The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "autopsy" ...
-
Iraqi Prison Abuse
Reporters went beyond Abu Ghraib to find evidence of widespread prisoner abuse. This series of stories revealed the brutal interrogation tactics the U.S. military was using to torture Iraqi prisoners and, in a few cases, to kill them. The prisoners who did die did not receive autopsies or were classified as dying by natural causes. The investigation further revealed contradictions made by the Pentagon.
Tags: Iraq; prison; abuse; torture; military; Pentagon; Afghanistan
-
Taser safety claim questioned; medical examiners connect stun gun to 5 deaths
This series of stories examines stun-gun safety and how police are using the weapons. Stun-gun manufacturer Taser International has claimed that the shock of the gun is not lethal, but the Republic found the devices to be linked to at least 11 deaths, according to autopsy reports and interviews with medical examiners nationwide. The Republic's investigation also found that Phoenix area police use the weapon mostly against unarmed suspects in petty crimes. The newspaper's investigation prompted inquires by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Arizona Attorney General's office.
Tags: medical reporters; medical examiners; stun guns; Taser International
-
Evidence of Injustice
An exclusive i-team investigation shows how inconsistencies, mistakes and staffing problems are raising serious questions at the Maricopa County Medical Examiners Offices. This is a new forensic science center where coroners perform autopsies on people who have died on unnatural causes in this county. Investigators and legal experts rely on the information provided by this office, but the information is not always correct. Interviewees on this tape say that leads to having innocent people on trial for crimes that do not exist. In one case, the Sheriff's office began using an amended autopsy to defend a mysterious jail death. The Chief Medical Examiner changed his opinion about the jail death two years after the original autopsy, without any new information. Some Medical Examiners are doing many more autopsies per year than what is recommended.
Tags: TAPE; Chief Medical Examiner; Maricopa County Medical Examiners Office; autopsy; inconsistency; forensic; forensic science; legal; legal expert; coroner; investigator; trial; crime; jail death; kill; killing; shooting; shot; inconsistent autopsy.
-
"Without a trace: People go missing, killers go free"
A 10-part series revealed that "because of ignorance, indifference or poor training, police in Washington state and around the nation routinely fumble missing-person reports." In its investigation, the newspaper built its own database of missing persons cases using reports from more than 270 police agencies statewide. The newspaper also built a second database of unidentified bodies through autopsy records and other reports.
Tags: missing persons reports; missing children; cold case; police; police records; National Crime Information Center; CAR; computer-assisted reporting; unsolved murder; homicide; unidentified body; Freedom of Information Act
-
Drugging the poor
The story uncovers how a "small group of doctors have prescribed huge quantities of narcotic painkillers and other addictive drugs to low-income people on Medicaid, costing taxpayers hundreds of million of dollars and adding a torrent of overdose deaths in the state". The reporter used more than five databases, including autopsy data and Medicaid physician billings.
Tags: prescription drugs; painkillers; Medicaid; autopsy
-
Day of the Dead: The declining autopsy rate is hurting medical science
This article discusses the declining rate of autopsies being performed nationwide, and their implications for medical science. "Doctors are reluctant to request them, scared to discover a misdiagnosis that could lead to an expensive malpractice suit. Health maintenance organizations and government agencies are reluctant to pay for them. And there is a shortage of doctors trained to perform them." The article examines the various benefits autopsies offer the medical community -- from measuring the effects of new drugs to understanding various diseases and other health problems, and the possible benefits to families who want to determine just how their loved one died, and from what. The growth of one Los Angeles-based discount autopsy business, 1-800-AUTOPSY, is also discussed.
Tags: autopsy; medical examiner; coroner; HMO; health insurance; science; medical science; death; deceased; organs; research; pathologist; discount business
-
The Final Ride
KIRO-TV reports that a public transportation program for the disabled has covered up fatal accidents. Although records of the accidents have been kept secret for reasons of "client confidentiality," the reporters managed to obtain documents revealing the flaws in the system -- incident reports, autopsy reports, wrongful death lawsuits, trip reimbursement vouchers, etc. Another finding is that many of the van drivers had extensive rap felony records.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; crime; homicide; road accidents; state government; deaths; patients; doctors; sexual offenders
-
The Chief and The New West
Northwest Explorer investigates the death of a 23-year-old, Westyn Hamilton, beaten by the bouncers at New West/ Gotham, a Marana, Ariz. night club. The story tells how the local police chief and his officers were paid about $100,000 to protect the nightclub, and often worked along with the bouncers; the criminal investigators failed to interview key witnesses in the case; and the death was ruled an accident despite the 54 injuries an autopsy discovered on the body.
Tags: crime; police; criminal investigation; corruption; videotaped evidence; lacking background checks
-
Mad Cow Autopsies
KY3 reports on the reluctance of Missouri hospitals to perform an autopsy of the corpse of Delmer Middleton, a resident of Lawrence county, MO, who died of Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Although Middletown family suspected this was a case of mad cow disease in its human version, known as the new variant of CJD, doctors refused to examine the body because it would have been too dangerous for themselves. As mutated proteins typical for the mad cow disease cannot be destroyed by conventional sterilization, an autopsy would mean destroying some hospital equipment as well. The investigative team points out that the findings "raise serious questions about the effectiveness of mad cow disease surveillance in America."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; public health; hospital; doctors; pathology; mad cow; England