Verdict at 1:32

[Music] [Music] the letter was from the Corner's office standard procedure matter of fact and as always slightly inhuman dear Dr Corville the brains in the appropriately labeled containers are those of Miss X aged 22 and Mr y aged 44 both were killed in an automobile Collision on May 22nd his car was struck by an oncoming car driven by Miss X both victims were Dead on Arrival at the hospital Mr y had been driving erratically her to the Collision the question arose whether the diffuse Hemorrhage found at ottopsy occurred prior to the Collision in the case of Miss why very little change was found in the brain and the question here is whether any Factor other than the injury itself contributed to her death since there is legal action pending we will appreciate your earliest examination of these specimens the police reports are enclosed for your perusal the brain of a man aged 44 according to the police report this man we will call him Darcy entered Canyon Road from the west side at approximately 130 on the afternoon of May 22nd Darcy had a history of alcoholism [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] the accident occurred at approximately 132 according to the police report was a Dr Maguire Dr Maguire had been retained by the insurance company which was carrier for the dead girl McGuire explained that he understood the man involved in the Fatal collision had been an alcoholic the insurance company would seek to prove that he was solely responsible for the accident Maguire asked if he might witness the examination of the two brains Dr Corville is a recognized Authority on neuropathology the nervous system the brain the brain of a girl age 22 according to the police reports the girl we will call her Julie left the restaurant at approximately 125 on May 22nd she had driven a cross Canyon Road to meet her fiance for lunch during this hour she had two cocktails her fiance had to leave early so Julie finished lunch alone the drive across Canyon Road to the aircraft plant where she worked as a secretary normally took her 15 minutes [Music] Julie anion rad from the East at approximately 1:30 [Music] [Music] w the police report states that Julie was dead when the ambulance arrived her inability to make a split-second decision had sealed her verdict at 132 the brain of a girl aged 22 Dr Maguire suggested that the two drinks Julie had would not have affected her Dr Corville explained that alcohol always affects people and the Brain the nervous system is the target but the brain of a young person such as Julie had been would not yet show the ravages of alcoholic poisoning unless she had been drinking heavily over a long period of time the brain appears to be generally normal there is no Hemorrhage indicating no visible effect of injury no thickening of the meninges and no evidence of shrinking AG of the brain tissues Dr Maguire listened but obviously he had already made up his mind the brain showed no evidence of alcohol therefore she had not been affected Dr Corville reiterated his statement that alcohol always affects the brain only the degree of effect varies obviously this young girl was not a heavy drinker to see the devastating effects of alcoholic poisoning on the nervous system no better example could be had than the brain of the dead man Darcy this brain discolored by a massive Hemorrhage is testimony to the long range effects of drinking Dr Corville noted that bleeding is more profuse in an alcoholic the younger man regarded this as a further point in his client's favor Darcy had been a drunk an irresponsible Menace on the highway this is the human brain after 20 years of abuse the brain was examined in detail changes in structure due to alcohol were apparent the exterior of the brain showed the severe Hemorrhage but as the brain was cut into sections it was noted that blood also came from the central cavities or ventricles this indicated intracranial hemorrhage or bleeding inside the brain it was pointed out that this bleeding occurred in all the sections observed Dr Corville noted that the frontal loes of the brain contain the control centers for our intelligence our memory judgment decisions and inhibition these are the first to be affected by alcohol the individual convolutions of this portion of the brain are shrunken opening up the depressions between [Music] them note that these spaces here separating the frontal and the temporal loes are greatly widened the internal cavities of the brain the lateral ventricles are also enlarged this shrinkage of the brain is the result of a progressive breakdown of the brain cortex due to deterioration of the nerve cells Dr Maguire stuck to his theory that since the girl's brain showed no evidence of alcohol and the mans did it was logical to assume that she had not been affected by alcohol and he had but Dr Corville patiently explained that they were talking about two different things the man Darcy was an alcoholic his behavior pattern resulted from a repeated use of Al alcohol over a period of years the girl was not an alcoholic but the fact that she had had two drinks cannot be ignored if Dr Maguire was interested in learning something about the effect of alcohol on one's judgment and reaction time he should see a man whose specialty was in this area Dr Stuart Knox is one of the nation's foremost psychiatrists his patient include many persons with the background of alcoholism Pat age 25 is a moderate Drinker she has agreed to act as a guinea pig in a test to show the effects of alcohol on coordination normal coordination was evidenced by such tests as these Pat was then asked to type the same sentence three times the sentence read Dear Sir this is a test to determine the effects of alcohol on a person's coordination Pat was given one drink containing 1 o of 100 proof alcohol 30 minutes later Pat was given a second drink the same amount as Julie had taken the day she was killed the contraction of the eye as seen by Dr Knox was now somewhat sluggish this indicated that Pat would have trouble in judging the distance between objects in front of her and in the periphery of her vision the same tests were now repeated she was again asked to type the same sentence three times there were now five errors in the typing after the second drink Dr Maguire asked if a glass of beer would have had the same effect the answer there is the same amount of alcohol in a bottle of beer as there is in a glass of wine or a shot of whiskey Dr McGuire was beginning to wonder the following day Dr Maguire attended a lecture given by Dr Corville at the school of medicine l m Linda University because of his preeminence in the field of Neurology Dr Corville concern with the growing impact of alcoholism on society has helped to focus attention on the problem Dr Corville was discussing the characteristics of brain changes leading to atrophy or shrinkage such atrophy causes irreparable damage to the brain brain this slide shows the cerebellum of a chronic alcoholic these large cells show degeneration some are missing entirely these are the cells which govern our sense of balance their deterioration leads to unsteadiness here the nerve cells of the cerebral cortex show the degrees of degeneration from minor changes to severe these changes are shown in Greater detail under this higher magnification some cells appear almost normal others have all but [Music] disappeared the process of progressive deterioration leads to this ultimate change in the brain the lower half with membranes removed presents the shrunken convolutions with widened spaces between them in the upper part of the brain we see a thickening of the covering membrane a sign of an aged brain aged in this case by alcohol after the lecture Dr Corville asked Dr McGuire if he would like to see some 16mm film taken at a sports car Jim Ka a Jim kanana is a sports event designed to test the skill of expert drivers and under various conditions the Jim kaana was held in the San Fernando Valley California and was based on tests conducted by the Dade County Florida Department of Public Safety to determine the effects of alcohol on drivers these drivers are members of a sports car club each man is driving his own car each man drove over the course three or four times before the tests began again it should be noted that these men are expert drivers having thoroughly familiarized themselves with the obstacle course each driver was given a drink containing 1 o of 100 proof alcohol 1/ half hour before he drove the course here is what happened after the first drink for purposes of clarity we have concentrated on the footage showing the red Morgan driven by the White helmeted driver this driver score at the end of the gym time was average here he comes he knocked down only one pylon but this slight error could be dangerous if it had occurred on a freeway or turnpike at the conclusion of the first round the drivers were given their second drink after an interval of 1/2 hour they continued the test [Music] [Music] remember this particular driver's performance was quite typical some were better and some were worse but without exception all drivers showed an increase in errors in an increasing number of states the law says a man is not under the influence until he has an alcohol reading of 10% but to have such a reading this driver who weighs 150 lb would have to consume approximately six drinks of beer wine or whiskey we have already seen what happens with one to three drinks based on these tests and on those conducted by the Dade County Department of Public Safety it is apparent that the legal level for judging a man under the influence should be lowered Dr Maguire was now convinced that the dead girl Julie had been affected by the two drinks she took before the accident here in this section of the girl's brain now discolored by exposure to air in the laboratory the central cavities or ventricles were small as they should be the mans were large the surface of the girl's brain presented a normal Contour with closely approximated convolutions in the other brain these convolutions were narrowed and again here the space between the frontal and temporal LS narrow in in the case of the girl and wide in the case of the man Julie was not an alcoholic but her reaction time was affected by the drinks not much it is true but enough to render her incapable of the split-second timing necessary to save her life the man Darcy was an alcoholic the brain clearly shows that but the actual cause of death was massive intracranial hemorrhage the rate of bleeding was increased by the presence of alcohol in the blood it is possible that had he not been an alcoholic he might not have bled to [Music] death for [Music] an age of split-second decision judgment and coordination the man or woman who says one drink won't do any harm just doesn't know these people didn't know [Music]