THE FEAR THAT WE FACED EACH DAY.
KNOWING ALL ALONG WE WERE NOT GUILTY, BUT NOT KNOWING
IF WE WOULD LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY."
FROM BROKEN SILENCE: BY MARIA SHEPHERD;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "In a previous post I noted that the list of songs written in the aftermath of the Charles Smith travesty grew longer with the addition of 'Broken Silence' by Maria Shepherd. The Ontario Court of Appeal had taken the extraordinary step of granting Maria leave to appeal almost twenty years after she had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in order to avoid lengthy imprisonment and loss of her family on the testimony of the (then) revered Dr. Charles Randal Smith... The moving lyrics reflect the two year less a day prison term she had to serve following her guilty plea manslaughter in connection with Kasandra's death. Here are the lyrics of "Broken Silence." (The acronym AIDWYC refers to the 'Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted' which has done a magnificent job of representing parents and caregivers wrongfully convicted as a result of the flawed opinions of the now discredited former Dr. Charles Randal Smith); In her affidavit for the previous appeal court hearing, Maria Shepherd says: "I still do not know what caused Kasandra’s death. I know that her death may have resulted from events before April 9, 1991, including the possibility of epileptic seizures, or an earlier injury to her brain that no one knew about. Neither of these possibilities had been raised as feasible by Mr. Wiley, or anyone else, before I pled guilty. I now know that there is no scientific evidence that I injured Kasandra when I pushed her or that my wristwatch left a bruise on the underside of her scalp. Dr. Smith’s testimony seemed to have a huge effect on the lawyers representing me and was a critical factor in my decision to plead guilty to manslaughter. I hope that the world can now know that I did not assault or abuse Kasandra and did not cause her death. I would never have pled guilty if I knew then what I know now about Dr. Smith and Kasandra’s death." In response to Maria Shepherd's prayer, all being well, the world will know at the end of the day from the ruling of the Ontario Court of Appeal that she in no way harmed her beloved step-daughter - and that if it was not for the unfortunate presence of Charles Smith in her life, she was would have been treated compassionately by all as a victim who had suffered an unthinkable loss - as she deserved to be - and not scorned as a perpetrator. I send my best wishes to Maria and my hope that memories of the broken silence will be replaced by memories of a long overdue exoneration by Ontario's highest court, and the closure that will bring.
Harold Levy. Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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"In our quietest hours, our silence
In our heads, we still hear them say
You are a danger to society, you are guilty
For this crime, you must be locked away.
(chorus)
We remember the hopelessness we felt,
Wanting so desperately to break free
From the injustice, the persecutors and liars
We had nowhere to run, but little miracles came,
then angels at AIDWYC set us free.
Close your eyes, just to imagine
The fear that we faced each day.
Knowing all along we were not guilty, but not knowing
If we would live to see another day.
Our lives were destroyed, taken from us
Without reason or just cause.
Our spirits temporarily broken
Due to systemic flaws.
(chorus)
We remember the hopelessness we felt,
Wanting so desperately to break free
From the injustice, the persecutors and liars
We had nowhere to run, but little miracles came,
then angels at AIDWYC set us free.
We paid for crimes we did not commit
Due to carelessness and lack of oversight
We want accountability from all the players
Who knew all long they weren’t right,
We rise and unite together now, stronger each day than ever before,
The silence has been broken, wrongful convictions can be no more.
We vow to fight against injustice, one day at a time
We are the crusaders and survivors, we rise and now WE shine
(chorus)
We remember the hopelessness we felt,
Wanting so desperately to break free
From the injustice, the persecutors and liars
We had nowhere to run, but little miracles came,
then angels at AIDWYC set us free.
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See the previous post at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2009/06/broken-silence-moving-song-by-maria.html
See also a previous post devoted to two other songs composed in the aftermath of the Charles Smith travesty: 'Tammy: The Wheels of Justice', by Howard Gladstone, and 'Trusted Voice' by 'Psycho Key,' can be accessed at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2009/06/dr-charles-smith-hits-musical-charts_16.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
