TY - JOUR
T1 - Procedural and political aspects of forensic exhumation in Brazil
AU - Guimarães, Marco Aurelio
AU - Arrabaça Francisco, Raffaela
AU - Evison, Martin
AU - Miazato Iwamura, Edna Sadayo
AU - Palhares Machado, Carlos Eduardo
AU - da Silva, Ricardo
AU - Castro Pinheiro, Maria Eliana
AU - Santana, Diva
AU - Guss Patrício, Julie Alvina
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - Exhumation may be defined as the legally sanctioned excavation and recovery of the remains of lawfully buried or – occasionally – cremated individuals, as distinct from forensic excavations of clandestinely buried remains conducted as part of a criminal investigation and from unlawful disinterment of human remains, commonly referred to as ‘bodysnatching’. The aim of this article is to review the role of exhumation – so defined – in the activities of CEMEL, the Medico-Legal Centre of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School-University of São Paulo, in international, regional and local collaborations. Exhumations form part of routine forensic anthropology casework; scientific research in physical and forensic anthropology; and forensic casework conducted in collaboration with the Brazilian Federal Police; and are carried out as part of humanitarian investigations into deaths associated with the civil–military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985. This article aims to offer a non-technical summary – with reference to international comparative information – of the role of exhumation in investigative and scientific work and to discuss developments in their historical and political context.
AB - Exhumation may be defined as the legally sanctioned excavation and recovery of the remains of lawfully buried or – occasionally – cremated individuals, as distinct from forensic excavations of clandestinely buried remains conducted as part of a criminal investigation and from unlawful disinterment of human remains, commonly referred to as ‘bodysnatching’. The aim of this article is to review the role of exhumation – so defined – in the activities of CEMEL, the Medico-Legal Centre of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School-University of São Paulo, in international, regional and local collaborations. Exhumations form part of routine forensic anthropology casework; scientific research in physical and forensic anthropology; and forensic casework conducted in collaboration with the Brazilian Federal Police; and are carried out as part of humanitarian investigations into deaths associated with the civil–military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985. This article aims to offer a non-technical summary – with reference to international comparative information – of the role of exhumation in investigative and scientific work and to discuss developments in their historical and political context.
KW - exhumation
KW - forensic
KW - anthropology
KW - dictatorship
KW - human rights
KW - Brazil
U2 - 10.7227/HRV.3.1.4
DO - 10.7227/HRV.3.1.4
M3 - Article
VL - 3
SP - 37
EP - 51
JO - Human Remains and Violence: An Interdisciplinary Journal
JF - Human Remains and Violence: An Interdisciplinary Journal
IS - 1
ER -