Research Catalog

Title

Death in the family / John Chipman.

Author

Chipman, John

Publication

• [Toronto, Ontario] : Doubleday Canada, [2017]
• ©2017

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvi, 436 pages; 25 cm

Summary

"In a work of vigorous reporting, careful analysis, deep compassion and unerring integrity, award-winning journalist and documentarian John Chipman investigates the lives left ruined in the wake of Dr. Charles Smith's ignominious career. In the mid-'90s, the Ontario Coroner's office decided that death investigation teams needed to "think dirty." They wanted coroners, pathologists and police to be more suspicious--to "assume that all deaths are homicides until satisfied that they are not." They were particularly concerned about pediatric deaths, which historically had been exceedingly difficult to investigate. There were usually no witnesses; no evidence to gather at the scene; no outward signs of trauma on the body. If the pathologist did not discover the truth of what had happened, child abuse could go uncovered. Among those charged to "think dirty" was Dr. Charles Smith, Ontario's top pediatric forensic pathologist at the time. But with virtually no training in forensics, Dr. Smith was ill prepared for his work. Instead of basing his judgments on forensic evidence found during autopsies, he allowed himself to be swayed by circumstantial evidence. The defendants were often single mothers--some on welfare, some struggling with substance abuse. And they made for easy targets. Dr. Smith made dangerous assumptions, and the results were catastrophic. Numerous individuals were pronounced guilty, and incarcerated, on his shaky evidence. This penetrating investigative work explores the wide ripples of destruction caused when the justice system fails, the burden felt by ethical individuals working within that system and the importance of its victims finally being heard."--

Subject

• Smith, Charles
• Coroners > Ontario
• Forensic pathology > Ontario
• Death > Causes
• Judicial error > Ontario
• Justice, Administration of > Ontario

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 417-428) and index.

Additional Formats (note)

• Issued also in electronic format.

Call Number

JFE 17-3966

ISBN

• 9780385680844
• 0385680848

OCLC

946058255

Author

Chipman, John, author.

Title

Death in the family / John Chipman.

Publisher

[Toronto, Ontario] : Doubleday Canada, [2017]

Copyright Date

©2017

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 417-428) and index.

Additional Formats

Issued also in electronic format.

Other Form:

Chipman, John, author. Death in the family. (CaOONL)20169022773

Research Call Number

JFE 17-3966