TRAUMA PATTERNS IN CASES OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS

Abstract

Police torture and extrajudicial deaths in custody often include cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment of victims, such as repeated and severe beatings with rods, sticks, and other implements, and are often associated with fatal gunshot injuries. In these cases, victims tend to disappear but when recovered, the cause and manner of death may be falsified. Consequently, multiple autopsies are often performed with highly varied results. For example, a 2005 investigation into a possible extrajudicial execution from Lagos, Nigeria, resulted in three autopsies and the disappearance of critical skeletal evidence. Multiple opinions on the cause and manner of death ranged from “suicide by jumping from a window” to a “gunshot injury to the head with staging of the body to appear as though the victim fell from a window.” The Nigerian case study is discussed in greater detail and compared to published reports of extrajudicial executions in which skeletal evidence was used (n = 45). Anthropologists testify about skeletal fracture patterns and the mechanism of injury providing insight into such cases. Part of the testimony will often include demonstrative examples for comparison. The trends and findings among these types of cases are further discussed.