Trust me, Coolhand. You're the exception. But, if you really want to put a room to sleep, talk about privatizing our nation's roads and highways.
On a different note, go out and buy the November issue of reason magazine. Better yet, buy two, and give one away.
Radley Balko has an article in it that he's been working on basically since we first reported the Cory Maye case, and on which he's been spending much of his time for the last eight months.
The article zeros in on Dr. Steven Hayne, the doctor who did the autopsy in the Cory Maye case and, as it turns out, does the vast majority of all the autopsies in Mississippi. Dr. Hayne has some pretty serious credibility problems, beginning with the staggering number of autopsies he does each year. There's also a high probability that he has put a significant number of innocent people in prison, including (possibly) on death row.
I don't want to give too much away, because the issue is just now hitting newsstands. But we're hoping the story makes an impact. One justice on the Mississippi State Supreme Court has already cited some of Mr. Balko's prior writing on Hayne in throwing out his testimony in the murder trial of Tyler Edmonds. But the whole court stopped well short of decertifying Dr. Hayne as an expert in Mississippi's courts. This new article digs quite a bit deeper. He reviewed lots of depositions and autopsy reports, and interviewed more than 50 people, including dozens of Dr. Hayne's peers and former colleagues.
Incidentally, Mr. Balko did find one doctor in Mississippi who has in the past been willing to stick up for Dr. Hayne's credibility. he didn't find many, but there was at least one. This doctor is often present at Hayne's autopsies, and has in the past collaborated with Hayne to write medical articles and make presentations at conferences.
His name? Dr. Michael West, whose own qualifications seem to be largely a figment of his imagination.
