? Copyright January 29, 1999                                      

To: Concerned Individuals

From: Charles Cambridge, Ph.D.

Subject: Report Concerning Video of Chiapas Bodies

Introduction:

It has been argued for centuries in Western Civilizations that torture is a legal and legitimate tool of a society in a search for truth.

Therefore, torture has been legitimatized as a convenient means to acquire confessions, particularly by a suppressive political state. When one is under the control of the police, para-police groups, local strong men or warlords, the object of torture is to obtain real or imaginary confessions that will be used against the victim, family members and/or colleagues.

The central aim of torture is to isolate the individual.

Abduction and held in incommunicado in an isolated place, provides a detention that the individual cannot grasp. Enhancing the feeling of isolation is the technique of blindfolding an individual for days. Isolation in a small box with absolute silence and with periods of loudspeaker sounds, is calculated to intimated and break the imprisoned individual. As the isolation of an individual increases, feeling of helplessness increases to point that the will of the individual is broken. The only escape is the telling of truths that the inquisitors want.

As another means, inquisitors will provide the necessary pain to further the isolation of the individual. Pain is provided to proved to the individual that he or she is isolated and has no control over the situation. Here, the purpose of torture is to isolate the individual through pain or fear that will enhance the telling of a "truth."

However, the bottom line is that it is difficult to torture someone. It takes a great deal of time and energy for sanction torture by the state. A large amount of energy is required for severe beatings or whippings. Torture chambers and devices whether ones fist or other physical equipment, requires planning, operation and administration.

Pain is inflicted through the use of fists and simple equipment such as: wooden sticks, cubs, belts and special whips. High tech devices produce electric shocks and stun shocks. Torture can take many forms usually severe beatings, attempts to drown the individual by tubing water into the nasal passages, electric shocks, burning with cigarettes and different forms of sexual abuse.

Other threatening situations could be the use of snakes, dogs, animals, insects and spiders to strike fear into the individual. Pentothal, uppers, downers, acid, chemicals and other drugs provide a different physical form of torture. Given time, psychological techniques can provide impressive results.

Thereby, the ideal torture chamber is well equipped to isolate and terrorize the individual immediately

In each case, whether physical or psychological, torture will leave distinctive marks and clues upon the victim. It is quite difficult to hide the evidence of torture. In many cases, torturers will go to great lengths to avoid these clues being traced back to them. For these inquisitors, the ideal torture will not leave evidence that is easily identifiable on the individual or body.

Returned Bodies of Chiapas

In the cases shown on the video, seven deaths are recorded at the beginning of the film. However, there are eight caskets taken off the truck. It could be an issue that one individuals remains were divided and placed in two caskets. But, this is an issue that needs some review.

There are several problems with the tape:

• The quality of the tape was very poor. In the future, it would be best to take color still photos with a simple cm ruler in position next to the body or wound areas.
• Since the quality of the tape was poor, it was impossible to view the true and natural colors of the bodies.
• Since the quality of the tape was poor, it was impossible to view the true wounds and/or marks on the bodies.
• Each of the caskets should have been numbered. After which, each numbered body should have been filmed at length or still pictures taken. With the taping, it was impossible to identify the different bodies or body when the camera positions changed and/or the camera was turned on and off. I assume that the video showed at least three different bodies.
• At least, on one of the bodies, there was a mass of material that was light yellow on the chest. I was not able to determine if this mass was a natural result of death or whether something was placed upon the body by relatives.

Conclusion

Given the video problems, I can only speculate on the state of the bodies.

• Given the fact that Mexico is extremely warm compared to the United States, the bodies would show an accelerated process of deterioration. So, deterioration time frames will be different in tropical areas.
• An autopsy may have been performed on at least one body. Whether this was a beginning of an autopsy or a full autopsy, cannot be confirmed from the video. However, it seems that the internal organs were stuffed back into the body and a very crude suture closed the Y incision. Records of this autopsy may be available in some form from the legal authorities.
• It was clear that rigor mortis had been well established in each of the bodies. However, by appearance, the bodies seem to have distorted and bloated by swelling caused by internal gasses. Rigor mortis would be well established with 12 hours. Swelling would occur within 48-72 hours after death. I would assume that the bodies were dead for days.
• The bodies seem to be a dark color ranging into a dark purple. Without viewing the opposite side of the body, it is a guess that fixed lividity was established. This could be proven if the opposite side of the body was pale in color. If fixed lividity had occurred, then at the time of death or very shortly after, the body was faced down. This would cause anterior (front) of the body to be purple in color. This would occur within six to eight hours after death.
• The bodies seem to have blisters and/or bites on the skin. It was impossible to determine if the marks were blisters or bites. If they were bites, then the question is whether this is a result of the place where they were imprisonment or was this a form of torture? If they were blisters, then if not a natural living medical issue, the blisters could be part of the natural death process. Blisters formed from body gases will begin to develop 48-72 hours after death.
• From the video, it was impossible to get a feeling of the state of the bodys hair. If the hair was beginning to fall from the body, then the victim was dead for a long period of time. It would take at least three weeks for this phenomena to happen.
• The view of one body gave me the impression that it was bursting. This is a phenomenon that would occur within 18-21 days. The yellow mass gave me this impression along with the crude suture. However, if the body was not bursting, and the yellow mass was a part of the death process, then the yellow mass could be body gasses swelling an organ of the body into a yellow mass. However, the true reason is not available from the tape.

It is impossible to use the video as evidence of torture since the video quality is extremely poor. It is impossible to determine if the bodies had undergone any form of torture. An autopsy, at death or near the time of death, would be required to provide proof if torture did occur or not.

At this time, a forensic analysis on the skeletal remains could review if damage to any bones occurred. However, given the state of the situation, this may not be possible. Within the chain of evidence, the use of the video is not possible. Without authoritative analysis of the human remains, the issue of torture cannot be pursued.