Book Review: Medicolegal Investigations of the President John F Kennedy Murder
| Published date | 01 September 1979 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486587901200312 |
| Date | 01 September 1979 |
| Author | Malcolm C Hall |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
B()()K
REVIEWS
187
discuss the potential use of video
equipment
in the training of magistrates, to
remove some disparity. Their analysis in this latest presentation of their
work
is
clear
and
convincing,
and
provides the ideal positivist
background
for an
eloquent questioning
by
Judge
Roden of
the
NSW District
Court
of the very
assumptions
upon
which
they rely.
Judge
Roden's contribution is by far
the
most outstanding.
He
questions,
firstly, the
need
for consistency.in sentencing, in the context of an
able
discussion
and
defence of the declaratory justification for punishment.
There
follows a
clear exposition of a
number
of anomalies in the sentencing system,
and
suggestions for
reform
which are obviously born of experience
and
unshackled
by political considerations.
Judge
Roden's
paper
is followed by a "Magistrate's Viewpoint",
the
major
theme of which is the increased
demand
made
upon magistrates in recent years
and
the consequent decrease in the
amount
of consideration given to each case.
Although Magistrate
Webb
does not
present
decriminalization
of
"regulatory
offences" as a major alternative, it is the
one
which most readily answers his
criticisms
and
which, although hinted at during the seminar,
was
never fully
discussed. Yet the proliferation of
very
minor cases is surely
one
of
the
major
problems in the allocation. of time
and
resources in lower courts.
Thought
might
be
given in a future session to the possibility of "improving" sentencing in "real"
cases by the removal of such matters as traffic offences, possession of marijuana
in small quantities,
and
the like, from the courts' jurisdiction.
In conclusion, although all contributions to this seminar
were
well written
and
competent, the
piecemeal
nature of
much
of the discussion in the latter half of
the seminar
precluded
any real depths of insight or
movement
forward
from
emerging. By contrast
pp
16-62 are a lively contribution to
the
disparity
debate
and
well worth
the
attention
of
practitioners
and
academics alike.
Halifax, Canada R
PAUL
DAVIS
Medicolegal Investigations of the President
John
FKennedy
Murder.
Charles G
Wilber Ph D, Charles CThomas, Springfield, Dlinois (1978) US$14.50.
The
expression "like
the
curate's egg" is
apt
when
applied to this book,
not
so
much to content,
bout
to writing style.
Dr
Wilber has
produced
an emotionally-
tinged volume
about
ahighly emotional subject. Fortunately, it is possible to
find sufficient overall value in this publication to
recommend
it to persons
interested in obtaining awell-argued case which supports the
view
that Lee
Harvey Oswald, if he
did
in fact fire the
weapon
responsible for some of the
President's wounds,
did
not
act alone in this event.
Unfortunately Wilber could have written a
much
more
concise
and
readable
book
of about half the length, with no significant loss of content
and
with a
resulting
improvement
in overall presentation. His style is repetitive, resulting in
irritation for the reader. Ibelieve that this detracts from avery interesting book.
Nonetheless, Wilber presents acompelling case for rejection of the Warren
Commission's findings relating to the
weapon
from which the projectiles which
caused the President's wounds were fired.
Wilber is on strong
ground
when he indicates
how
far the autopsy
procedure
employed
in relation to the late President's
body
differed
from
apublished
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