Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified

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Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified (Chinese: 洗冤集錄; Pinyin: Xǐyuān Jílù) is a book written by Song Ci (1186 - 1249), a forensic medical expert in the Song Dynasty.

Song Ci combined many historical cases of forensic science with his own experiences and wrote this book with an eye to avoiding miscarriages of justice. This book was esteemed by generations of forensic scientists. Eventually it was translated into English, German, Japanese, French and other languages.

In the book, Song Ci said:

“A forensic medical doctor must be serious, conscientious, and highly responsible, and must also personally examine each dead body or that of a wounded person. The particulars of each case must be recorded in the doctor’s own handwriting. No one else is allow to write his autopsy report. A coroner must not avoid performing an autopsy because he detests the stench of corpses. A coroner must refrain from sitting comfortably behind a curtain of incense that mask the stench, let his subordinates do the autopsy unsupervised, or allow a petty official to write his autopsy report, leaving all the inaccuracies unchecked and uncorrected.”

He also said:

“Should there be any inaccuracy in an autopsy report, injustice would remain with the deceased as well as the living. A wrongful death sentence without justice may claim one or more additional lives, which would in turn result in feuds and revenges, prolonging the tragedy. In order to avoid any miscarriage of justice, the coroner must immediately examine the case personally.”