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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Dr. Worthington was willing to testify to what?

2. Who watched the autopsy of Jaroslawicz?

3. What does Baden claim in the cause of failure for the ME system?

4. What does Baden believe killed Gail Morris?

5. What did Fried's three daughters not believe?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the disparity between Dr. Lee's issued cause of death and Baden's issued cause of death for Dr. Brown.

2. Explain how Carl Cappolino killed William E. Farber.

3. Describe the symptoms of a heroin overdose, and how it kills.

4. Explain what Baden notices about Sunny's levels of alcohol and barbiturates, and why he calculates them as fatal levels at the time of her coma.

5. Explain why doctors believed Sunny von Bulow was suffering from low blood sugar on her arrival the third time at the hospital, in spite of EMT belief that she was suffering an overdose.

6. Explain what actually happened to Daphne Mellon.

7. Explain how Baden used the digestive system to determine time of death in the Hendricks case.

8. Explain what Baden and his team found when they became part of the medical review board that monitors prison deaths, and how those issues were addressed.

9. Explain why, from the beginning, Baden believed the police had the wrong time of death for Gail Morris.

10. Explain how the defense for Hendricks tried to argue the digestive system argument, and Baden's counter argument.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the Joseph Christopher case, Baden points out several odd serial killer characteristics. What made Christopher a rare serial killer? What were his methods? What were his motives? How does this differ from other serial killers? Be sure to be detailed in your answers, and include each phase of Christopher's killing spree, including:

• The shootings in Buffalo

• The killings of the taxi drivers

• The slashings in New York

Essay Topic 2

Baden points out several times in the novel that the role of the ME is one of politics, science, and power. Do you agree that the ME has power? Why or why not? Do you think the ME can directly affect the outcome of a criminal trial? Why or why not? Does this mean the ME has to show a large level of credibility? What should happen if that credibility is questioned? Do you think the ME should issue death certificates that necessarily help the DA? Why or why not? Be sure to analyze these issues using examples and details from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

The case of Carl Cappolono is listed as being an almost perfect crime. However, this case had several holes in it that eventually led to Carl's demise. Based on the book, what kinds of mistakes do killers make that eventually come back to haunt them? What do killers assume about poison, and why is this assumption incorrect? How can an ME detect poisons long after they have been administered, according to the tests done in the book? What does this say about the idea that poison killings are killings without a trace?

(see the answer keys)

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