Customary law, traditional punishment, and death in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands of Central Aus
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Customary law, traditional punishment, and death in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands of Central Australia Kimberley J. Omond1 • Cheryl Charlwood2 • Roger W. Byard1
Accepted: 22 July 2016 / Published online: 9 August 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Case report A 41-year-old Aboriginal man from northern South Australia was stabbed in the back of his thigh following a verbal altercation. The deceased reportedly bled to death at the scene. A blood stained knife was subsequently recovered (Fig. 1). At autopsy the body was that of a slim, well-nourished, middle-aged Aboriginal man. The penis was subincised and an upper front incisor tooth was missing (Fig. 2) (old injury). On the anterior aspect of the upper left arm there were scattered puckered and linear scars, the latter extended to the forearm and measured up to 40 mm. The most significant finding was a 19 mm horizontally-orientated stab wound on the posterior aspect of the left lower thigh (Figs. 3, 4). The 75 mm deep wound extended anteriorly through the underlying thigh muscles medial to the femur. There was complete severance of both the profunda femoris artery and femoral vein (Fig. 5) with associated hemorrhage into the surrounding soft tissue and muscle. There were no defense type wounds or other injuries. Other findings at autopsy included retraction and thickening of the mitral valve and aortic valve leaflets and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; there was no significant natural disease present that had caused or contributed to the death. Toxicological analysis indicated a moderately high blood alcohol concentration of 0.181 %
& Roger W. Byard [email protected] 1
School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Frome Road, Level 3 Medical School North Building, Adelaide 5005, Australia
2
Forensic Science SA, 21 Divett Place, Adelaide 5000, Australia
with the presence of cannabinoids. No other common drugs were detected. Death was attributed to exsanguination from the stab wound to the back of the thigh. The knife recovered from the scene was a black-handled, medium-sized kitchen knife with a blade length of approximately 115 mm and a maximum width of 20 mm. The injury to the thigh was compatible with the dimensions of the knife.
Discussion Indigenous Australians experience relatively high rates of injury and death from accidents and violence compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts [1]. Factors such as excessive alcohol consumption, low socioeconomic status, and overcrowding [1–3] contribute to this disparity. However, it is also recognized that a cultural dimension, specifically, the application of customary law, continues to account for some of the injuries in this population [4, 5]. Certain Aboriginal communities in Australia still practice customary law [4]. This includes a population of approximately 2500 individuals from the Pitjantjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, and Yankunytjatjara peoples whose lands cover [103,000 km2 of predominantly desert land in the northwestern corner of
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