Bell: Hayne not the man for the job

May 5, 2009

From Staff and Wire Reports The Star Herald Tue May 05, 2009, 10:57 AM CDT

With no medical examiner or pathologist at the top of the state’s food chain, Attala County Coroner Sam Bell thought it was a good idea for the county to hiring Dr. Steve Hayne as the county’s pathologist.

On Monday, he asked the Attala County Board of Supervisors to hire Hayne but has since changed his mind.

“It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen,” Bell said on Tuesday citing the fact that Hayne has been removed from the list of state approved pathologists.

For years, many counties had relied on Hayne to do autopsies. In August, Public Safety Commissioner Steve Simpson removed Hayne from a list of approved pathologists.

Bell said he was contacted by Hayne less than a week ago and he was told that Hayne had been hired by 38 other counties.

The state has contracted with Forensic Medical Inc. of Nashville to conduct autopsies here. The company is paid $1,000 per autopsy.

Bell said with the Nashville company, there is a three to four month turnaround to getting the autopsies.

The company rotates a pathologist every week to perform autopsies in Mississippi. The pathologist works out of the medical examiner's office at the state Crime Lab.

Hayne was removed from the designated list of pathologists after the New York-based Innocence Project had accused him of sloppy work and had filed a complaint with the state Board of Medical Licensure, calling on the board to strip him of his medical license.

After examining the allegations, the Board of Medical Licensure sided with Hayne. Hayne is now suing Innocence Project officials for defamation.

Hayne also is being sued, along with Hattiesburg dentist Michael West, for their testimony about the 1992 rape and slaying of a 3-year-old girl that led to the death sentence for Kennedy Brewer.

Brewer is suing the pair for $18 million. He was freed after spending 15 years in prison for a crime authorities now say DNA shows he did not commit. Another man has been charged with that crime.

The state will advertise for proposals from companies to perform autopsies.

Simpson said he is certain the Nashville company will be one of the bidders to provide the services during the next fiscal year that begins July 1.

The medical examiner position has been vacant since 1995.

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