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American Morning

Interview With Victor Weedn

Aired July 25, 2003 - 09:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Victor Weedn is a forensic pathologist. He is also formerly a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He joins us from St. Louis by phone this morning. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate your time, sir.
DR. VICTOR WEEDN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes.

O'BRIEN: You saw the pictures were the photos of Saddam Hussein's two sons. Anything surprise you in what you saw there?

WEEDN: No, it is, as I would have expected. I believe that it can be anticipated that the U.S. would want to present these two in their best way. I think there's two reasons why one would make sure that they were touched up for the pictures. One is just respect. Respect for the dead even in a case like this.

And the second is to make sure they're recognizable. It is typical when somebody dies that they don't quite look normal. That's the job of the mortician is to put them so that they look like they did in life. And I think that makes sense to do in this case.

O'BRIEN: Without getting too graphic, if you can, explain to me exactly what the process involves in cleaning them up to make them look normal. We've heard that they've had their heavy beards shaved. Beyond that, what would U.S. authorities be doing to present them so that they looked as they did in life to Iraqis who come by and will see the pictures?

WEEDN: Well, blood drains. And so what the morticians do is they inject the vascular system with dye so that they look more life- like. They will also make sure that the blemishes are taken care of, and that any injuries, disfigurements, will be reapproximated. It's really a normal process. It's an important process. People don't normally think about it. But it is a part of the traditional funeral rites.

O'BRIEN: Would that process contribute to the delay in any way in showing of the bodies? There obviously has been much debate, and that's clearly been holding things up to some degree as well. But I'm curious if this is a process that actually takes a fair amount of time?

WEEDN: Well I think there are three things here. I think, one, there's just policy decisions to show the remains. That clearly requires debate. There's religious issues, there's some respect issues, there's some diplomatic issues. Second, there, in all likelihood, was an examination by a forensic pathologist, just as a medical examiner would review a case of a homicide in the United States. I believe these are classified as homicide since the war is over, so that there would be a forensic examination.

And then the third issue is, of course, the preparation of these bodies. And I don't think that would take too long, but it would take some period of time.

O'BRIEN: We've heard that there has been some kind of reconstructive surgery done. What exactly could they be talking about there? And what would that involve?

WEEDN: All right. So you could have an injury, a traumatic injury, and, a wound, if will you, and you could do surgery to reapproximate the edges of the tissues, put them together. You might use some wax to make it so that you basically can't see that injury anymore. Put them back in the shape they were before the trauma.

O'BRIEN: I think we should just for a moment just warn people that the pictures, the videotape, is described as being, from reporters who've seen it, incredibly graphic, And I apologize as well, because what we're talking about is very graphic. So I appreciate you helping me in this.

We've been told that each body may be 20 bullet holes. Exactly how would that affect the condition of the bodies? I mean, will they be bodies in whole? Will reconstruction have happened in that regard?

WEEDN: Well, mostly what you tend to focus on is the face. People recognize people by their face. That's what's typically shown in public.

I imagine most of the bullets are -- bullet holes are elsewhere. But even those would affect the appearance of the face in that you have draining of the blood. We're used to seeing people in life with blood pumping throughout the body. And so to have blood drained really does change the appearance of people, and it can be somewhat shocking.

So to have a body riddled with bullets means that you have to go in and really replace the red blood.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, Dr. Victor Weedn, forensic pathologist joining us by phone this morning. Certainly appreciate your time and, again, I appreciate delicacy to the degree that you could be delicate in this. We are grateful for your time. Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 25, 2003 - 09:24   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Victor Weedn is a forensic pathologist. He is also formerly a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He joins us from St. Louis by phone this morning. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate your time, sir.
DR. VICTOR WEEDN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes.

O'BRIEN: You saw the pictures were the photos of Saddam Hussein's two sons. Anything surprise you in what you saw there?

WEEDN: No, it is, as I would have expected. I believe that it can be anticipated that the U.S. would want to present these two in their best way. I think there's two reasons why one would make sure that they were touched up for the pictures. One is just respect. Respect for the dead even in a case like this.

And the second is to make sure they're recognizable. It is typical when somebody dies that they don't quite look normal. That's the job of the mortician is to put them so that they look like they did in life. And I think that makes sense to do in this case.

O'BRIEN: Without getting too graphic, if you can, explain to me exactly what the process involves in cleaning them up to make them look normal. We've heard that they've had their heavy beards shaved. Beyond that, what would U.S. authorities be doing to present them so that they looked as they did in life to Iraqis who come by and will see the pictures?

WEEDN: Well, blood drains. And so what the morticians do is they inject the vascular system with dye so that they look more life- like. They will also make sure that the blemishes are taken care of, and that any injuries, disfigurements, will be reapproximated. It's really a normal process. It's an important process. People don't normally think about it. But it is a part of the traditional funeral rites.

O'BRIEN: Would that process contribute to the delay in any way in showing of the bodies? There obviously has been much debate, and that's clearly been holding things up to some degree as well. But I'm curious if this is a process that actually takes a fair amount of time?

WEEDN: Well I think there are three things here. I think, one, there's just policy decisions to show the remains. That clearly requires debate. There's religious issues, there's some respect issues, there's some diplomatic issues. Second, there, in all likelihood, was an examination by a forensic pathologist, just as a medical examiner would review a case of a homicide in the United States. I believe these are classified as homicide since the war is over, so that there would be a forensic examination.

And then the third issue is, of course, the preparation of these bodies. And I don't think that would take too long, but it would take some period of time.

O'BRIEN: We've heard that there has been some kind of reconstructive surgery done. What exactly could they be talking about there? And what would that involve?

WEEDN: All right. So you could have an injury, a traumatic injury, and, a wound, if will you, and you could do surgery to reapproximate the edges of the tissues, put them together. You might use some wax to make it so that you basically can't see that injury anymore. Put them back in the shape they were before the trauma.

O'BRIEN: I think we should just for a moment just warn people that the pictures, the videotape, is described as being, from reporters who've seen it, incredibly graphic, And I apologize as well, because what we're talking about is very graphic. So I appreciate you helping me in this.

We've been told that each body may be 20 bullet holes. Exactly how would that affect the condition of the bodies? I mean, will they be bodies in whole? Will reconstruction have happened in that regard?

WEEDN: Well, mostly what you tend to focus on is the face. People recognize people by their face. That's what's typically shown in public.

I imagine most of the bullets are -- bullet holes are elsewhere. But even those would affect the appearance of the face in that you have draining of the blood. We're used to seeing people in life with blood pumping throughout the body. And so to have blood drained really does change the appearance of people, and it can be somewhat shocking.

So to have a body riddled with bullets means that you have to go in and really replace the red blood.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, Dr. Victor Weedn, forensic pathologist joining us by phone this morning. Certainly appreciate your time and, again, I appreciate delicacy to the degree that you could be delicate in this. We are grateful for your time. Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com