May 29, 2001
 

JAMAICANS UNITED AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY 

 FAMILIES AGAINST STATE TERRORISM (FAST) - "Shootout or Execution?"

 The inquest into Patrick Genius’ killing is now close to being completed in the coroner’s court.  Genius was killed on December 13, 1999 in what police claim to be a shootout and family members feel certain was an execution.

  On Friday, a government pathologist gave evidence on the post mortem examination of Genius’ body. He confirmed that Genius’ body had five bullet wounds.

 #1 wound was circular, not much sign of powder. Entry was below the top of the head, and exit was in front of the left eye. Shot from behind and to the left of the deceased.

 #2 wound was circular. Entry was the lower right thigh and exit was the lower front of the thigh. Shot from the right and NOT in front.

 #3 wound had no gunpowder residue and was at the back of the head. The wound was not deep and did not enter the skull. Shot from behind.

 #4 wound was circular without gunpowder residue. Entry was at the left side of the head. The bullet travelled inside the cranium to the brain, and had a downward trajectory. The missile/bullet could not be recovered. Shot from behind.

 #5 wound was circular. Entry was at the left side of the head, close to the ear, and exit was at the right side of the face. The missile/bullet had a downward trajectory and brain matter was injured. Shot from behind and left of the deceased.

 In a shootout, combatants usually face each other, so shots are expected to be frontal.  In addition, combatants usually present moving targets, so direct hits to the head or vital organs are not assured.

 Signs of an execution are shots to the leg (to immobilize) and shots to the head (to eliminate).  A downward trajectory of path of the bullet is also consistent with execution. When the victim falls from the leg shot, the executor’s death bullet is likely to hit the victim’s head at/close to the top of the head. Genius received five gunshots, four to the head and one to the leg, and all from behind and two with a downward path.

 The government pathologist established that the circular wounds were consistent with shots from behind; a shot from in front would have made an oval wound.

 However, government forensic pathologists are employed to the Ministry of National Security and Justice, the same ministry that oversees the police. The connection to the police may explain the reluctance of the pathologist to follow the scientific data to its logical conclusion: execution rather than shootout.

 The pathologist concluded that the shots could be received from the back during a shootout if:

 - the victim’s head shifted or if the victim were in the act of running away - the bullet ricocheted from a point behind  the victim and then hit the victim from the back

 He said the bullets could have changed speed and direction if they hit a bone mass.  He said the bullet may have therefore hit the skull from the side and then proceeded downward rather than across. The bullet to the leg could also have exited from the front after changing direction when it hit muscle mass. He thought it was unlikely that Genius was fired on from the front, but NOT impossible.

 The pathologist also said that someone could receive a shot that fractured the skull and injured the brain, and still be able to do strenuous work and even run a hundred yards or more before collapsing.  He insisted that Genius could have run after receiving wounds #4 and #5, both to the head.

 If the pathologist is to be believed, a number of unlikely occurrences took place when Genius was killed. Genius swivelled his head to take a bullet in the back of his head, shots fired from the front ricocheted to hit him in the back, and he kept running after receiving two shots to the head. This account would seem more consistent with the police version than with reason.

 The quality of evidence from the government pathologist highlights FAST’s demand for pathologists who are independent of police influence.  In Denmark, for example, forensic pathologists are attached to the university, and are expected to be objective in examining bodies and giving evidence in cases of extra-judicial killings. In Jamaica, a first step might be removing government forensic pathologists from the Ministry of National Security and Justice to the Ministry of Health.

 Until changes are made, scientific data may be twisted to support police versions of shootouts when logic points to execution.

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