Shiya Ribowsky > Quotes

“Eventually, we issued 2,347 nonphysical remains certificates to families of the victims, most of them during a frantic, three-month marathon. Overall, there were 2,749 victims of the mass murder at the WTC, which means that 85 percent of the victim families benefited by receiving a judicial decree certificate.”
― Shiya Ribowsky, Dead Center: Behind the Scenes at the World's Largest Medical Examiner's Office

“The fact that so many death certificates are not filled out properly has repercussions beyond any individual certificate. It throws a shadow of doubt over such statements as “the number one cause of death in the United States is atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD).” The reason that ASHD is the “leading cause” is not that we eat too much fast food, though of course we do. Rather, the reason is that doctors put ASHD down on death certificates more often than they put down any other cause of death—and not always because it is the actual cause. In dealing with thousands of doctors over the years, I came to understand that they very quickly learn that ASHD is a good diagnosis to put down on a death certificate because it won’t raise red flags with the local ME or coroner’s office.”
― Shiya Ribowsky, Dead Center: Behind the Scenes at the World's Largest Medical Examiner's Office

“Whichever path you travel on, be it putrefaction or mummification, the ultimate destination for all of us is the same: ashes to ashes, dust to dust; like it or not, we all rot.”
― Shiya Ribowsky, Dead Center: Behind the Scenes at the World's Largest Medical Examiner's Office

“I am very proud that I live in a country that is compassionate enough to have gone above and beyond the norm to identify and return the remains of the WTC victims to their families.”
― Shiya Ribowsky, Dead Center: Behind the Scenes at the World's Largest Medical Examiner's Office