13th August 2010
TIME FOR A PROPER INQUEST INTO DR KELLY'S DEATH
Sir
Amid the continuing interest surrounding the death of the government weapons inspector, the late Dr David Kelly, we wish to express our concern about the conclusion as to the cause of death in the light of the information now in the public domain. It is extremely unlikely, from a medical perspective, that the primary cause of death would or could have been haemorrhage from a severed ulnar arter in one wrist without any evidence of a blood clotting deficiency.
This small artery, deeper in the wrist than the larger radial artery used to palpate the pulse, would have retracted on being severed and within a short time blood loss would be expected to have ceased.
Insufficient blood would have been lost to threaten life. Absent a quantitative assessment of the blood lost and of the blood remaining in the great vessels, the conclusion that death occcurred as a consequence of haemorrhage is unsafe.
The inquiry by Lord Hutton was unsatisfactory with regard to the causation of death. A detailed investigation of all the medical circumstatnces is now required and we support the call for a proper inquest into the cause of Dr Kelly's death.
DR MICHAEL J POWERS QC
Barrister, Medical Practioner and Examiner to the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians
PROFESSOR JULIAN BION
Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
DR MARGARET BLOOM
Barrister, Former General Medical Practioner and Fomer Deputy Coroner
DR NEVILLE DAVIS
Consultant Forensic Physician
DR ELIZABETH DRIVER
Solicitor and Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists
SIR BARRY JACKSON
Past president, British Academy of Forensic Sciences
DR JASON PAYNE-JAMES
Consultant Forensic Physician and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Cameron Forensic Medical Sciences, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
PROFESSOR JOHN FRANCIS NUNN
DENIS WILKINS
Retired Consultant Vascular Surgeon
2 comments:
.... and about time too.
Trouble is, they could re-open the inquest and have witnesses sworn in under Oath, (many of whom were not questioned fully by Lord Hutton), but I'm afraid my faith in human nature is such that there will be plenty of perjury going on by those who need to cover their backs. Their own livelihood and possibly their own life would be in the balance if the real truth came out.
How many of us, who like to call ourselves Christians, would swear on the Bible to tell the truth when possibly our own lives and freedom could be at risk? What would be the after-life consequences to those of us who are not of any particular religious leaning if we lied in court and thought we had got away with it? It's happening all the time, especially in the political world. I'm afraid honesty and morality doesn't exist much these days.
Just look back on all the evidence so far collected about the death of Dr Kelly and contradictions and lies pop up everywhere, whether intentional or not. There are still many witnesses out there who know the truth but will never come forward for fear of their lives.
This is a very good, fair letter from these legal and medical experts. There is now I think an almost irresistible demand for a proper inquest and your blog Rowena has been a key part in getting to this point.
I think that I am right in saying that for an inquest jury to reach a verdict of "suicide" or of "murder" for that matter the proof would have to be beyond reasonable doubt. Bearing in mind the additional facts that have come into the public domain post Hutton (no fingerprints on Kelly's knife, the alleged weakness in Kelly's right hand, the apparent difficulty in swallowing, and aversion to, tablets being some examples) I would be amazed if a jury would find a verdict of suicide.
I'm not sure that August is a good month to write to one's MP demanding a proper inquest. If the government don't give the go-ahead on a reconvened inquest in the next month or two maybe getting people to sign up to a Facebook page would generate the publicity and pressure needed. Just a thought if somebody wants to run with this.
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