Forensic medicine in proving murder

Forensic medicine in proving murder

Forensic medicine plays a pivotal and decisive role in proving murders and determining the causes of death in the Saudi system, as the forensic medical report is one of the most important technical pieces of evidence that investigative authorities and courts rely on to adapt the criminal incident and convict or acquit the accused.

Disclaimer: This is a legal article that provides information that does not replace consulting a competent lawyer to help you and for more accurate information.

The Saudi regulations, specifically the Criminal Procedure Code and the Health Professions Practice Code, regulate the role of forensic medicine and forensic evidence according to the following stages:

First: Initial suspicion and stopping the issuance of the death report

 Article (Twenty) of the Health Professions Practice System stipulates that the doctor examining the body may not give a death report if he suspects that the death resulted from a criminal accident, but rather he must inform the competent authorities immediately.

Forensic medicine in proving murder

Second: The role of the forensic doctor in determining the cause of death and autopsy 

Once criminal suspicion is proven and the forensic doctor is summoned, his duties, according to Article (Twenty) of the Executive Regulations of the Health Professions Practice System, are summarized as follows:

1. Virtual examination: Immediately upon being summoned, the forensic doctor inspects the body and performs a virtual examination on it to prove injuries or toxic effects.
2. Autopsy: If the forensic doctor deems it necessary to conduct an “autopsy” to prove and determine the exact cause of death (such as internal bleeding or damage to vital organs), he requests this from the security authorities to issue the necessary regulatory order for the autopsy.
3. Preserving physical evidence: The forensic doctor is responsible for preserving all evidence related to the deceased that is useful in proving the crime, such as clothes, projectiles extracted from the body, and any other traces.

Third: Integration of forensic medicine with forensic experts

 Medical and scientific proof is not limited to examining the body only, but extends to the crime scene; Article (fifty-four) of the Executive Regulations of the Criminal Procedure System required the investigator to assign forensic experts to search for traces left by the perpetrator, such as blood stains, examine clothing, remove any remaining traces, and draw up a diagram of the crime scene. These traces lifted from the crime scene are integrated with the coroner’s report to link the perpetrator to the instrument of crime and the cause of death.

Conclusion: The coroner’s report is the technical basis that determines (the cause of death, approximately when it occurred, the instrument used in the murder, and how the assault occurred). Based on this report, the investigating authorities (the Public Prosecution) begin charging the accused with premeditated, semi-intentional, or wrongful death.

Forensic medicine in proving murder

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References

• Article Twenty of the Health Professions Practice Law
• Article Twenty of the Executive Regulations of the Health Professions Practice Law
• Article Fifty-Four of the Executive Regulations of the Code of Criminal Procedure