بررسي علل مرگ ومير در مراكز زندانها و بازداشتگاههاي كشور ارجاعي به سالن تشريح سازمان پزشكي قانون تهران از اول فروردين 1374 لغايت 29 اسفندماه 1378

study of death in custody causes referred to Legal Medicine organization during 1995- 1999

Background: Death in custody rises many question in minds of relatives, human rights organizations, and the public about negligence of prisoners or inadequate health care. On the other hand such cases are referred to legal medicine organization (LMO) for determining the cause of death. For a better evaluation of the condition ,this study was done on the death cases in custody. Methods: This descriptive, cross sectional study was done retrospectively on the cause of death in custody cases in a 5-year period. There were 150 cases referred to autopsy room. The documents in LMO and the informatics center of the undersecretary on research were used for information gathering. Results: The results showed that there were 147 males and three females in this group. The most frequent age range was 54-60 years (31 cases, 20.7%). 134 cases were undergraduate. In 109 cases the method of death was natural (mostly cardiovascular diseases), in 22 cases it was suicide. In 94 cases pathologic and toxicological investigations were done.40 cases had history of addiction, 34 cases history of internal medical diseases and 13 cases history of psychological problems. The most common crime in demised cases was narcotic drugs (60 cases), and the most common sentence. was fine (40 cases, 30%). The most common time of death was between 1 to 6 months (26 cases, 17%). Conclusion: However the most common type of death corresponds with the public, but infectious diseases had caused more death than normal population. This asks for special care. Establishment of trust between prison authorities and prisoners can be helpful. Causes of death should be documented by Legal Medicine Organization. This may increase public trust to the legal system. Programming for expanding the consultation program should be implemented. Other penalties should be used instead of imprisonment. In prisons, adequate health care and medical services should be present.