Create a complete (this means well thought out, executed, and edited) response to each of the questions below. A single word or sentence will not suffice in answering the questions.I expect your responses to be collegiate level in your writing and analysis.
#1 Prior to going to the Coroner's Office what thoughts or preconceived ideas did you have about the role of the coroner, what happens when a dead body is discovered, and how they work with law enforcement. Where did these ideas come from? (i.e. Law and Order, CSI, Hollywood films, etc.)
#2 Now that you have had tour and the opportunity to learn first hand about the role of the Coroner and her office what have you learned? How does your knew knowledge compare to what you thought before our trip? If you were at the dinner table tonight for family dinner what would you tell your family when asked about your experience today?
#3 What are lasting impressions that you will take with you from today's experience? If you were in charge of planning future trips for the Academy is this one that you would continue? Why or why not and explain.
Welcome to the blog for the inagural class of the Randall T. Shepard Academy for Law and Social Justice. Contained within you will find discussion boards, surveys, and various links to relavent sites.
1) I expected the Coroner's Office to be bigger. I expected the body analyzing would be done in a cold, dark basement. I thought the role of a Coroner was to analyze the body, and determine the cause and time of death. When the body is discovered the law enforcement contacts the Coroner and the coroner takes test , and discovers who the person is, how they died, when they died, and cause of death.
ReplyDelete2) I learned that The Coroner has the power to arrest they sheriff. I thought the sheriff had a higher power. I also learned that A coroner is the voice of the deceased, and they take good pride in it. Well I probably wouldn't be talking about the Coroners office at the dinner table with my family, but I would tell them about all the steps a Coroner takes to Find when,how,why,and what caused the death. I would tell them, dental records, fingerprints,visual, and fluids are used to identify a person. Also that we are like a pig when it comes to death. A human who drowns lungs looks just like if a pig would drown.
3) My last impressions of today was that this job includes being the voice of the deceased, and keeping them their rights of privacy and respect. I would continue this trip because it is a great experience with learning how the coroner operates and one of the final steps of death itself.
Prior to going there I used to think that they only did work in the morgue and nowhere else. I didn't think they would go to the spot where the murders had happened, also I thought they just stayed in the morgue and continued investigating on how they died, and if it was a homicide or suicide. I didn't know that we were compared to a pig when we die, I found that interesting.
ReplyDeleteNow that I have visited I learned that many things happen when you die, and the different stages of decomposing. I have also learned that during different time periods, different parts of decomposition happens. I mean I knew that different things happened, but I mean how she described it. I thought it took much longer for certain things to happen. My knowledge grew after hearing everything that happens. If I was at the dinner table, I would tell my family what a coroner actually does, instead of what the tv shows want us to believe. I would also tell them about the decomposing stuff, because my mother especially would find that interesting.
My lasting impression that I will take with me is the thought that they treat the dead with respect, I think it's really important that they do that. I also think we should continue this because I would like to learn more stuff about a coroner, and the autopsy part. It was an awesome experience.
I am a pretty realistic person, so my preconceived ideas about the role of a coroner were not that different from what actually takes place. However, one thing that I never really thought of before was the ways in which they identify a body. I knew that the methods were visual, dental, DNA, and fingerprints; but I did not know that they had no records of DNA or fingerprints for the vast majority of people. I previously thought they had samples of DNA from a person's birth and that they could obtain many people's fingerprints through other sources ( such as the missing child program Mackenzie mentioned.) This severely limits them to using the visual and dental methods.
ReplyDeleteI learned that as soon as an accident or homicide is reported, the coroner does not necessarily rush to the scene. I was surprised to learn that the process is actually quite different, as the coroner may wait as long as a whole day to access the scene. The way that law enforcement sends her pictures of the crime scene via cell phone in order to keep her informed, struck me as being both innovative and unexpected. Like most everyone else, I was surprised to learn that human death is so similar to swine death and that the coroner is so involved in the grieving process of the deceased's family. I did not know that so many other counties brought their victims to the Vanderburgh Morgue, and was amazed that the building is actually a large source of revenue for the county. I will probably share the joke about the man trying to pay his mortgage at the morgue with my family.
I will carry with me from the trip the vast importance and power of a coroner in today's society. Death will always be a part of mankind, and we definitely need people specially trained to handle it. Due to the fact that I plan on going into law, it was important for me to learn how the coroner is involved in the justice system. A coroner spends a great deal of time testifying in court and works very closely with the county prosecutor. Future Academy students should make the trip because the coroner is a vital part of the criminal justice process, and even if no one in the Academy plans on entering this field, it is important for them to learn about it. If they plan on entering any part of law enforcement or prosecution, they will be working closely with the coroner.
1. I had the idea that the Coroner has more of the law enforcement side to the job as well as identifying the bodies. I thought the Coroner did not carry guns and they were always with a law enforcement officer. If they did carry a gun it had to be because of a threat to their lives. I also pictured them being able to do a lot at the crime scene and having to be there as soon as possible. I got these ideas from Bones, CSI, and other movies, but we all know television stretches the truth.
ReplyDelete2. I learned that the Coroner's job is to come up with the gender, tell when and where the time of death was, who the person is, and how they died. I also learned how the body decomposes and what they do to get the organs out of the body to determine the cause of death. I thought it was weird that the Coroner's best friend was maggots. I thought that was a little gross but it is cool how much they help out in a case. I also did not know that we voted for Coroner either.
My knowlege that i learn today was really different from what I thought it would be. I think i did picture it to be a lot different then it turned out to be because it is always so great and wonderful on the television shows and the movies. I do not beleive i would be talking about the Cornor's office around food or dinner, but i would tell my family everything about my day because it was very interesting but just a little too gross for dinner. I would tell my family that i would not be interested in going field though beacuse I thought it was too gross for my taste and i would not want to be around it for the rest of my life.
3. I will take away everything that I have learned from today trip to help me in my journey of trying to pick out a career. I will take away what is the truth about what a Coroner does and not the myths the movies tell you. I would not want to go to the Coroners office again thought because it was not as exciting to me as it might have been for other people. I do think that for the Juniors next year need to go to get the facts and to explore all the possibilities of the criminal system. I will take away from this trip that the Vandenburgh County Coroner is a very nice lady and she is very good at her job.
1.) Before this trip, I thought that the Coroner would just work on the body and find out what caused the death, I did not think they went to the crime scenes. In CSI, they would get the DNA in an hour, but that is not possible. It takes much longer. It was very interesting to know that they do much, much more.
ReplyDelete2.) I have learned that it is much harder than what I thought. There is a lot to learn about what they do. I was surprised to know that other counties bring their cases to Vanderburgh County. I have learned what happens to your body in 24 hours and 72 hours. It is very interesting.
3.) It changed my opinion. I thought that I would never want to be a coroner because you just work with dead bodies but it is much more than that. It is actually making me think about studying that. It was a trip I will never forget.
1. My ideas on the Coroners Office was the television show CSI. I thought the people at the Coroners office dressed, talked, and walked like the people in CSI. They don't wear whatever they want to wear. The Coroners Office deputies wore uniforms. They were all regular human beings that work for the Dead. That is their job, speaking for the dead. The second thing I learned was that it takes them a lot longer for them to figure out a DNA sample. It also takes them a lot longer for them to crack a case.
ReplyDelete2. I learned a lot about how the body decomposes and how temperature plays a big role in when the body decomposes. I was glad I went on the trip because I got the true inside scoop on how the Coroners Office really works. When I told my family about the Coroner, they were surprise that I wasn't grossed out. They had all ready knew a little bit more about it than I did, so they were glad I got to go and see for myself on what it was like.
3. The lasting impression in mind was how funny they were. They had a great sense of humor. I think with all the things they see, I'm sure they have to be that way, so they aren't sad all the time. I would defiantly keep the Coroners Offices on the list for future visits. It's a great experience to find out what you may want to do when you get older.
1. Prior to our trip to the Coroner's Office, I actually had no idea what the exact role of a coroner was. The only thing that I knew was that the coroner ran autopsies on the deceased. When the body was discovered, I thought that it was brought in immediately for the coroner to run an autopsy. I did not know that the coroners worked with law enforcement so closely. My only thought was that the bodies were brought in by the police when they needed information on a death.
ReplyDelete2. Because of this tour, I have more knowledge about the Coroner's office and it's roles than I would have ever imagined possible. I now know that they deeply respect the dead, a woman can do a man's job very well, and that I could not handle being a coroner. I have a very clear view of a coroner's duties now. When my family asked about the Coroner's Office, I told them that it was a very insightful trip and I learned a lot. I certainly know much more about the Coroner's Office than I thought possible now.
3. If there was one thing I took with me from this trip, it would be that death is no joking matter. It is real, and it is serious. I would definitely continue trips to the Coroner's Office for future Shepard classes. The reason is that most law careers will have circumstances in court that will come directly from the Coroner's Office. Most law careers will be linked to the coroner, so getting to know and recognize the coroner's system will pay off in the future.
Prior to going to the Coroner's Office I thought that the role of the Coroner was to go to a crime scene and get the body, then take them and do autopsies to find out the cause of death, the time of death, and how the death happened. I thought that when a body was discovered that they made sure to find the important things on the crime scene, and then take the body and wrap it up and put it in a body bag, and then take the body to the Coroner's Office. I thought that the Coroner was part of the law enforcement, and that they were just like detectives. Those ideas came from my head, because even though I like to watch shows like that, I understand how real life works, and that everything is not like it is perceived to be on television and in the movies.
ReplyDeleteI did not really learn anything that I did not already know, but I found the experience to be extremely interesting because I want to get into forensics and things like what the Coroner does. My knowledge is the same as it was before the trip because, I have really been into things like that, so I have known about it for a while. I would tell my family a lot of things, because like I said before the experience was extremely interesting.
Lasting impressions for me would be the whole experience, what really stood out is when we went into the freezer, and the reality of being around dead bodies really set in, and the smell of rotten gravy is really sticking with me. Also, whenever she showed us the fetus', because it was really sad to think about that mother not even caring that she just lost her child because of her mistakes. If I were in charge of planning future trips for the Academy, I would continue this trip, it was interesting and very educational.
1. Prior to our visit to the Coroner's Office, I had a pretty good idea of the role of the coroner. However, I did not know the exact process of dealing with the deceased and how they work with law enforcement. In the movie, Silence of the Lambs, there is a scene where the FBI investigator and law enforcement are in the Coroner's Office with the coroner examining the body of an individual who was murdered and looking at what the coroner found. I feel it gave me a pretty good preconceived notion of the job of the coroner as it was fairly accurate.
ReplyDelete2. I learned a lot having had the opportunity to see the role of the Coroner and visit her office. Although I was already aware of the Coroner examining the deceased and looking at the body evidence, I did not previously know that the Coroner most often works, not only with the deceased, but also with their loved ones. It is a very respectable thing for the Coroner to be able to help comfort those, as our coroner herself put it, 'in the worst times of their lives'. If asked about my experience I would say that it was well worth while and very educational, as well as interesting to learn about. It is a very hard and necessary job to do and we are very lucky to have a coroner in our county that loves to do it and is also very good at it.
3. There were many lasting impressions that I took from the experience at the Coroner's Office. I will never forget seeing the baby fetus and the baby in the 3rd trimester in which you can still legally have an abortion. It was shocking to see but I feel it is something everyone should be aware of. I will also always hold a high level of respect for our coroner and how tough her job is. Although we went to continue learning about the different jobs that go into the law, we learned about much more than that. I would highly recommend continuing this field trip for future Academy classes. Not only is it important to become more educated but also to continue in growing relationships with those who work in our community.
1) Prior to going on our trip to the Coroner's Office I imagined that their job description consisted of finding out the manner of one's death, I did not know that they dealt with family members or that they sometimes visited crime scenes. I always pictured that they worked alone in a cold, drab room that was similar to a meat locker, so I was suprised to see that my vision was completely inaccurate.
ReplyDelete2) After going on our trip to the coroner's office I have a completed different overview of the steps that are taken after someone dies. The coroner is not only in charge of finding out the manner of death, but they are also in charge of determining the time and cause of death. Their job requires a lot of education and precision and although I think that I would be too scared to be alone in a room with a dead body our coroner made a great point in saying that it is not scary for her because she takes her role of speaking for the dead very seriously.
3)I learned a lot from going on this trip and it has left many lasting impressions including when she showed us the dead body and the jar of lungs. I think it was a great experience and I think this trip should be included in future Academy trips because we all learned so much from it.
To those who have posted so far, I'm very pleased with your reactions. These are the kinds of answers I have been expecting.
ReplyDeletePrior to the field trip, I expected the Coroner's job to be a lot like in the movies and on TV. I thought that they did not go to the actual crime scene or work with the police. These ideas came to me from watching Tru Calling in fourth and fifth grade.
ReplyDeleteI learned that the job is dirtier than what is shown on television. Weird things can happen though to the bodies, as told in the stories she told us. (I.e the woman melting into the basement) They have to work in smaller spaces without as much “high tech” means of doing things.
I would continue this trip, because we need to know every part of the law system. We need to know what happens on the other end of the situation. This trip was helpful in deciding more so what I want to do with my career. It gives students the opportunity to see what they could do in the future.
#1 Prior to going to the Coroner's Office what thoughts or preconceived ideas did you have about the role of the coroner, what happens when a dead body is discovered, and how they work with law enforcement. Where did these ideas come from? (i.e. Law and Order, CSI, Hollywood films, etc.)
ReplyDelete- I watch a lot of crime scene investigation shows, which really skewed my views of the Coroner's office, and the processes involved in handling a dead body. I thought most, if not all, evidence was actually acquired and accounted at the scene of the crime. I thought the Coroner worked with the crime scene investigators, as a team. Lastly, I thought the Coroner would arrive on scene as soon as the body was recovered.
#2 Now that you have had tour and the opportunity to learn first hand about the role of the Coroner and her office what have you learned? How does your knew knowledge compare to what you thought before our trip? If you were at the dinner table tonight for family dinner what would you tell your family when asked about your experience today?
- I've learned that murders and deaths are a lot more common than I thought, and it is a lot less dramatic when a body is discovered. I realize now my opinion of the Coroner's role was very off, and that her job is probably the most important. If my family were to ask me about my day, I would probably focus on the things we learned when we were in the examination room. The facts about the fetus's were the most interesting to me, and those would be the ones I shared.
#3 What are lasting impressions that you will take with you from today's experience? If you were in charge of planning future trips for the Academy is this one that you would continue? Why or why not and explain.
- I thought the trip was extremely beneficial, and eye-opening. I recommend this trip for any future classes, or for anyone else who has the opportunity. I enjoyed the trip a lot, and I think most people would if given the chance.