From 1999 to 2004, Dr. Johnny Glenn was the only forensic pathologist performing autopsies in the poorest part of Alabama. He was assisted only by lab technicians as he performed hundreds of autopsies annually, including at least one death penalty case. After his abrupt departure, it was discovered that Glenn routinely put aside his notes and often failed to finish final reports or diagrams that are crucial to death investigations. Two of his former colleagues say that Glenn was increasingly depressed during his tenure, that he was battling health problems, and that he was troubled by his inability to pass the exam to become certified by the American Board of Pathology, a certification that is not required to be a pathologist in Alabama, but is highly desirable.

“There were several hundred cases unfinished by Dr. Glenn. Some of these dated back as far as 4 years, to 2001,” said Dr. Jim Lauridson, a former state pathologist who was briefly hired to complete some of Glenn’s cases. Among the cases was that of Devin Moore, a teenager who was convicted and sentenced to die for the killing of two policemen and a radio dispatcher. During Moore’s trial, a former Glenn assistant struggled to explain the doctor’s notes, and at one point while trying to describe the wounds of a victim, the assistant discovered that Glenn’s notes in the file were actually about another body.

Michael Sparks, who now heads the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, is trying to hire two additional pathologists and a chief medical examiner in an effort to prevent similar problems from happening again. Though Sparks has stated that he no longer wants any state pathologist working on his own, funding for additional staff is tight and Alabama’s starting pay for pathologists is low. Alabama faces a backlog and incomplete autopsy file problem that can be found across the nation. Bruce Goldberger, president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, noted, “Unfortunately, it’s more common than you’d think, the lack of follow-through when it comes to the final report.”
(Associated Press, April 4, 2007). See Arbitrariness.