Ep. 20 — Looking Into the Work of a Mississippi Medical Examiner

Nashville Scene

Staff writer Amanda Haggard talks to journalist Radley Balko, who investigated the work of a Mississippi medical examiner named Steven Hayne, along with his dentistry sidekick Michael West. Balko discusses Hayne’s history and impact, which is darkly fascinating, as he testified in close to 80 percent of homicide trials in Mississippi for 20 years – often employing shoddy reasoning and pseudoscience. Balko will be releasing a book detailing the full story at the end of February, titled 'The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South.'