Frontline" Post Mortem" death investigation in America.

How America's patchwork system of death investigating is putting the living at risk.

In the United States there isn't just one system. Coroners can be elected or appointed. Some are also sheriffs or funeral home directors. But many coroners aren't doctors.

There are also medical examiners, who usually are medical doctors but may not be forensic pathologists trained in death investigation.

But no matter what form it takes, the death investigation system in the U.S. is in trouble. A yearlong investigation by NPR, PBS Frontline and ProPublica has found a dysfunctional system short of qualified people, squeezed for resources and lacking in oversight.

Medical examiner systems are operating in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Medical examiners are appointed to their position and almost always are physicians.

Click on the link to watch the full episode.

Link:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/post-mortem/