NWLA Crime Lab Commission Approves Plan for A Morgue and Forensic Pathologist

It might sound morbid, but, when someone dies in Northwest Louisiana, there`s a good chance the body will be sent out of state to cities like Jackson and Little Rock for autopsy. And Northwest Louisiana taxpayers are paying for it. However, that could soon change. The Northwest Louisiana Crime Lab Commission unanamously approved a plan Tuesday to build a forensic pathology center in Shreveport on LSU Health Sciences Center property. Law enforcement and district attorneys from parishes throughout the area are backing the plan. Yet, in order to be succesful, the commission will need the full support of parish lawmakers and most importantly, the coroners. Louisiana State lawmakers have already pledged a total of $15 million dollars towards the center. It will house the area`s only morgue, the Northwest Louisiana Crime Lab, and an LSU Hospital Forensic Pathologist, Dr. James Traylor, will perform autopsies. Police say that could make homicide investigations faster and more accurate. "It gives us direct access to the person who`s doing the autopsy," Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator, said. "We won`t have to go 4 hours there and 4 hours back in the middle of an investigation which is what we have to do now," Prator said. However, Northwest Louisiana`s coroners still have the final say when it comes to where they send bodies for autopsies. "When it boils down, I`ve got to sign off on the cause of death so i`ve got to have confidence in what is being done," Dr. Mairus McFarland, Caddo Parish Coroner, said. LSU`s forensic pathology department is already marketing their services to coroners and performing a small number of autopsies. Proponents say the center will offer premier services at a savings, considering the transportation costs will be less. The commission still has to appoint a building commission. Construction should begin in Fall 2007. The center could be up and running by 2008.