge on interpersonal, institutional, and societal factors of femicide, advancing the humanitarian forensic discipline. The research method will identify emerging trends and facilitate improvements in tertiary prevention of femicide, specific to resource settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"149-156"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141996073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ian Brockington, Laurence Simmat-Durand, Alessandra Bramante, Claudia Klier
{"title":"Serial neonaticide: Analysis of 126 cases.","authors":"Ian Brockington, Laurence Simmat-Durand, Alessandra Bramante, Claudia Klier","doi":"10.1177/00258024241298149","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241298149","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A total of 126 cases of serial neonaticide (with at least 3 neonates killed) have been collected, 54 from medical reports and 72 from newspapers. Compared with single neonaticides, and especially when five or more infants have been killed, they have more often been perpetrated by women in conjugal or stable relationships and have more frequently involved other family members. In some cases, the explicit motive has been family limitation. It is clear from the preservation and care of the corpses, that some mothers have had an emotional attachment to their infants. Medical under-reporting and the apparent ease of concealment suggest that this criminal activity is more common than has been appreciated.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"139-148"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142785590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The legal rights of the fetus: Nepali perspective.","authors":"Alok Atreya, Ritesh G Menezes, Sagar Adhikari","doi":"10.1177/00258024241275896","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00258024241275896","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article provides an analysis of the legal rights and protection accorded to fetuses under the Nepali law and the comparative common statues. It also analyses the abortion law in Nepal, which aims to balance the needs of women seeking abortion with limited protections for late-term fetuses. The article considers the case, \"Lakshmi Dhikta v. the Government of Nepal,\" which held that access to abortion was a constitutionally formed right. However, barriers to this right still exist, especially among disadvantaged women. Globally, the debate continues between those who advocate for the rights of the fetus and those who put the autonomy of the women first. While some countries grant the fetus limited legal rights, others grant the fetus personhood rights. It is therefore pertinent to discuss the ethics of prenatal harm, sex-selective abortion, and the possible conflict between maternal and fetal interests. The multifaceted law should regulate maternal health, the interest of the fetus, and discrimination while ensuring feasible and affordable abortion.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"166-171"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142000386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}