Aidakh’s legislators go forward with the humble efforts to improve the state investigation system, after propublica and others who have identified serious problems. At the same time, the counties move into a shield from public view records, which propublica relied in their coverage.
‘To you today there will be a bill that has long been coming, and I say that because for decades, since the 1950s PROPUBLICA Reporting Last year.
The Democrats’ bill would have prescribed new parameters that clarify the role of Coroner. In case the current law says that “suspicious” death must be investigated, the bill lists such circumstances as suspicious drug overdose or death at work. It also makes it clear that the investigation of law enforcement agencies does not take the place of the coroner’s investigation and that they should take place in parallel. This requires that the revelations are made by forensic, not other doctors.
The legislation crossed the first obstacle last week when it was held in the Senate controlled by Republicans with extensive support.
Wint said that the coroners’ investigation should be done correctly.
“If you have seen some news recently, there are families that are upset because we haven’t constantly doing it all over our country,” she told the legislators, “and it is very important for us to do it.”
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Last year, In a report ordered by Aidakh legislators The malfunctions in the system of selected king – the system concerning the 19th century – are marked by limited training, almost non -state financing and lack of state standards. The report notes that Idaho is in the last way among the states for exposing suspicious, unexpected and unnatural deaths.
Later, Propublica reported the experience of two vague parents with a ship, who conducted little investigation to determine what caused the child’s death. PROPUBLICA also used the legislative and newspaper archive for Specify numerous warnings about Coroner Idaho Coroner And unsuccessful attempts to reform it to return for over 70 years.
This time this is the fact that the king, a group that opposed the past efforts, developed the legislation that introduced Wintrow. It was in the works from the state report in February 2024, the department of the legislation of Aidakh to evaluate the results of the work aimed at the coroner system.
But the proposed legislation does not affect some key problems identified by the State Environment or Prapublica Investigation Agency.
The Propublica review on hundreds of reports of Coroner Idaho found little sequence in what the roots did for investigation of each death. Some crowns followed national standards; Others did not do it. Some ordered the exposures in the sudden death of children and the unexpected death of the child; Others did not do it. Other states prescribe the types of deaths that are required every time.
Idaho requires only 24 hours of training every two years, but Propublica found that 1 of the 4 king has been missing. Other states impose consequences for passing the necessary training.
Wintrow has hardened expectations about rapid overhaul, saying that its bill should not be comprehensive. She called it a starting point that has support for the Idaho Coroner Association.
“This is the ultimate, all you need? No, but this is the best beginning we had, and increase the sequence in our country, “she said on the Senate floor.
Meanwhile, the hearing on the proposal of the Untrov caused an attempt to leave the cornoners from the public view in Idah.
One man testified that his daughter, the teenager who had an epilepsy, died during the reception of the bath and that his grief had deteriorated, knowing that investigators had photos taken in the death investigation. In response, the Untrov said she asked Crown and sheriffs to preserve such materials.
(Despite the fact that the courts decided that the dead were not entitled to the same privacy protection as in the US Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court has found that the interests of the privacy of those who survived were justified by the refusal of the public image.)
It turned out that the Idaho district association was ready to go. But instead of just protecting the photos of the authorities, the proposal would make the whole investigation of the king released from the Law on Open Records. All that could be seen would be the name, age, gender, hometown and the cause of death – not the main steps that take to achieve the conclusions.
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Natalie Bering for PROPUBLICA
According to the Association, the idea came from the Coroner of the Ada County, where BAZ lives. Rich Riffle, Coroner Ada County, said Propublica that the district prosecutor made this proposal based on the purpose of RIFFLE, so that they be treated by Coroner Idaho’s records more like law enforcement records.
Police records are available for public inspection in Idahu, except, for example, if the police are still actively investigating the crime and the release of their records can improve the case.
“Although we are individual and independent of law enforcement agencies, it does not mean that we want to jeopardize the criminal case, and it is, in fact, the essence,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.
Last year, a legislator also recommended that the legislator consider the discovery of the records of the king does not interfere with the criminal case and does not violate the privacy of the family. He did not indicate the creation of a broad ban.
The Ada district initially denied Prapublica’s request last year for investigative records of the death of children, for whom Idaho conducts exposing at a particularly low speed. Similar requests went to nine Aidakh counties.
After a few months of talks, Ada began to provide heavily edited records when Prapublica agreed to pay more than $ 880.
In the Bonniville district, which also opposed the disclosure, such records found Coroner’s inability to follow national standards. For example, the death of a 2-month onyxx cooole was defined as a sudden death of an infant who does not explain-after a brief report on one page and lack of exposure. Rick Taylor since the pensioners noted that the law did not set standards for the investigation and stated that he relied on an ambulance doctor.
Most of the king appealed from Propublicaa released after the lawyers edited the information, which, according to them, was protected by state legislation. Photos were not included.
Providing their support for the release of coroner records from disclosure of information last fall, the county association writes: “Although a person may be dead, their reputation is still harmful. The next relative can also harm the private medical information of their favorite and confidential information related to the circumstances of their death. Value. “
Vintra saw a draft bill during this year’s legislative session and agreed to sponsor it. But the future of the bill is uncertain.
After last week, the propublica issues about the bill, Wintrow and the lobbyist said they wanted to revise the legislation before they move forward.
Untrov stated that he wanted to be treated for law enforcement when it comes to open laws.
“My intention, as a legislator, is to make sure that there is a good balance with everything to preserve the privacy and public interest is also supported,” Wintrow Propublica said last week.
Kelly Brospild, lobbyist of the County Association, said: “After some discussions, it seems that we may need to make changes. We are currently working on it.”
