Posted on 07/04/2008 9:53:37 PM PDT by BlackVeil
After MRI reveals woman killed during Ashkelon robbery was strangled, High Court instructs Jerusalem hospital to release body for burial, despite demand made by State Prosecutor's Office that it undergo autopsy. Zaka chairman: This is a great victory to the MRI method
The High Court of Justice has instructed a Jerusalem hospital to release the body of Ziona Samin, the murdered wife of a prominent rabbi, so it can be buried.
In this ruling, the judges rejected a demand by the State Prosecutor's Office that the body undergo an autopsy, after an MRI revealed that she had been strangled.
The rabbi’s wife was found dead on Wednesday after having been allegedly strangled during a robbery in her Ashkelon home. The family of Ziona Samin, 62, transferred her body to a Jerusalem hospital on Thursday, where an MRI was conducted under the supervision of chief pathologist and director of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute Yehuda Hiss.
The compromise was reached following the intervention of Shas Minister Yitzhak Cohen and the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, after the family objected to an autopsy.
ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav said in response to the court ruling, "This is a great victory to the MRI method." Samin will be buried on Friday.
Earlier Thursday, the Magistrates' Court in Ashkelon received the State Prosecutor’s Office's demand to carry out an autopsy, which was followed by the family’s objection and a petition to the High Court of Justice filed by ZAKA members and a political official.
In response to the decision, an Orthodox crowd blocked Bar Ilan Street in Jerusalem using trash cans, and also hurled stones at a police car driving on Shivtei Yisrael Street in town. Rabbi Samin, head of the Yemenite congregation in Ashkelon, found his wife tied and beaten on the floor of their home.
In a hearing held Wednesday at the Magistrate's Court in Ashkelon, Rabbi Samin asked to make do with an external examination of the body and release it for burial. According to him, his wife did not die of the flu or any internal disease. However, the Southern District prosecutor, attorney Yiska Leibovitz demanded the body undergo a postmortem.
'Findings indicate death by strangulation'
Judge Dina Cohen decided to wait until the opinion of Prof. Yehuda Hiss is obtained. The report was received early Thursday, and the judge determined that there was room to conduct an autopsy on the body.
In response, ZAKA’s pro bono attorney Dror Schussheim petitioned The High Court to overrule the verdict. Meanwhile, political officials, including Shas Chairman Eli Yishai were working on the case. Yishai approached Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter and Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen as well as other sources.
Samin’s family members were upset at the judge’s ruling and the prosecutor’s insistence. “The funeral date has been postponed three times already,” Samin’s son-in-law Tal-Or Atari told Ynet. “Rabbi Samin is caving under the pressure of the events and has had to be treated.
“As an Orthodox family, we firmly object to any postmortem and abashment of the deceased’s honor. The Halacha strictly forbids us from doing so, and the family feels like Rebbetzin Samin is being murdered twice,” said Atari.
“All of the findings indicate (death by) strangulation. The prosecution wishes to operate on the body only to rule out any other death causes, should they catch the murderers. This is not a good enough reason to disrespect the dead,” Samin’s son-in-law concluded.
Something tells me it is not the “deceased’s honor” that is being protected here.
Terrorism? Or All in the Family?
I share your suspicions. In fact the mention of the word "honor" set off alarm bells. It isn't politically correct to mention this, but that woman and her husband are ethnically Arabs. Arab Jews that is - but Arabs in their culture. And anyway, in any culture, if a woman is killed in her home, she is usually killed by a family member - not in a mysterious "botched robbery" (is that a robbery where nothing is taken?)
If I were the investigating officer I would take a good hard look at the family of the murdered woman. The family have been allowed to forbid an autopsy, so they have made a successful prosecution all but impossible.
that is a bit of a stretch...many Jews ...Oriental, Kazar descended, Sephardi, and of course Ashkenazim all share similar DNA to varying degrees .
Jews being keen on this like Mormons spend a lot of money studying this.
particularly Yemeni who may be the most "Arab" and really in a class of their own genetically still carry some Hebrew common DNA as a rule....like the Sassoons in India and so forth as well who were fairly isolated too.
not picking a fight but assuming True Semitic Jews to be "Arab" and more prone to honour killings is just not very accurate
I agree that non Ashkenazim are more volatile, less calm , more kids, more traditional, less "european acting" etc but they are not the Arab street with a Yarmulke
Well, that's a body's right.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
This is true. But the religious law allows for an autopsy in cases of necessity - and in this case, it will be almost impossible to prosectute her killer, if ever a case comes to trial. The defense will have a field day - nothing but an MRI report to indicate strangulation.
I guess embalming is out of the question then?
Yep!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
As opposed to what?
A pathologist slicing up the neck like so much salami, eyeballing the mess and then issuing a report?
An MRI will show minute changes in the soft tissues of the neck in great detail.
MRI images can be shown in court and every finding explained. Autopsy photos look like hamburger to a jury.
What does a sliced up neck and a human eyeball show that an MRI won't show?
An autopsy will show many elements of evidence which are not available through an MRI scan - the first of which is time of death. A prosecutor has to show that the woman died WHEN the accused was in the dwelling - it might be a question of less than one hour. This requires many steps, beginning with an escavation of the stomach and intestine.
There are also various elements of the injuries on the neck which an autopsy can furnish, such as whether there are the imprints of fingernails - this would give a forensic link to the killer. They could be cut out of the skin and kept for evidence.
An autopsy seems awful, but can be done with great respect, and is a vital part of a just legal system.
The purpose of an autopsy to determine cause of death, the MRI did just that - death by strangulation. What further good could come from an autopsy?
Well, that's a body's right.
I hope MRI autopsy catches on here - and there was someway I could specify "no standard autopsy".
I have no religious objections. I don't care if my no longer needed body is cut on - in fact, I'm hoping for it. I'm an Anatomical Donor. When I die my body will be delivered to the University of Virginia - unless it's been autopsied. The body must be intact to be accepted.
Time of death, which is often vital to a murder charge. Other things too - see my post above. And in addition, to eliminate other causes of death. A suspect might claim that he came in, found her tied up and apparently unconscious, then grabbed her neck when trying to free her. Then dropped her and fled when he realised she was dead.
An autopsy unifies the time of death, the cause of death, and eliminates other factors - an MRI cannot do any of that.
I’m an Arab Jew & yep...we’re Arab. With all the good & bad that goes along with that, from good food & hospitality to standing on corners with knives looking for a fight. As for honor killings, doesn’t happen very often - but there is domestic violence. No idea about this case, though.
TOD can be determined by thermal imaging software without the archaic need to punch a meat thermometer into her stomach.
Allowing a Jew to be properly buried for the world to come totally outweighs bringing a murderer to justice. Not even close.
If there won’t be justice in this world, there will surely be justice in the World to come. Jews not only live by the Law, they die by it as well, in order to live again.
Allowing a Jew to be properly buried for the world to come totally outweighs bringing a murderer to justice. Not even close.
It is arguable that a state with a religious legal system cannot ever truly be called a democracy.
Indeed, and I don't know either. Maybe we will never know.
Domestic violence goes on in every community, of course.
I mean that we have more of it than the other Jews.
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