Medical Marijuana

Drugs and drug peddlers cripple societies around the world. People use many types of medications for various reasons, such as marijuana, which is the dried flowers and leaves of Cannabis sativa (“Marijuana and Public Health,” 2021). People define it using names like weed, ganja, and Mary Jane. Controversies surrounding the use of marijuana have seen its illegalization in countries and states globally. In many societies worldwide, marijuana is associated with deviance, hence illegalization. In contrast, marijuana legalization stems from its beneficial health impacts; thus, the legalization of medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana is a plant-based therapeutic approach to ailments and their symptoms. Accordingly, just as other plants are used for medicinal purposes, the same is considered for cannabis. According to Bridgeman & Abazia (2017), in the United States, marijuana was first accepted as therapeutic in 1850 until distribution was restricted under the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937 by the Federal government. Subsequently, possession penalties were put in place in 1956 under the Narcotic Control Acts, followed by prohibition with the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Later, with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, marijuana was legalized for medicinal purposes under the direction and control of a physician in California (Bridgeman & Abazia, 2017). Other states followed this legislation in 2017, allowing possession, sale, and distribution.

The medicinal use of marijuana comes with advantages and disadvantages. The benefits include the influence marijuana has on health. It ensures and restores health by cubbing symptoms of an ailment, such as pain and tremors (Bridgeman & Abazia, 2017). On the other hand, medical marijuana has disadvantages in terms of impairment and intoxication due to its psychotropic effect (Bridgeman & Abazia, 2017). Its advantages to people’s health and well-being consistently surpass all its disadvantages due to its impact on a wide range of ailments and symptoms.

References

Bridgeman, M., & Abazia, D. (2017). Medicinal Cannabis: History, Pharmacology, And Implications for the Acute Care Setting. PubMed Central (PMC). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312634/.

Marijuana and Public Health. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/index.html.

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Medical Marijuana

Examine the research and legislation on medical marijuana. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana as a therapeutic drug.

Legal Insanity

Differentiate between mental illness and legal insanity.

During a preliminary hearing, an insanity defense puts across the claim that the defendant was mentally unstable at the time of the crime. Therefore, the suspect is put under evaluation to test the claim. Accordingly, there is a difference between legal insanity and medical illnesses. Legal insanity is described as the concept that influences the courts to make a ruling of guilt or innocence while considering mental illnesses when the crime was committed. In contrast, mental illness is determined immediately before the court trials to determine whether the suspect is deemed incompetent to stand trial—the differences between the processes of legal insanity and mental incompetency influence the verdict made in the court (Schmalleger, 2017).

Explain three of the tests or rules that are used to determine legal insanity.

Legal insanity is determined by testing the defendant’s mental state during the time of the crime. There are some tests or rules that are used to determine legal insanity. They include The M’Naghten Rule, The Durham Rule, and The Brawner Rule. The M’Naghten Rule,1884, dictates that “a person is not guilty of a crime if, at the time of the crime, the person either didn’t know what he or she was doing or didn’t know that what he or she was doing was wrong.” On the other hand, The Durham rule formulated in 1871 dictates that “a person is not criminally responsible for his or her behavior if the person’s illegal actions were the result of some mental disease or defect.” Finally, the Substantial Capacity Test and The Brawner Rule formulated in 1971 dictate that the jury is responsible for determining insanity cases. These three rules are used to determine legal insanity.

Distinguish between being found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) and being found guilty but mentally ill (GBMI).

Rulings also vary in insanity cases. Accordingly, the rulings are either Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity (NGRI) or being found Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI). Consequently, GBMI ensures that the person under trial is found guilty and is held responsible for their action despite their mental illness, while NGRI ensures that a person is found not guilty because of their mental incompetency. To conclude, an individual’s mental incompetency influences the court verdict on trial.

References

Schmalleger, F. (2017). Cram101 textbook outlines to accompany: Criminal Justice Today, An Introductory Text For The 21st Century, (14th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

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Legal Insanity

Differentiate between mental illness and legal insanity.

Legal Insanity

Forensic Entomology

Forensic entomology (FE) involves the analysis of insects for legal and forensic investigations, with estimating the minimum postmortem interval (min PMI) as the most crucial medicolegal task. Postmortem interval (PMI) is the time between death and the discovery of the body. Rigor mortis and livor mortis are some of the natural processes associated with decomposition that can be used in PMI determination. However, these functions can be reciprocated, thus becoming inaccurate very quickly, and are limited to the first 72 hours after the death. On the other hand, insects are potent tools for estimating min PMI within these 72 hours and beyond. Furthermore, depending on environmental conditions and rate of accessibility, necrophagous insects colonize a carcass, blowflies usually being the first to arrive at the corpse. (Amendt et al., 2011).

The Blowfly Lifecycle

Blowflies are necrophagous insects belonging to the family Calliphoridae and order Diptera and are sometimes called Calliphorids. They rely on proteins for ovary maturation, oviposition, and offspring development. Calliphorids are primarily attracted by the odor released during the first stages of cadaver decomposition (Paula et al., 2018). After arrival (within two to three hours), the females lay eggs near the natural orifice or wounds that provide body fluids for feeding (Haglund & Sorg, 2001). The hatching of eggs depends on temperature and species, but it mostly happens within 6 to 48 hours. They hatch into larvae (maggots) characterized by three stages. The first instar is usually one to two millimeters long and molts into the second instar. During these stages, the larvae shed off their cuticle in an ecdysis process, which permits further growth.

After the second ecdysis, the third instar is formed. The larvae then enter a prepupal stage, migrating from the body to find a place to pupate. They will often shelter beneath stones, soil, or leaves (outdoor crime scene) or nearby furniture (indoor crime scene). They then form pupae within a hardened cuticle of the third instar called the puparium. Adult flies then emerge, marking the completion of the lifecycle. Larval development takes three to ten days, while adult emergence takes six to eighteen days (Campobasso et al., 2001).

Effects of Moisture on Blowfly Lifecycle

The moisture content of the decomposing material is an essential stimulus for oviposition. As such, dried and mummified bodies are considered unsuitable for blowflies to lay eggs on, as the molting larvae require moisture and air for successful development. It has been reported that a quiescence state (diapause) occurs during larval development when humidity is below 40% (Bauer et al., 2020). While the dry mass of emerging adults negatively correlates with moisture reduction, the development time, larval stage duration, the absolute size of larvae, and shape of growth rate are also negatively affected.

Consequently, moisture content significantly impacts the minimum time required to complete larval stages of blowflies. Treatments with 0% moisture content showed no larval eclosion, while larvae with 33% water content failed to thrive. As a result, the larvae either died or could not hatch due to structural changes in the eggs caused by desiccation. Conversely, larvae reared in treatments containing 50% and 70.8% moisture content showed a complete and successful development. Additionally, larvae reared on wet liver take a longer development time compared to those raised in substrates with 70.8% moisture (Bauer et al., 2020).

 Effects of Temperature on Blowfly Lifecycle

Besides humidity, temperature is another significant factor that affects a blowfly’s development time. Several studies have shown that high temperatures shorten the Calliphoridae lifecycle. Their poikilothermic nature can explain this, where increased temperature positively affects biochemical processes. To observe the effect of temperature on the lifecycle of necrophagous Calliphorids, Pruna et al. (2019) researched Lucilia sericata. “At 18°C, the average developmental time was 778 h (±38,6); at 25°C average time was 401 h (±33,5); and at 30°C average time was 288 h (±24,8)” (Pruna et al., 2019). These experiments indicate that larval developmental time is shortened with increased temperature. Additionally, ten °C is the temperature limit with no development, while the maximum is 35°C, where the larval development begins to decelerate. Subsequently, 18°C, 25°C, and 30°C were favorable temperatures for the egg to adult development.

Collection of Samples for Investigation

When the time of death is in question, sampling and how samples are collected become significant. Therefore, strict and standard guidelines for selection are followed for high-quality analysis.

Where to Look for Samples

Colonization occurs in different body regions under different sequence patterns. Natural orifices are usually the first regions to be colonized. These include the mouth, nose, eyes, and anal or genital areas. Any other mass colonization on other body regions indicates a wound. Subsequently, different areas could be infested by different insect species; therefore, they should be sampled separately for examination. In cases where the body is wrapped, the wrapping materials should be checked for insects.

Since immature insects usually migrate from the body to pupate, searching the surrounding area is necessary. For outdoor scenes, leaf debris and soil underneath and surrounding the body within a radius of two to ten meters should be checked for insects. For indoor cases, migrating pupae may be found under nearby furniture and in rugs, mats, or carpets. Additionally, nutrient sources other than the carcass should be checked as these may contaminate the insect evidence.

Where to Sample and How to Store Collected Insect Evidence

Various soil samples should be collected to at least a 10cm depth. To prevent further development of the insects, the pieces should be stored at cool temperatures, for instance, in fridges at 4°C. Further, insects at different development stages (eggs, small and large larvae, pupae, and adults) should be collected and stored in a separate vial. Present puparia are a clear indication of the first complete colonization; therefore, collection of empty puparia is also essential.

Sample sizes vary with the available number of larvae. However, all should be collected where there are fewer than 100 larvae and 1 to 10% where thousands of larvae are known. Adult or immature insects that die during collection should be preserved in 70-95% alcohol. The live specimen should be kept in vials and stored at cool temperatures of 4°C. Air circulation into the vials should be allowed; thus, coarse sawdust and paper towels would be helpful. Finally, the live samples should be transferred to a professional expert within 24 hours. The remaining specimen should be killed immediately. Hot water (?80°C) is recommended to kill fly larvae, while extremely freezing temperatures, usually -20°C, are recommended for beetle larvae. They should then be preserved in 70-95% alcohol. Storage of samples using formalin or formaldehyde should be avoided as these result in DNA degradation.

Additional Information

Photographic documentation to describe the body’s condition and the ecology of the scene would be helpful. It is also important to note the ambient temperature at the crime scene and to gather the area’s weather data from the nearest weather station. If possible, temperatures at the body’s position should be recorded at one-hour intervals for five to ten days after discovering the body. This is important as it allows accurate temperature estimates of the crime scene before the discovery of the body. Subsequently, this guides the investigator in establishing the period when the insects began to develop at the crime scene (Amendt et al., 2011).

The Goal of Forensic Entomology

Decomposition mediated by blowfly activity is a continuous process that can be measured, allowing accurate estimation of min PMI. Therefore, after gathering the samples, the forensic entomologist analyzes the blowflies on the body to calculate their age, which makes it possible to calculate the time of colonization when the blowflies first colonized the cadaver. Since blowflies are usually the first to inhabit a body, this data helps the entomologist estimate the minimum PMI. Furthermore, some samples are collected for toxicological analyses. Drugs and chemical toxins can be detected in larvae when the chemical’s rate of metabolism is exceeded by its absorption rate. Even though Diptera larvae still have limited quantitative value, identifying drug-mediated changes during their development is vital, as these changes can significantly alter PMI estimates.

 Effects of Blowfly Infestation on the Rate of Decomposition

Many biotic and abiotic factors influence decomposition. Necrophagous insects are among the biotic factors that affect carrion decomposition. They are attracted by odors and gases released during the postmortem decomposition of the carrion’s organic matter. The larvae destroy the organic matter within 7-30 days of exposure, depending on the area’s temperature. Pollution can be described in four stages: fresh (24 hours), bloated (2-10 days), decay (11-42 days), and dry (43-271 days). Subsequently, Calliphorids have been associated with early discoloration and bloating stages of decomposition.

In the fresh stage, the remains are not associated with any odor, and the first insects to arrive and oviposit are usually Lucilia illustris, followed by Phormia regina. As the temperature increases, larvae masses develop in the bloated stage. This decaying stage is characterized by color, odor, and swelling changes. Also, larvae feed on the carrion’s skin, thus breaking it. Temperatures continue to advance, and larvae migrate, searching for a place to pupate. Lastly, the dry stage is characterized by minimal larval activity, as the remains are associated with little or no odor. Insect activity stops entirely after the 271st day (Campobasso et al., 2001).

Other Insect Colonizers

Besides the Calliphoridae flies, other Dipterans that colonize the remains of a body include the Muscidae and Sarcophagidae. In addition to flies, beetles belonging to the order Coleoptera are colonizing insects. They have the Silphidae, Staphylinidae, Histeridae, Nitiduliae, Dermestidae, Cleridae, and Scarabaeidae. Calliphoridae and Muscidae are the first to arrive in 2-3 hours, followed by the Sarcophagidae. Colonization by Coleopterans starts at the beginning of the bloated decomposition stage. During this stage, the Silphidae are first to arrive, followed by Staphylinidae and Histeridae, predators of the Dipterans. The decay stage of decomposition is mainly associated with colonization by Nitiduliae insects, while the dry stage colonization is by Staphylinidae, Dermestidae, Cleridae, and Scarabaeidae.

Conclusion

Blowflies are potent tools that are applied in medicolegal death Investigations. They exhibit predictable sequences in their development rate, enabling forensic entomologists to determine the postmortem interval. Blowflies colonizing the body are sampled for examination and identification. Determining their age helps to estimate when they first occupied the body, which in turn helps to estimate the time of death.

References

Amendt, J., Richards, C., Campobasso, C., Zehner, R., & Hall, M. (2011). Forensic entomology: applications and limitations. Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, 7(4), 379-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-010-9209-2

Bauer, A., Bauer, A., & Tomberlin, J. (2020). Impact of diet moisture on the development of the forensically important blow flies Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Forensic Science International, 312, 110333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110333

Campobasso, C., Di Vella, G., & Introna, F. (2001). Factors affecting decomposition and Diptera colonization. Forensic Science International, 120(1-2), 18-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0379-0738(01)00411-x

Haglund, W., & Sorg, M. (2001). Advances in forensic taphonomy. CRC Press.

Paula, M., Michelutti, K., Eulalio, A., Piva, R., Cardoso, C., & Antonialli-Junior, W. (2018). A new method for estimating the postmortem interval using the chemical composition of different generations of empty puparium: Indoor cases. PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0209776. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209776

Pruna, W., Guarderas, P., Donoso, D., & Barragán, Á. (2019). The life cycle of Lucilia sericata (Meigen 1826) was collected from the Andean mountains. Neotropical Biodiversity, 5(1), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2019.1578056

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Forensic Entomology

Forensic entomology (FE) studies insects related to criminal or civil investigations. In criminal cases, it is used to determine postmortem interval. In civil lawsuits, FE may be used because of the introduction of insects into a consumer product or the infestation of a structure. A blowfly is an insect commonly used to aid in the determination of postmortem interval.
Research the use of the blowfly in determining postmortem interval.
• Describe the stages of the life cycle of the blowfly.
• How long is its life cycle (hours/days/weeks/years)?
• How do temperature and moisture affect the blowfly’s life cycle length?
• When the time of death is in question, what is the process by which a forensic entomologist would collect samples?
• What other information must an FE gather at the scene during the investigation?
• What does the FE attempt to accomplish after gathering samples and information and returning the items to the laboratory?
• How does the infestation of the blowfly affect the rate of decomposition?
• After specific lengths of time, other insects infest the remains of a body. Provide examples of the other insects that do this. What are the time intervals in which infestation occurs?

Environmental Deaths

Environmental deaths can be described as deaths that are brought about by environmental factors like water, air, and soil, among others. According to WHO, one in four deaths is linked to environmental factors. These ecological factors bring about death through events like Drowning, hypothermia, hyperthermia, and lighting, to name a few.

Types of Environmental Deaths

Drowning

Drowning is one of the most common types of environmental death. Accordingly, the World Health Organization used the following description: Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid. Drowning outcomes are classified as death, morbidity, and no morbidity.” Globally, death by drowning cases reported annually range from 150 000 to 500 000. According to the CDC, in the United States alone, the highest cause of death for children under the age of 4 years is drowning. In addition, this type of environmental death comes in as the second leading cause of death for children up to 14 years.

Further statistics show that males register more cases of Drowning compared to females. However, drowning as an environmental death does not necessarily mean that individuals die in oceans, lakes, or natural water sources. On the contrary, according to Tinley (2016), 55% of children’s drowning cases occur in bathtubs, while of older children, 50% occur in swimming pools.

Often, the process of Drowning starts once an individual starts struggling to keep afloat while in a body of water. Next, the person gulps in large breaths of air as they thrashs about. This thrashing eventually tires them out, and they start to submerge underneath. However, even when sinking, one still tries to take deep breaths and hold them in. Unfortunately, while doing this, they also take in water, which enters their airway. The sudden intake of water makes the body react by coughing and swallowing, which happens when the individual is underwater. This reaction only leads to more forceful inhalation and swallowing of water. Subsequently, as the water passes the epiglottis, another reflex action is triggered by the larynx, which closes up the airway to prevent the entry of more water. Consequently, being underneath the water and the closure of the airway leads to oxygen starvation to body organs, especially the brain, and one loses consciousness. Even though the time significantly varies with the individual, after losing consciousness, if a person remains underwater for more than five minutes without resuscitation, they get brain damage and, soon after, death.

Hypothermia

When exposed to cold water or a cold environment for a long time, the body starts to lose heat more rapidly than it is producing it. This causes the body temperature to get dangerously low, a condition known as hypothermia (Nixdorf-Miller et al., 2006). This occurs when the body temperature falls below 35?. When an individual is exposed to cold environments, the signs of hypothermia include slurred speech, shivering, drowsiness, confusion or memory loss, weak pulse, shallow and slow breathing, and loss of consciousness. However, in some instances, due to the confused state of mind, people are not aware of the danger the cold conditions pose to their lives.

Hypothermia takes place in five gradual stages. During the first stage, the body temperature is at 35°C, and one starts shivering. The second stage begins when the temperature drops to 32.7°C, and one starts shivering intensely and experiences difficulty in speaking. The third stage begins at a temperature of 30.0°C. During this stage, the shivering decreases, and instead, there is strong muscular rigidity, which affects muscle coordination by producing jerky movements (Nixdorf-Miller et al., 2006). In addition, thinking becomes less clear, general awareness is dulled, and a likelihood of total amnesia exists. The fourth stage starts at a temperature of 27°C. Here, a person becomes senseless, loses contact with the surroundings, and drifts into a groggy state. Muscular rigidity persists.

Additionally, both respiration and pulse become very slow, and cardiac dysrhythmias may develop. The fifth and final stage begins at 20.5°C; in this stage, an individual loses consciousness, cannot respond, and most reflexes cease to function. Eventually, the heartbeat slows down even more before cardiac arrest occurs.

Hyperthermia

For the body to function properly, it has to maintain, among other things, an optimum temperature of 37?. Therefore, the body takes into account both the external environment and the internal one to create a balance of both temperatures and maintain 37? (Nixdorf-Miller et al., 2006). While hypothermia is extreme loss of internal body temperature, hyperthermia is the opposite. When it gets too hot, the body cools down using mechanisms utilized by the lungs and skin. If these cooling mechanisms do not cool down the body, its temperature tends to get abnormally high, i.e., hyperthermia, which is hazardous to the body. In the environment, hyperthermia can be caused by excess heat and humidity.

Hyperthermia takes place in gradual stages. The initial stages include heat stress, heat fatigue, heat syncope, heat edema, heat rash, and heat cramps. These stages start when one is exposed to high temperatures for a few hours (Nixdorf-Miller et al., 2006). They are characterized by symptoms like weakness, dizziness, headaches, nausea, fainting, muscle cramps, and swelling in the legs, among others. Progression of these stages leads to the fatal stage, the heatstroke stage.

Lightning

Although the odds of being struck by lightning are rare, according to the CDC, lighting is one of the leading causes of weather-related fatalities. Even though the exact cause of lighting has not been identified yet, the most popular theory is that ice particles colliding with each other inside a cloud bring about excessive negative charges, which collect at the bottom of the cloud. Eventually, this charge becomes so powerful that it repels electrons towards the ground beneath it, charging it to become positively charged. Hence, the clouds are negatively charged while the ground is positively charged, creating a strong attraction between the two. According to the theory, the lighting is the discharge of this attraction field between the two. Once the lighting is initiated, it descends towards the ground in an almost stair-like manner at a speed of 300,000km per hour, carrying an energy of 300 km. Once close to the ground, it searches for the most convenient object to hit and discharge its charges.

Suppose an individual is hit by lightning; the electricity carried by it courses through one’s body, trying to find an exit. In the process, one experiences third-degree burns, and the hair and clothes might catch fire. In addition, if one has any metal objects, they channel the electricity and cause even more burns to the skin or searing, in the case of piercings. Further, the electricity coursing through the body causes blood vessels to burst (creating the Lichtenberg figure), damage to ears and eyes, seizures, and permanent paralysis. Additionally, the fatal blows of lighting occur when the electricity finds its way into the brain and fries it, leaving one with brain damage. Moreover, the leading cause of lighting deaths is cardiac arrest, which is a result of the heart rhythm being affected by the lighting.

Environmental Deaths in Florida, U.S.A

Over the years, Florida has been in the top ranks for drowning cases in America. For instance, according to the CDC, from 2017 to 2019, Florida had the highest number of unintentional drownings for children under four years and ranked 6^th for all ages. For accidental Drowning of children under 18 years, Florida came in 5^th, while for adults, it ranked 4^th.

In cases of hyperthermia, statistics show that the reported cases of fatalities in the year 2020 were 28, 27 in 2019, and 13 in 2018. 2020 had the highest number of casualties in the last ten years. The cases usually happen during the summer in June, July, and August. However, several cases were also recorded from November to March and primarily included victims found in enclosed places, like children in cars and intoxicated adults in confined areas.

In Florida, the weather is typically warm throughout the year, except during winter, when the temperatures drop slightly. Fortunately, this drop in temperatures rarely causes cases of hypothermia in Florida. On the other hand, Florida has continued to be the leading state with the most lighting deaths for decades now. In 2021, four lighting fatalities were recorded in Florida out of 17 deaths countrywide. Most of these cases are of males and mainly occur along the Gulf Coast. The risk factors that make Floridians the most prone to lighting are the popularity of outdoor activities, Florida’s close location to the tropics, the population, and the seasonal thunderstorms.

The Occurrences of Environmental Deaths in Florida Per Age Groups, Race, and Sex

            According to Gorucu et al. (2021), there were 215 fatalities of hyperthermia over ten years. Of the 215 deaths, 62 (29%) were females, while the rest, 153 (71%), were males. The ages ranged from one year old to ninety years old. Besides, the highest percentage, 27%, of fatalities were older adults 65 years and older. Further, 38 children died from heatstroke after being left in vehicles. Four other victims under the age of 18 died during outdoor sports activities.

In drowning cases, children around the age of one to four years have the highest drowning rates. Subsequently, approximately 80% of drowning fatalities are male. Besides, the CDC statistics show that the drowning fatalitie rates for Alaska Native or American Indians ages 29, and younger are twice as high as for white people. Moreover, for African Americans, they have a 1.5 times higher rate than that of White people. These disparities are particularly highest among African American children between the ages of 5 and 9, 2.6 times higher, and 10-14 years, rates 3.6 times higher.

The Investigative Approach in Homicide vs. Natural Causes

A deceased individual is considered the most crucial piece of evidence in a death scene (Demirci et al., 2011). Therefore, a systematic and thorough examination of the body is mandatory at every death scene. In addition, the death scene must remain as undisturbed as possible till all the investigations are done. Thus, a clear and restricted boundary needs to be made around the death scene. Moreover, anyone accessing the death scene should have gloves, cover their hair, keep any foodstuffs away, and have authorized permission to access the scene (Demirci et al., 2011).

After all the evidence is collected and recorded, if the conclusion made and backed by post-mortem suggests that the death is natural, then no more scene processing should occur. However, if the information points to an unnatural death, then additional processing is required, and law enforcement agents are called in to determine the exact cause of death (Demirci et al., 2011).

References

Deaths attributable to the environment (%). Who. int. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/deaths-attributable-to-the-environment-(-)

Demirci, S., & Dogan, K. H. (2011). Death scene investigation from the viewpoint of forensic medicine expert. Forensic Medicine- From Old Problems to New Challenges. Rijeka, Croatia: InTech, 13-52.

Drowning Facts | Drowning Prevention | CDC. Cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/facts/index.htm

Gorucu, S., Fraisse, C., & Yu, Z. (2021). Natural Heat-Related Deaths in Florida: 2010-2020: AE558/AE558, 05/2021. EDIS, 2021(3).

Lightning Strike Victim Data | Lightning | CDC https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/victimdata.html

Nixdorf-Miller, A., Hunsaker, D. M., & Hunsaker III, J. C. (2006). Hypothermia and hyperthermia medicolegal investigation of morbidity and mortality from exposure to environmental temperature extremes. Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine, 130(9), 1297-1304.

Tilney P (2016). Drowning, hypothermia, and hyperthermia. Cooney D.R.(Ed.), Cooney’s EMS Medicine. McGraw Hill. https://accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=1650&sectionid=1079551

Pearson.com. https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/higher-ed/en/products-services/limmer-13e-info/pdf/EC13Chapter31.pdf

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Environmental Deaths

Environmental deaths include Drowning, lightning, hypothermia, and hyperthermia. Write a 3–5-page paper comparing environmental deaths and homicide investigations; be sure to cover the following:
Elaborate on each type of environmental death, including Drowning, lightning, hypothermia, and hyperthermia. (50%)
Choose a state in the United States and research the rates of occurrence of these types of deaths in that state. (20%)
After determining the rate of occurrence, break the occurrences down into age groups, race, and sex. (25%)
The investigative approach in homicide vs. natural causes
Provide citations and references for your materials in APA style. (5%)