State Board: Fired Ex-El Paso Medical Examiner ‘Was Qualified For Position’

A state board has dismissed an investigation into allegations that Dr. Paul Shrode lied on his rsum and was not qualified to perform his duties as a medical examiner.

The Texas Medical Board dismissed the case June 3.

According to a document obtained by ABC-7, the board concluded “there was sufficient proof that Dr. Shrode was qualified for the position of medical examiner, that he had not advertised his credentials in the public domain, and that he had been subject to a thorough pre-employment interview and questioning of his credentials.”

Shrode, who was hired by El Paso county commissioners in 2005, was fired five years later amidst sharp criticism for lying about his credentials. As ABC-7 reported first in 2007, his rsum indicated he received a graduate law degree from the School of Political Science at Southwest Texas State University in 1979. The school, ABC-7 confirmed, didn’t offer a graduate law degree and only offered a post-grad paralegal certification in 1980. Shrode later said he did take some graduate courses. The resume also indicated Dr. Shrode had served as Lubbock’s County Medical Examiner, when he had performed autopsies while working for Texas Tech.

El Paso defense attorneys began bringing up the discrepancies in Shrode’s credentials during trials in an effort to destroy his credibility.

The controversy eventually reached the county commissioners court. In May of 2010, The District and County Attorneys’ offices briefed commissioners on reports that Shrode gave misleading testimony in a 1997 Ohio murder case. A parole board there recommended a commuted sentence for a death row inmate who was convicted based on Shrode’s flawed testimony. El Paso commissioners then decided to terminate Shrode’s $254,000 job saying they and the public had lost confidence in the medical examiner and his abilities.

At that time, El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza said Dr. Shrode had or would have to testify in as many as 40 cases, and all of them would be reviewed by his office.

“I think we have to be diligent and examine where he’s testified and where or not it puts into question the outcome of a criminal case,” said Esparza.

In the fall of 2010, questions about the “Shrode factor” may have weighed on jurors deciding a capital murder case in El Paso.

Defense attorney Leonard Morales questioned Shrode’s competence as a medical examiner during the trial of Monea Tyson, a mother accused of abusing her 22-month-old son Jayceon to death. The trial took place six months after Shrode was fired, and prosecutors chose not to have him testify. Shrode had ruled the toddler’s injuries were consistent with child abuse, while the defense argued the boy had died of sepsis.

“In Monea’s case, along with the credibility questions, there was the question of what Shrode actually did in coming to the determination of the cause of death,” said Morales. “If Shrode actually did sound medical work, his credentials might not be such a big issue.”

In an e-mail to ABC-7, Morales explained the board’s decision will not change the way he handles cases involving Dr. Shrode.

“I will continue to raise the issue of his credibility where appropriate and where his findings are critical to the outcome of the case,” he said.

ABC-7 was unable to reach Esparza, Shrode, or the man who filed the complaint before the Texas Medical Board, Austin-area watchdog David Fisher.

Dr. Shrode will not face disciplinary action, since the board concluded he did not violate the Medical Practice act.

El Paso County has yet to hire a permanent medical examiner. As of last check, in March, Dr. Juan Contin remained the interim coroner.