en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Marilyn_Monroe
3 corrections found
Barbiturate overdose/overdosage on antidepressants
Monroe’s fatal overdose was not of antidepressants. Sources on her toxicology identify pentobarbital and chloral hydrate—i.e., a barbiturate and a sedative/hypnotic drug.
Full reasoning
This wording is inaccurate because it says Monroe died from an overdose “on antidepressants.”
The toxicology described for Monroe’s death identifies pentobarbital (Nembutal) and chloral hydrate. Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, and chloral hydrate is a sedative/hypnotic, not an antidepressant.
So while “barbiturate overdose” is consistent with the record, the added phrase “on antidepressants” is contradicted by the drugs actually reported in her system.
3 sources
- Celebrities and substance abuse - PMC
Her death was ruled a suicide from an overdose of barbiturates and chloral hydrate. Toxicology studies found a massive amount of pentobarbital and chloral hydrate in her body.
- Pentobarbital - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
Pentobarbital belongs to the barbiturate class of medications.
- Chloral Hydrate: MedlinePlus Drug Information
Chloral hydrate, a sedative, is used in the short-term treatment of insomnia.
was not passed until 1985
This gets the date of enactment wrong. California’s postmortem publicity-rights law was enacted in 1984; January 1, 1985 was its effective date.
Full reasoning
The statement says the California Celebrities Rights Act “was not passed until 1985.” Official California legislative materials say otherwise: what is now Civil Code section 3344.1 was enacted in 1984.
The likely source of the confusion is that the statute used January 1, 1985 as its effective-date reference point. But “passed/enacted” and “effective” are not the same thing. The law was enacted in 1984 and then took effect on January 1, 1985.
3 sources
- AB 585 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis
In 1984, California enacted what is now Civil Code Section 3344.1.
- AB 585 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis
The intent of the Legislature in enacting Section 3344.1 in 1984 is very clear.
- California Civil Code § 3344.1
The rights recognized under this section are property rights ... by contract or by means of any trust or any other testamentary instrument, executed before or after January 1, 1985.
There were no signs of external wounds or bruises on the body.
This overstates the autopsy findings. Later quotations of Noguchi’s autopsy description note a slight ecchymotic area—a bruise—on Monroe’s left hip/lower back.
Full reasoning
The sentence is too absolute. Multiple later accounts that quote or summarize Thomas Noguchi’s autopsy description say Monroe did have a slight ecchymotic area (a bruise) on the left hip / lower back.
That does not prove foul play, and Noguchi himself said such bruising had never been fully explained. But it does mean the blanket statement that there were no bruises on the body is inaccurate.
3 sources
- Noguchi says Monroe case should be reopened - UPI Archives
'She had bruises on her back and near the back of the hip that have never been fully explained,' Noguchi said.
- Dr Thomas Noguchi: LA Coroner Confidential - The Marilyn Monroe Collection
Under the External Examination section of his autopsy report, Noguchi noted: '... a slight ecchymotic area is noted on the left hip and left side of lower back.'
- Medical Issues on Marilyn Monroe's Life and Death; A Retrospective-Part 2
A slight ecchymotic area is noted in the left hip and left side of lower back.