New Law Allows OKC Family To Appeal Ruling On Daughter's Death

Lisa Monahan, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – "Justice for the Dead" is the fight one family said they refuse to give up on. Joe and Donna Turner believe the State Medical Examiner's Office made an error in determining how their daughter Chanda Turner died in 2000.

The couple said the medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, but an independent autopsy shows Chanda was murdered. The Turners said families did not have an option to correct errors made by the medical examiner's office until now.

6/10/2010 Related Story: Family Urges Medical Examiner to Change Death Certificate to Homicide

The Turners collected 6,000 signatures hoping to right a wrong.

"One step at a time and we are going to get there one step at a time," Donna Turner said.

The initiative led to a new law, The Chanda Turner Reform Act that allows families to appeal a loved ones' death certificate.

Under the new law, the Turners and one other family are the first of a dozen complaint cases against the medical examiner's office now filing a petition under the new law.

The law allows for families to present evidence to a judge in hopes of changing the rulings of the medical examiner.

"It is ridiculous for our family to go through what we have to go through just to get justice for our daughter," Donna Turner said.

The Turners said if a judge calls for a change in the medical examiner's ruling, they will offer a reward for the conviction of Chanda's killer.

The medical examiner's office will not comment on the case.

For more information on a dozen cases like the turners visit Justice for the Dead website.