SAMC Is Putting End To Coroner Using Hospital Morgue - Body Left In Morgue For Two Months - By WHO?

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
Date: Jul 18 2017 11:04 AM

DOTHAN - HOUSTON COUNTY:    The Southeast Alabama Medical Center has informed the Houston County Coroner he will not be allowed to store bodies in the morgue at the Medical Center in the near future.

According to some sources the Coroner has been informed the morgue at SAMC is not a "county morgue". That is even though SAMC receives tax dollars as part of their revenue.

As a former Houston County Coroner the morgue at SAMC has always been used. I was elected in 1982. Prior to my election in 1982 Jack Still was Coroner for 8 years. He used the SAMC morgue. Prior to Jack Still tenure as Coroner Frankie Ingram served 4 years as Coroner. He used the SAMC morgue.

I did not seek reelection. When Robert Byrd was elected Coroner was the same time Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences started. NOTE FOR THE RECORD - I fought for and obtained, with assistance of others, a Medical Examiner and Forensic Lab in Dothan. Former Dothan Mayor Alfred Saliba made the facilities available for Forensic Sciences to be here.

During that time the morgue at SAMC was used and the morgue at the Forensic Sciences Lab was used. 

The Coroner owned and operated Byrd Funeral Home at that time. He would use the morgue at his funeral home. But that was not the proper thing to do. And Coroner Byrd got burnt using the funeral home morgue.

WHEN IS THE MORGUE USED

The morgue use for a Coroner is used primarily in two instances: (1) the body has to be sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for autopsy (2) the family has not been notified of the death so the Coroner does not know what funeral home they want to use.

So that is, someone is killed in a traffic accident on the scene in Houston County. Until the family is notified the body is placed in the SAMC morgue. At which time the family is notified and make a decision for a funeral home then the funeral home picks up the body.

The hospital did, not sure if current policy, move the body from the room to the morgue where the funeral home would pick up from the morgue.

There is a log in the morgue that contained the deceased name and additional information maintained in the morgue. This is distinctive to me as my dad died when I was Houston County Coroner. He died "in patient" at the hospital. But his name was in the log because each time I placed a body his name was in the book.

Mysteriously the logs are missing from the book in the morgue now.

WHAT HAS CAUSED THIS MYSTERIOUS CHANGE IN THE USE OF THE MORGUE

The change in forbidding the Coroner to use the morgue has been caused by someone "'forgetting" there was a body in the morgue at SAMC. 

Who forgot? The logs are missing. The Coroner believes it was a hospital patient and the hospital, as I understand, believes it was a Coroner case.

And the hospital has their attorney Alan Livingston, conduct the investigation. You never have an attorney conduct an investigation. Those in power never understand that.

For Instance:  If there is a murder does the District Attorney investigate the murder? No the law enforcement investigators investigate the murder. The District Attorney is normally notified but does not conduct the investigation. The trained "investigators" conduct the investigation. Attorney's are not trained investigators and should not be conducting investigations.

SOME THINK THE CORONER IS PAID TO STORE THE BODY

The Houston County Coroner makes a salary of $ 18,000.00 per year. That is salary. The Coroner is not paid to "house" the body. The body should not be at the Coroner's funeral home ( for the record the Coroner should not be allowed to be in the funeral home business ). The family should be allowed to use any funeral home they wish without any pressure.

Prior to my being Coroner there was nothing to transport bodies from scenes. The Coroner would rotate funeral homes from scenes even though the Coroner did not know what funeral home the family wanted. When I was Coroner I asked for and received the old jail transport van from the Sheriff Department. I fixed it inside, marked it with decals, and this became the Coroner vehicle for transporting deceased bodies. That allowed all funeral homes equal chances and allowed the proper and respectful handling of deceased bodies.

THE OLD FORENSIC SCIENCES MORGUE OUT OF SERVICE

The building used by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences was owned by the City of Dothan. 

Our local city, county and state officials were asleep and negligent and allowed our area to lose the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Because of a unethical Attorney General the medical examiner we had lost his job. The unethical Attorney General then became a Federal Judge. His name was Bill Pryor. ( I can back this up for anyone who wishes to debate this issue ).

When the negligent and asleep local officials sold our area out and Forensic Sciences moved the City of Dothan gave the building to the Dothan Police Department. It became their Crime Scene Technician building and Vice. The morgue not longer is useable.

LONG ARTICLE TO IN THE END SAY...

It is UNACCEPTABLE the morgue at SAMC is not allowed to be used for the Coroner. The hospital accepts tax dollars, has the morgue, always been used by the Coroner. And out of respect for the deceased to be treated with dignity and respect the SAMC morgue is to be used.

It is unethical for the body to be at the funeral home owned by the Coroner. The family should make the decision of what funeral home of their choice.

And it is UNACCEPTABLE and UNIMAGINABLE that a body could remain in the morgue for two months and no one know. And very disturbing that officials claim to not know who is responsible.

A FUNNY ENDING WHICH AMPLIFIES WHY THE EXCUSE IS UNACCEPTABLE

A number of years ago someone ( I do not even know who ) faxed me some information from SAMC that administration did not want out. On the orders of Administration they got my fax number, which is public, checked all hospital fax machines to see what machine dialed my number, then reviewed all of the cameras over the fax machines to attempt to determine who sent the information to me.

Since then I have not allowed any of my internal information to be faxed from the entity of which the material might come. We now meet in dark alleys and wear camo!!

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