EDITORIAL: Echoes from the morgue

THIS NEWSPAPER shares with many Jamaicans a sense of déjà vu over the mini controversy that erupted last week between Dr Michael Pollanen, the pathologist who was invited by the Office of the Public Defender to observe the autopsies on the bodies of the victims of the west Kingston battles, and officials of the government's legal medicine unit.

Dr Pollanen's complaints about the inadequacy of the facilities where the post-mortems were being conducted, and the allegedly less-than-thorough examinations of the bodies, have echoes of nearly a decade ago when other foreign 'experts' or local observers often made similar claims about the work of local pathologists, such as in the case of the seven young men who were killed by the police at a house in Braeton, St Catherine.

To be fair, there is no suggestion that Dr Pollanen has attributed to Dr Dinesh Roa, the senior pathologist on the case, the arrogance and disdain that were often the hallmark of the late Dr Royston Clifford, who was the chief pathologist, towards those he perceived to be overbearing outsiders. Dr Roa, for instance, has not balked at the presence of observers or their note-taking.

It does, seem, however, that protocols agreed to for the performance of these autopsies were not being rigorously adhered to. That failure is unfortunate. For, it is in the interest of all to know - and in the most specific terms possible - how people died during the operation by the security forces to re-establish the authority of the Jamaican state over a section of the capital in the face of a direct challenge by a reputed organised crime boss. If, indeed, there were blunders or outright breaches of discipline on the part of the security forces, the appropriate remedies must be effected. That is the course of a civilised and democratic state, to which the majority subscribes.

grandstanding

Indeed, it is the view of this newspaper that any fault which manifested itself during the early phases of the autopsies, while it may have provided a platform for grandstanding by some, was not because of the lack of adherence to the principles of democracy or the lack of technical skills of those who were involved.

As has long been the case, it boils down to an inadequacy of resources - human and material. For instance, while the government increased the number of forensic pathologists on its staff earlier this decade, it is still not sufficient in a country with nearly 1,700 homicides a year and with pathologists having to complete more than a dozen post-mortems a day. And that was before the Tivoli Gardens incident.

fiscal problem

Additionally, there is no central-government morgue. Bodies are stored at private facilities. In the 2008-2009 fiscal year, $200 million was earmarked for a new, state-of-the art morgue, but this amount was slashed in the face of the country's fiscal problems. So, there are the complaints of multiple bodies transported on a single gurney.

A decade ago, it was agreed that establishing a public morgue and enhancing the country's capacity for good forensic pathology deserved priority treatment, as part of the answer to the problems of law and justice in Jamaica. That remains the case. The government must fulfil its promise.

In the meantime, Dr Rao and his team must ensure that accepted standards are maintained, whether or not observers are present.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.