Corruption and Incompetence in the Coroner’s Office

Many coroners do not provide quality end of life investigation
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Credit: aiacolorado.org

Massively controversial but often overlooked is the institution of the coroner. Inherited from Great Britain back in colonial days, the position originated as the King’s investigator who kept track of deaths and, more importantly, collected some last death taxes. Today the coroner performs autopsies—a practice one assumes would require special training and expertise. It does not. Much like the money-collecting coroners of yore, the 2,000 coroners across the US may or may not be qualified individuals with ulterior motives. The person exploring the death of a loved one, which has massive implications for family and for the courtroom, may have no idea what he or she is doing.

How is this so? Coroners are publicly elected government employees. Requirements for the position vary widely but often include only a short training workshop. This means that anyone with or without medical expertise simply has to run a good campaign to become a coroner. In fact, Indiana’s youngest coroner was elected while still in high school. Questionable figures such as Dr. Gill, a man notorious for showing up drunk on the job, somehow maintained a career despite many cited mistakes, buried evidence and firings. These examples underscore the ongoing neglect of a vital part of the end of life experience; they demonstrate that something needs to change.

But if change were simple, it would already have happened. One may wish simply to
replace the coroner’s office with a medical examiner system, which operates, according to PBS, “under the direction of a licensed physician, who is almost always trained in pathology and forensic science,” but there are simply not that many forensic pathologists. This “chronic shortage” of them explains why many counties, particularly when sparsely populated, as in North Dakota, have to settle with someone less qualified. The long-established coroner’s office, moreover, are “usually written into a state constitution…and generally don’t have large enough populations nor budgets to support the conversion [to a medical examiner system]”. Check out what system your state has established here.

No matter how the solution is solved an additional issue must be addressed: the election of funeral directors as coroners. Aside from all other issues relating to the coroner’s office, this practice is the most controversial and unjust. Funeral directors are supposedly experts on death, so why wouldn’t they make good coroners? First, this is because expertise in memorial services by no means implies expertise in forensic science. The two fields are unrelated.

Josh Slocum executive director of Funeral Consumers Alliance

Josh Slocum (Credit: http://pics3.imagezone.org/)

Secondly, and more importantly, consider the massive conflict of interest between the two positions. The coroner needs to complete a thorough investigation of the cause of death, but the funeral director wants to keep his business by moving the transaction as quickly as possible. Some funeral director/coroners even promote their own businesses while dealing with families who have just lost a loved one. Funeral director Ernie Heffner from Milton, Pennsylvania experienced this firsthand when the coroner’s election became a popularity contest between funeral directors in which the winner gains a massive, unfair advantage. Josh Slocum, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, calls this practice an “an egregious abuse of government authority” and directly states, “there should be a law that prevents funeral directors from becoming coroners.”

But this practice, thankfully, is something we can change simply by paying attention. Wherever a coroner’s office cannot be replaced or reformed, we can at least know who not to vote for. We must remember that the death industry, like any industry, looks for ways to advance its own ends. It is our job to create within our communities the change we hope to see in end of life investigations.

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5 Responses to 

Corruption and Incompetence in the Coroner’s Office

  1. avatar John Schilling says:

    How can we change the current situation of Coroner’s also being funeral directors that use their governmental office for personal gain? I own a funeral home where this is prevalent with my competitor. It is difficult for me to make a stance, because the majority of citizens dont see what is happening, in our county coroners office for the past 20 years. It is difficult to compete, when the playing field is uneven.

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  2. avatar Canaan says:

    Hi, almost a year ago my little brother was killed by his ex girlfriend of 4 months, straight after his death she called the coroner and told them it was a suicide and that she is the defacto partner to get his estate, the coroner believed her and we asked for an inquest and got told no because it’s not in the interest of the public, however we have overwhelming evidence and the police will not help because they can not investigate because the coroner rules suicide and closed the case, what do we do know?

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    • avatar Canada says:

      I would like to provide you information on how the coroners/pathologist in Indiana have been concluding death investigations. There seems to be many bizarre autopsy conclusions in the past few years. I feel very sad for your loss and my condolences to your Family. Please let me know how to contact you?

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  3. avatar JusticeforVincenteGallardo says:

    My father and his gf were found dead in their apartment last month here in Bakersfield CA, the coroner investigator are ruling it as an overdose but I suspect foul play. I believe that the gf’s mom is a suspect in my father’s death they are closing the case. I think that she got in touch with the coroner investigator assigned to his case and spoke I’ll of my father she disposed of his belongings and maliciously destroyed evidence I believe that she bribed the police department here and the coroner’s office. I have yet to get any info and this coroner investigator assigned to his case has been avoiding me all week.

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  4. avatar ashleyb says:

    I proved an incorrect and incomplete autopsy that I am taking to the state of IN because they didn’t care about his death so I will fight for his life!

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