MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) - Two felony cases in eastern Mississippi have been delayed because the state medical examiner didn’t show up to testify to grand jurors or because there was no autopsy report.
Lauderdale County District Attorney Kassie Coleman tells The Meridian Star the cases couldn’t be presented for indictment.
The county has had problems in the past with long delays in bringing suspects to trial. Local officials have historically pointed to the understaffed state medical examiner and crime lab as one reason.
“We understand the Medical Examiner’s Office is short-staffed and very busy,” she said. “But these murder cases were being extremely delayed because we needed the final autopsy reports.”
The medical examiner’s office didn’t return requests for comment.
Lauderdale County grand jurors met last week after being delayed since January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coleman said her office is now subpoenaing the medical examiner’s office. The idea is to encourage the office to prioritize the reports prosecutors are seeking.
Coleman said seven subpoenas were sent in March and again in May, with five autopsy reports returned.
If the autopsy report is sent, the medical examiner doesn’t have to appear before the grand jury, Coleman said. In some instances, such as a case of self-defense, the medical examiner could be brought in to explain the cause of death.
The medical examiner’s office did not explain the delay on the remaining two reports, she said.
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