The medical examiners has stated that Leonel Farias died in police custody of excited delirium (“Man held by police died from ’delirium’, ‘’ news, July 3). However, ‘’excited delirium” is not a recognized medical or psychiatric condition by either the American Medical Association or the American Psychological Association. It is highly suspicious that the only time the term is used is when someone dies while being beaten by the police. Apparently the condition can not be determined by an autopsy but is based instead on observations of a person’sbehavior as told by the police to the medical examiner. Does the medical examiner’s office really expect anyone to believe this nonsense?

T. EUGENE HANNAH

Warwick