Dr. Baden: One of Our Country's Premier Pathologists 

 

    Dr. Baden is one of our country’s premier forensic pathologists.  In his forty five years of experience he has run into some extraordinary and fascinating cases, such as the OJ Simpson case and the JFK assassination that we studied about in our forensic science class. He also has come across some very unusual cases such as live bodies turning up in the morgue.  Surprisingly such cases do happen more often than not.  Although dissecting a person’s body sounds very morbid, Dr. Baden sees the forensic autopsy as a way to help the dead explain what happened to them.  It’s like giving a voice to those who lay on an autopsy table.

    Originally Dr, Baden aspired to be a nurse, but during his internship he learned that as a nurse, he really was not able to help people who were in need of that help.  He felt rather helpless as he saw them going through pain and suffering.  Even as a doctor, it took many of his patients, weeks and months in some cases, to recover from their illnesses.  It was at this time that Dr. Baden began to explore the field of forensic pathology.  He came to the realization that a forensic pathologist can help dead people speak for themselves.  Instead of waiting weeks or months to see the outcomes of the effects of a particular case, he could work overnight on the body of a person that died an unnatural death. The following day he could provide investigators with very invaluable information to help them solve a crime. 

    Dr. Baden does not view the field of forensic pathology as a field most people who want to earn a lot of money should enter.  Many other jobs such as doctors in general are similar and better paid.  In order to be a forensic pathologist an individual really must be dedicated to the job.  To help solve a crime, an autopsy must be considered very thoroughly, efficiently and meticulously.  If one is not very committed to this calling, the autopsy can be conducted very quickly and many fine details and physical evidence can be overlooked.  One example of this is the autopsy of President Kennedy’s body, which was very poorly conducted.  Lacking modern technology at the time was not really the problem; the real problem was that those conducting the autopsy did not follow the proper forensic procedures.  Therefore, the JFK assassination may very well remain a mystery for many people.

    Through his vast experiences, Dr. Baden also learned that not every victim on the autopsy table is necessarily innocent.  He uses the Rihanna case as an example.  Rihanna was brutally abused by her boyfriend, Chris Brown.  Rihanna told reporters that this wasn’t the first time she was battered by her boyfriend.  Dr. Baden believed her to be an innocent victim the first time, but only for the first time she was abused.  Later she should have left her boyfriend after she was abused multiple times.  Many victims walk into the arms of death by not walking away when they can. The only victims that are truly innocent in Dr. Baden’s eyes are children.  Children are young people who have their entire lives ahead of them, but unfortunately are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    Dr. Baden has dedicated a large part of his life to his career, a career he truly enjoys and is very much dedicated to.  At the same time, Dr. Baden always finds time from his very busy schedule to help others learn about the field of forensic science.  He also offers a great deal of guidance and advice to those who might be considering a career in the field of forensic pathology. 

    All of us students and staff at the Bronx High School of Science are grateful for all the contributions Dr. Baden has made to Bronx Science over the past fifteen years.  The forensic science curriculum, shadow program, lecture series, and laboratory program at the Bronx High School of Science would not be as great as it is today without all the efforts, care, concern, and contributions of Dr. Michael Baden.

 

-- Article by                

Gui Zhen Lu 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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