Thomas has answered questions about an element of Baker’s autopsy that, until recently, seemed potentially problematic to prosecutors: his mention of Floyd’s heart problems and drug use as “contributing conditions” in the report.
Remember, prosecutors claim that Floyd died of asphyxiation, not these circumstances; the defense has taken advantage of his health problems and the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood. So these “conditions” have grown in the debate about causes of death.
Through questioning, prosecutors have attempted to show that “contributing conditions” play more of a role in public health data than in the cause of death assessment. “What does it mean, other contributing terms?” the Prosecution asks about this sentence on death certificates.
“So the way forensic pathologists and medical researchers usually use this is that people often think that the death certificate is for that person, that specific person who died, and for their family. And that’s true, it serves a very useful purpose, ”says Thomas.
“But forensic pathologists also use death certificates for public health data, so at least we’re not just thinking about this specific person and their cause of death. We also think: the state and the federal government are collecting data. “
As an example, health authorities may want to know if an 85-year-old woman who died of natural causes has recently fallen.
“That’s how I would view this,” she explains.
“So other contributing conditions are conditions that may have contributed but weren’t the exact cause?” asks the Prosecution. She answers in the affirmative.
When asked if she took that into account in determining Floyd’s cause of death, she insists, “again, it boils down to the history of the terminal events.” That is, the circumstances that led to Floyd’s death, which in his case was a reticence from the police.
The documentation description of Floyd’s death, she says, “does not fit” deaths from heart problems or drug overdose.