COMPENSATION FOR DR. CHARLES SMITH'S VICTIMS: A MOVING STORY BY TORONTO STAR REPORTER THERESA BOYLE; OTHER DEVELOPMENTS;

"BENTLEY SAID SPECIAL TEAMS OF CROWN ATTORNEYS HAVE BEEN FORMED TO LOOK AT APPEALS OF CASES WHERE PEOPLE MAY HAVE BEEN WRONGLY CONVICTED.

"(WE) ARE WORKING WITH DEFENCE COUNSEL TO EXPEDITE CASES ... TO FIND COMMONALITY BETWEEN CASES SO WE CAN PUT THEM TOGETHER (AND) TO GET THEM HEARD BY THE COURT OF APPEAL AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.""

THERESA BOYLE: TORONTO STAR; DECEMBER 3, 2008;

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Toronto Star reporter Theresa Boyle's story on reaction to the Ontario government's announcement of a compensation process for Dr. Charles Smith's victims contains some poignant coverage relating to Sherry Sherret under the heading, "Payment at last for a life in ruins?"

The cut-line for an accompanying photo says, "Sherry Sherret, 33, has struggled since she was wrongly convicted in 1999 of killing her son Joshua."

A sub-heading reads, "Branded as 'baby killer' because of MD's errors, woman applauds move to speed compensation."

"Sherry Sherret moved into cheaper digs just this past Monday so that she can make her $904 monthly welfare cheque stretch a little further," Boyle's story begins;

"The Belleville woman's life has been turned upside down since she was convicted nine years ago in the death of her infant son, based on an erroneous opinion from disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith," it continues;.

"She struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder after being accused by other inmates in jail of being a "baby killer," and after having another child permanently removed from her custody and placed for adoption. She's had difficulty getting a job with that criminal record hanging over her. She and her 3-year-old daughter get by on social assistance.

So Sherret is pleased with yesterday's announcement that the province will move quickly on the issue of compensation for victims of Smith's errors and on appeals of cases where convictions are now in doubt, but it's still not fast enough for her.

"I'm excited about it, don't get me wrong. But I've been listening to this for a long time," she said. "I just want to move on and have a normal life with my daughter."

Attorney General Chris Bentley announced at Queen's Park that his government has appointed experts to advise him "as expeditiously as they can" on a possible compensation process for individuals hurt by the mistakes of Smith and others.

Bentley also said his government is trying to fast-track appeals of convictions based on erroneous opinions of the pathologist.

Bentley said a second team of experts will review 142 child deaths attributed to head injuries, such as shaken baby syndrome, since 1981 to determine if anyone was wrongly convicted based on faulty science. There is no allegation errors were made during those child-death investigations, but debate over shaken baby syndrome has evolved. Some child deaths once deemed criminally suspicious may now be viewed as resulting from accidents or short falls.

The measures will help "remove the shadow of suspicion from those who have been living within it," Bentley said.

Sherret was convicted of infanticide in 1999, three years after the sudden death of 4-month-old Joshua. Smith performed the autopsy and concluded the baby had been suffocated and suffered a fractured skull.

Sherret was sentenced to a year in jail and two years of probation. Her other son, then 5 years old, was put up for adoption.

Years later, when Smith's work came under scrutiny, Joshua's body was exhumed. It was revealed his skull was not fractured and the marks on his neck were created by Smith during the autopsy. Experts who reviewed the case said Joshua had accidentally asphyxiated in an unsafe sleep environment. He had slept in a playpen, under a sleeping bag, comforter and blankets.

Sherret says her life will remain on hold until her conviction is appealed and she is awarded compensation.

"I'm 33 years old. I want to continue on and have the life I couldn't have. I spent eight months in jail. I lost my schooling and everything because of it. It's nothing that I can replace."

A team led by Coulter Osborne, former associate chief justice of Ontario, will look at the issue of compensation arising out of Smith's flawed work in child-death probes. Twenty such investigations, between 1991 and 2002, were the subject of the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, which wrapped up in October.

Compensation issues might also arise from an ongoing probe into whether Smith erred in 22 child-death investigations he was involved in from 1981 to 1991. Of those, 15 led to convictions.

Bentley said special teams of Crown attorneys have been formed to look at appeals of cases where people may have been wrongly convicted.

"(We) are working with defence counsel to expedite cases ... to find commonality between cases so we can put them together (and) to get them heard by the Court of Appeal as quickly as possible."

The review of the shaken-baby deaths will be led by Justice Donald Ebbs of the Ontario Court of Justice and former associate chief justice of Ontario.

Asked if he is aware of anyone claiming wrongful conviction in a shaken-baby death, Bentley said: "I can't answer to that and there may be some out there who think they were."

He noted a similar review of 88 shaken-baby deaths in Britain led to three cases being overturned."

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com